Steve L Remembered

Born February 9, 1978, transitioned peacefully on November 6th 2008

By George Lee, a member of JFLAG NING LINKUP Group

I'm Still Here

Family and Friends please don't mourn for me
I'm still here, though you don't see.
I'm right by your side each night and day
And within your heart I long to stay.

My body is gone but I'm always near.
I'm everything you feel, see or hear.
My spirit is free, but I'll never depart
As long as you keep me alive in your heart.

I'll never wander out of your sight-
I'm the brightest star on a summer night.
I'll never be beyond your reach-
I'm the warm moist sand when you're at the beach.

I'm the first bright blossom you'll see in the spring,
The first warm raindrop that April will bring.
I'm the first ray of light when the sun starts to shine,
And you'll see that the face in the moon is mine.

When you start thinking there's no one to love you,
You can talk to me through the Lord above you.
I'll whisper my answer through the leaves on the trees,
And you'll feel my presence in the soft summer breeze.

I'm the hot salty tears that flow when you weep
And the beautiful dreams that come while you sleep.
I'm the smile you see on a baby's face.
Just look for me, friend, I'm every place!

-end-

(please do not repost or re-use without credit to the author)

Waite's anti-gay populist nonsense!

Basil Waite, in a not untypical fashion, spouted a lot of heat in the Senate the other day. But the shadow education minister didn't generate much, if any, light. At least, not light focused on the substantive issue of the debate: The state of the Jamaican family and the proposal by Warren Newby for a commission to study the issue.

However, reflecting on the state and nature of the Jamaican family, its evolution and seemingly deepening dysfunction is a deep, complex and weighty matter that demands serious thought. And thinking is hard work.

We are not surprised, therefore, that Mr Waite, as is so often the case in Jamaica, chose to pander to the populist and the popular. So, rather than dealing with the substantive issue, he, by and large, went gay bashing.

Worse, Basil Waite, whom we believe has aspirations to the leadership of the People's National Party didn't start from the basis of fact. He instead set up his own, fluffy, weightless figures, then knocked them over.

Agitating for recognition

Mr Waite's spurious assumption is that if Mr Newby's contemplated commission didn't clearly define what comprised a Jamaican family - presumably with great urgency - then it won't "be long before we have some of those same groups (homosexuals) agitating for recognition as a family. So, we need to prevent that ... " he said.

Basil Waite, in this regard, serves as metaphor for a political class whose failure at leadership makes it malleable to a fundamentalist construct of the world, which it believes provides the route of least resistance to high office. In that regard, it is easy to buy into a bigotry that is so rampant in Jamaica, no matter how backward and regardless of the consequence. Indeed, it is this acquiescence to the loud, the callow and biblical literalists that informed Prime Minister Golding's "not in my Cabinet" declaration against homosexuals, rather than a rational, sophisticated response befitting of a modern, tolerant society.

In today's world, it is only the most backward, unsure, hypocritical or opportunistic leader who would presume to legislate the nature of people's relationships, or would want to send the state on a voyeuristic expedition into people's bedrooms. So, neither Mr Golding's hubris in that BBC television interview nor Mr Waite's barely disguised Old Testament harrumphing about gays campaigning "for specific rights" is of specific social or economic value to Jamaica.

The most extreme of harassment

It is more likely to be detrimental, serving to institutionalise the notion of the otherness of people with whose lifestyles we do not agree and fair game for the most extreme of harassment, including the usurpation of their fundamental rights, with little protection from the State. It is small wonder that two men murdered last week were killed because they were deemed to be gay.

Jamaica does not have the luxury of building a cocoon around itself and operating in splendid isolation from the rest of the world. Gays operate in all walks of life, in finance, commerce, industry and government around the world. And, who is to say who is gay in Jamaica's government structure?

In that regard, it is nonsense, if Mr Waite would care to think about it, to maintain archaic laws against homosexuality.

What, after all, is the fear? It is not as if people become gay by contagion

Amnesty International Public Statement on Hanging in Jamaica

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL PUBLIC STATEMENT
AI Index No: AMR 38/005/2008 19 November 2008

Jamaica: A return to hanging will not solve public security crisis

As Jamaican Parliamentarians are due to vote shortly a motion on whether to retain the death penalty, Amnesty International calls on the Jamaica authorities to reject the death penalty and instead prioritize reforms to the police and justice system in order to tackle the country's violent crime epidemic.

The vote has emerged in the light of discussion around the new Charter of Rights and Freedoms Bill, which seeks to replace Chapter III of the Jamaican Constitution dedicated to the protection of fundamental rights and freedom of persons. The purpose of the vote is to decide whether provisions creating the death sentence exceptions to the right to life and to protection from torture or inhuman or degrading punishment or other treatment, should be retained or deleted from the Charter. This vote also comes at a time of spiralling violent crime in a country with one of the highest per capita murder rates in the world.

Amnesty International understands that high levels of criminality create victim after victim and welcomes the Jamaican government’s commitment to addressing violent crime. However, the organization strongly believes that the use of the death penalty, as well as constituting a cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment, is not an effective method of preventing crime.

Given the unlikelihood of ever being brought before the courts, it is highly implausible that before committing a crime a criminal would consider the risk of being hung and would refrain from wrong-doing. On the contrary, the retention of the death penalty spreads across the society the message that killing is permitted. The death penalty also runs the risk of irrevocable error. Country after country, including Jamaica, has inflicted the death penalty upon those innocent of the crime for which they were condemned. Numerous studies have also shown that it tends to be applied discriminatorily on grounds of race and class. In a country like Jamaica, where the criminal justice system is deeply flawed and corruption is rife throughout different institutions, how can the public have confidence that the state will not kill innocent people?

Amnesty International believes that the true solution to the appalling crime situation does not lie with the death penalty. The answers can be found instead be prioritizing reforms to the police and justice system that are already under way. These include implementing recommendations from the strategic review of the Jamaica Constabulary Force and the Justice Sector Reform Review and expediting the passage of legislation to establish an independent commission to investigate police abuses and an Office of Coroner to examine alleged police killings.

The world is turning away from the use of death penalty. Since 2003, the United States has been the only country in the Americas to carry out executions and a dramatic decrease in the number of executions there has taken place in recent years. One hundred and thirty seven have now abolished the death penalty in law or practice and only 24 nations carried out executions in 2007. Huge swathes of the world are now free from executions.

As we approach the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Amnesty International calls on Jamaica to join the international trend that executions serve no useful purpose and have a brutalising effect upon any society that uses them. Jamaica’s decision-makers urgently need to de-politicise the issue of capital punishment and take concrete steps to conceive and implement effective measures to decrease the alarming levels of violent crime. The death penalty is a symptom of a culture of violence, not a solution to it.

Background The last execution in Jamaica was carried out on 18 February 1988. There were more than a 190 prisoners under sentence of death at the end of 1988. Currently there are nine prisoners on death row. The reduction is principally attributable to three events. In 1992 the Jamaican Parliament amended the Offences Against the Person Act to classify some murders as non-capital. The amendment applied retroactively and resulted in the commutation of sentences to life imprisonment of a number people who had been previously mandatorily sentenced to death. In 1993 the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (currently Jamaica's highest court which sits in England) decided, in the case of Pratt and Morgan v. the Attorney General of Jamaica, that executing a person who has spent a prolonged period on death row violates Section 17 of the Constitution of Jamaica, which prohibits "inhuman or degrading punishment or other treatment". In compliance with the guidance set out in this case, sentences of death of people who have served five years on death row in Jamaica are commuted to life imprisonment. As a result of the 2004 decision of the JCPC in Lambert Watson v The Attorney General of Jamaica, mandatory sentences of death are no longer allowed in Jamaica. Following this decision, new sentencing hearings were held and many death row prisoners had their sentences commuted.

Jamaica, along with the rest of the English-speaking Caribbean nations, voted against a global moratorium on the death penalty at the 62nd UN General Assembly in December 2007.

END/

Public Document **************************************** For more information please call Amnesty International's press office in London, UK, on +44 20 7413 5566 or email: press@amnesty.org

International Secretariat, Amnesty International, 1 Easton St., London WC1X 0DW, UK http://www.amnesty.org/

UK Visa for "kill gays" singer

Home Secretary grants visa and work permit

Inciter of murder allowed into the UK

Black MPs "silent and spineless"

"The Home Secretary has granted a visa and work permit to a Jamaican singer who incites the murder of gay people," reports human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell of OutRage!.

"Although inciting murder is a serious criminal offence, Jacqui Smith is giving Bounty Killer (Rodney Price) permission to perform at a concert in east London this Sunday," added Mr Tatchell.

"Bounty Killer was banned from Guyana earlier this year, but the British government says he is welcome to sing in the UK.

"A white racist singer who advocated the killing of black people would be refused entry to Britain. Why the double standards?

"This singer encourages and glorifies gang violence. At a time when so many young people have been murdered in gang-related gun and knife crime, it is reckless and obscene for the Home Secretary to give Bounty Killer a visa and work permit.

"Rewarding maladjusted thugs who incite violence sends the wrong signal.

"Mr Killer helps reinforce and legitimate gang violence by encouraging, glorifying and celebrating the killing of gay people. His negative impact goes way beyond the gay community. He psyches up a whole generation to see hatred and violence as cool and street cred.

"For the sake of parents whose sons have been murdered in gang attacks, it is time we closed the door on Bounty Killer and similar murder music singers," urged Mr Tatchell.

Watch this video of a Bounty Killer concert, where he openly incites the crowd: "Faggot, I kill every one of them":
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=wTIXAToY3f8

See examples of Bounty Killer's lyrics urging the murder of queers below.

Mr Tatchell has written to the Home Secretary, setting out six reasons why she should revoke Bounty Killer's visa and work permit (a copy of the letter follows below).

He has also issued a stinging rebuke to blacks MPs, condemning them as "silent and spineless."

"Murder music fuels the culture of violence that has claimed the lives of dozens of black teenagers. Instead of speaking out, black MPs sit on their hands and say nothing. They don't condemn singers like Bounty Killer who encourage straight black men to murder gay black men, and who incite a culture of violence that fuels gang warfare and has resulted in the killing of more than 20 black youths in London this year," said Mr Tatchell.

Further information:

Peter Tatchell 0207 403 1790

Bounty Killer songs that incite homophobic violence

Another Level
Bun a fire pon a puff and mister fagoty (Uh huh)
Translation: Burn a fire on poofs and faggots (Uh huh)
Poop man fi drown an dat a yawd man philosophy (Uh huh)
Translation: Shit men [queer men] must be drowned and that's a yardy man [Jamaican] philosophy

Man A Badman
You know we need no promo to rub out dem homo
Translation: You know we don't need prompting to rub out [kill] a homo

Look Good
Mi ready fi go wipe out this fag wid pure laser beam
Translation: I'm ready to go wipe out this faggot with a pure laser beam


Peter Tatchell's letter to the Home Secretary
The Home Secretary
Home Office

19 November 2008

Dear Jacqui Smith,

Request to ban Bounty Killer (Rodney Price) from entering and performing in the UK

Name: Rodney Price (stage name, Bounty Killer)
DoB: 12 June 1972
Nationality: Jamaican

Mr Price is scheduled to perform at the Stratford Rex venue in East London this Sunday, 23 November 2008, under his stage name, Bounty Killer.

In view of the unacceptable levels of gang violence and gun and knife crime, which has tragically claimed the lives of so many young people, the LGBT human rights group OutRage! urges you, as Home Secretary, to take prompt, effective action against singers, such as Rodney Price / Bounty Killer, who contribute to the acceptability of gang culture and violence by encouraging, glorifying and celebrating the killing of LGBT human beings.

We respectfully request that you deny Rodney Price / Bounty Killer (BK) a visa and work permit (or revoke his visa and work permit) and prohibit him from performing in the UK on the following grounds:

1) BK has not signed the Reggae Compassionate Act, whereby artists promise to halt inciting hatred and violence - indeed, he was asked to sign the RCA and he refused to do so.

Read a sample of the Reggae Compassionate Act here:
http://www.petertatchell.net/popmusic/reggaecompassionateact-bujubanton.html

2) BK has incited murder, which is a serious criminal offence and a threat to public order.

See examples of his "burn and drown" gays lyrics here:
http://www.petertatchell.net/popmusic/Dancehall-Dossier-FINAL.pdf

Watch this video of a Bounty Killer concert (uploaded to YouTube on 24 August 2008), where he openly boasts and incites the crowd: "Faggot, I kill every one of them":
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=wTIXAToY3f8

All eight singers in this Dancehall Dossier should be prohibited from entering the UK, as they have all incited the murder of LGBT people. Some singers such as Buju Banton have signed the RCA, but have since denounced and violated it. Prohibiting BK would be a good start to tackling these proponents of homophobic murder.

3) BK has specifically incited the murder of LGBT people, which is a threat to community cohesion and good community relations. See the links above.

4) BK has been associated with repeated concert violence and anti-gay hatred and abuse. Caribbean World News reported in April this year that the government of Guyana has banned BK on the grounds of violence, disorder and his torrent of homophobic abuse at his concert that month.

5) The Home Office and the Metropolitan Police ban foreign racists and those who incite racist violence from entering the UK and performing in public, so you should adopt the same policy towards foreign homophobes and those who incite homophobic violence: no entry, no concert. LGBT people are entitled to the same protection from murderous incitements as black people - no more, no less.

6) BK's incitements of violence are not confined to overseas. His songs advocating the killing of gay people are played on some radio stations and sold be some records stores in the UK. BK is therefore inciting violence and murder within the UK.

We do not accept the Met Police excuse that Bounty Killer will not be permitted to perform songs that incite homophobic violence at his concert on Sunday. This does not make his performance acceptable.

A white racist singer who advocated killing black people would not be allowed to perform in London, even if he agreed to not incite the killing of black people at his concert. The Met Police would argue that any stage performance by a white racist singer would risk public disorder and damage community cohesion. They would ban him, full stop. They have adopted this zero tolerance policy towards white racist bands.

Yet when it comes to straight homophobic singers who urge the murder of gay people, the police take a softer stance. They have agreed to let the Bounty Killer concert go ahead on Sunday, despite the police's professed commitment to oppose homophobic hate crimes.

As Home Secretary, we believe you should stop Bounty Killer from entering the UK. He has committed the criminal offence of incitement to murder. If a white singer advocated the killing of black people he would not be allowed into the country. You would rightly insist on his exclusion; and deny him a visa and work permit. Why should there be double standards?

It is unacceptable to say that racism is worse than homophobia and that different standards should apply.

Allowing Bounty Killer to enter the UK is particularly difficult to justify, given the exclusion from Britain of the American Black Muslim leader, Louis Farrakhan, of the Nation of Islam. I don't agree with Mr Farrakhan's politics or religion, but he has not urged his followers to kill anyone. So, if he is banned from the UK, singers like Bounty Killer who incite the murder of LGBT people should definitely also be banned.

I hope this information will prompt swift action by you to block Bounty Killer's entry into the UK and his performance this Sunday.

Many thanks and best wishes,

Peter Tatchell
OutRage!
45 Arrol House
Rockingham Street
London SE1 6QL
peter@petertatchell.net

0207 403 1790

hellooooo....Jamaica today is really sad

Clovis, cartoonist from the Jamaica Observer seems to be the only one who can sum it all up but seems to have forgotten the homophobia and abuse of LGBT Jamaicans on these pieces (above).

“Worse than prison”: Life under the Witness Protection Programme

following up on the post:Glad to be alive and recovering well, we mentioned about the witness protection programme and the fact that many people are simply scared to become witnesses in court cases. Here is a piece from RJR NEWS regarding same.

Concerns have surfaced recently over the administration of the Ministry of National Security's Witness Protection Programme.

The concerns relate to the level of protection as well as financial and emotional support being given to the participants.

One person, who has been in the programme for some time, took the risk of calling our news centre to share his story, claiming that he is at the breaking point.

The individual's voice has been distorted to protect his identity.

Worse than prison.

That is how the witness protection programme has been described by the participant, who we will call Ted.

Ted told our news centre that he is now seriously regretting a decision to give information to the police and signing onto the Witness Protection Programme.

He said though he expected some dislocation due to the nature of the programme, the level of support he was promised on signing has not materialized.

"When they take you and ask you some questions, they build up your hopes about what they can do for you and what they will do for you. But as soon as you sign the paper and say you are ready to go on the Witness Protection Programme, they do nothing at all like that for you," said Ted.

"I am not working and have four children and they have to get support and they are calling me, everyday they want money to go to school," he continued.

Ted said many times, he has risked his life by going onto the streets without protection to seek medical attention or in a bid to sate his hunger, when what he described as the paltry stipend provided by the administrators of the programme runs out.

"Many days I leave here and go out on the road and walk up and down. Many times I see guys that I know and I have to leave because they [the police] don't care about you,"

"They don't want to go to the doctor, they don't want to go to the supermarket you have to go out there yourself. Sometimes I feel sick and they don't answer the phone, they just throw you in the house. They don't even call you to find out how you're doing," "Sometimes the money they give me is finished in two weeks time and I have to leave to go to my family's house to eat. I have to take the bus or taxi to go there to get something to eat. They don't give me nothing at all, not even a little radio to listen to. They just don't care about you," said Ted.

Under the programme, witnesses are entitled to safe accommodation, including relocation to other parts of Jamaica or other counties if necessary, medical care, financial assistance, education for children and counselling.

However, another participant we will call her Dee, who has been on the programme for several years, questioned the programme's stated benefits particularly in relation to medical care.

She has a medical condition which sees her spending up to $5,000 per month for medication.

"I'm basically damaged and the doctor said that I will be having limitations for life. I walk with a limp because most of my tendons are damaged and I am given $20,000 a month and out of the $20,000, $5,000 is for medicine and $15,000 for food. All they give me for medicine cannot cover my medical expenses and I cannot get a job because I have no ID," Dee said.

She also told our news centre that the new identity she was promised when she signed on to the programme has still not materialised.

As a result she says she has been unable to land a job to support herself and has to exist as a non-person, totally dependent on the stipend provided by the programme's administrators.

Dee also appealed for the administrators to put systems in place so seasoned members of the programme can provide support to other persons.

"I told them that I read up on the programme on the Internet and I did research. I said to them [the police] let some of us give you ideas of how to do it and I even said to them I know my life is not going to be the same again, take some of us from the programme and put back to work. Some of us need counseling," Dee said.

"I told the government to pay me to do something else, to help some other people I don't want to take handouts from them. I am not used to hand outs, just give me something that can help benefit the country and the government," she continued.

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of National Security, Gilbert Scott, refused to discuss details of how the programme is administered or the arrangements but insisted that it is performing up to par.

"The programme has a ratio of one to four between primary witnesses and dependents and all their needs are taken care of. The programme as far as we are concerned operates successfully and any particular concern is brought to our attention we make sure that it is dealt with the appropriate vigour," said Mr. Scott.

Mr. Scott indicated that an investigation would be launched to resolve the issues raised by the participants who spoke with our news team.

Last June, the Ministry boasted of its track record in protecting state witnesses since it assumed responsibility for the Justice Protection Unit (JPU).

The unit was previously managed by the Jamaica Constabulary Force.

At the time, the Security Ministry claimed no witness had been killed or harmed in the ten years since it took over the programme.

It said since the programme's implementation, nearly 1,500 persons have benefited from the services of the JPU, including both primary witnesses and their dependents.

The Ministry claimed that 182 of the persons who accessed the Programme were successfully released.

The Witness Protection Programme was implemented to deal with the danger witnesses face from criminals who threaten and intimidate them to discourage them from appearing in court.

Once a witness signs on to the programme, they are required to remain in it until after the case is tried and it is deemed safe for them to leave.

(and then we wonder why people turn to the dons and henchmen to "clear up" disputes and porblems)

Suspected lovers chopped, burnt?

According to The Star..............

Two men who were killed in Airy Hill, Oracabessa, St Mary last Saturday, might have been attacked because they were believed to be gay, THE STAR understands.

The two men, Civian Thomas and the other man known only as 'Malichi', were attacked by men at their home. One was burnt to death.

No motive

Police said they had no motive for the men's death, but confirmed hearing rumours that at least one of the men was involved in homosexual dealings.

"Thomas who is considered the 'main man' would carry various men into the community to live with him from time to time. Based on this reason, they were rumoured to be gay," a police source told THE STAR.

Police also said the men could have been victims of a robbery, and could have been trailed from a party they attended.

Pursued and chopped

Reports are that about 11:30 p.m., the two had just returned home when a group of men entered the premises and attacked them with machetes. They then set fire to the house, trapping Malichi, who it is believed was severely injured. Civian ran to a neighbour's house, but the men pursued and chopped him several times, killing him on the spot.

Malichi's burnt body was taken from the burnt building after the fire was put out by one unit from the Port Maria Fire Department. The men also set fire to Thomas' Toyota Sprinter motor car which was parked in the yard.

London's Met Police defend decision not to ban homophobic performer

London's police service has been criticised by gay rights activists for allowing a concert by a notoriously homophobic singer to go ahead in the city this weekend.

It is the second time the Met have been accused of double standards for allowing a concert by Bounty Killer.

At his Easter Sunday concert in Stratford he did not perform any of his songs that call for gay people to be killed.

The Jamaican reggae and dancehall DJ, born Rodney Price, had two concerts cancelled in Bradford and Birmingham in March following protests by the gay human rights group OutRage!

The Met have previously stated that artists would not be allowed to perform unless they sign the Reggae Compassionate Act (RCA), which prohibits the performance of any music that encourages or glorifies any form of violence.

Price, who was brought up in Kingston, Jamaica, became a household name in Jamaica in the early 90s, and later became known in the USA and Europe after collaborating with the Fugees, Wyclef Jean and No Doubt.

In 2003, he cancelled two of his concerts in the UK, fearing he would be arrested for the homophobic content of his songs.

Price's lyrics include the lines "You know we need no promo to rub out dem homo" and "Mi ready fi go wipe out this fag", which encourage the murder of homosexuals.

The Met police told PinkNews.co.uk:

"We are aware of a planned concert by the artist Bounty Killer at Stratford Rex on Sunday November 23rd.

"Conferences have been held between the police, the venue's management and the artist's manager in order to consider the most productive way to handle the matter.

"A previous concert at the venue with the artist passed of without incident. The club have given us full access and we will deal robustly with any offences that arise."

It is understood that Bounty Killer has given an undertaking not to perform any of his homophobic songs.

"The Metropolitan Police is hypocritical on hate crimes," said Peter Tatchell, co-ordinator of the Stop Murder Music campaign.

"It allows homophobic singers to perform in London, but not racist ones.

"Racist artists are banned on the grounds that they are a threat to public order and good community relations. This is a case of double standards.

"The Met Police have previously said that murder music singers will not be allowed to perform unless they sign the RCA.

"Officers have broken their promise. They are taking the side of a singer who has promoted and celebrated the murder of gay people, and who is defying the RCA.

"The police do, however, stress that Bounty Killer will not be permitted to perform songs that incite homophobic violence. Big deal.

"A white racist singer who advocated killing black people would not be allowed to perform in London, even if he agreed to not incite the killing of black people at his concert. They have adopted this zero tolerance policy towards white racist bands like Skrewdriver.

"Yet when it comes to straight homophobic singers who urge the murder of gay people, the police take a softer stance. They have agreed to let the concert go ahead, despite their professed commitment to oppose homophobic hate crimes. It's bare-faced hypocrisy."

Mr Tatchell, who is a parliamentary candidate for the Green party, also accused gay people of apathy.

"Much of our queer community is riddled with internalised homophobia, including gay rights organisations - many of which apparently agree with the police that inciting racist violence is worse than inciting homophobic violence," he said.

A spokesman for the concert's organisers Cavalli and Paradise Promotions told the Daily Mail:

"He performed two months ago at the Stratford Rex and we were assured by his agency that he had signed the RCA.

"We wouldn't have booked him otherwise because we know the consequences of this. We've worked with the police, who will be securing the event for us, and they seem satisfied."

In July 2007 artists Beenie Man, Sizzla and Capleton, who had previously released anti-gay hate songs, including incitements to murder lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, signed up to the Reggae Compassion Act, in a deal brokered with top reggae promoters and Stop Murder Music activists.

The Act reads:

"It must be clear there's no space in the music community for hatred and prejudice, including no place for racism, violence, sexism or homophobia.

"We do not encourage nor minister to HATE but rather uphold a philosophy of LOVE, RESPECT and UNDERSTANDING towards all human beings as the cornerstone of reggae.

"We agree to not make statements or perform songs that incite hatred or violence against anyone from any community."

CONGRATULATIONS - Nepal's highest court confirms full rights for LGBT people

A Nepali MP has said his "eyes were filled with tears" when he read the full written decision of the country's Supreme Court on a writ petition from four organisations representing lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and intersex people.

A summary decision was issued in December 2007, when the court issued directive orders to the Nepal government to ensure the right to life according to their own identities and introduce laws providing equal rights to LGBTIs and amend all the discriminatory laws.
The final judgement was issued today.
It reiterates that all LGBTIs are defined as a "natural person" and their physical growth as well as sexual orientation, gender identity, expression are all part of natural growing process. Thus equal rights, identity and expression must be ensured regardless of their sex at birth.
The writ petition was filed by Blue Diamond Society and other 3 LGBTI organisations in Nepal demanding the protection and defence of the equal rights of sexual and gender minorities.
"Reading this decision my eyes were filled with tears and I felt we are the most proud LGBTI citizens of Nepal in the world," said Sunit Pant, Nepal's only gay MP.

"A legal note of point has been raised for the new constitution of Nepal while ensuring the equal rights to individuals, like the bill of tights from South Africa, and non-discrimination provisions on the grounds of sexual orientations and gender identities must be introduced."
The Court has also issued a directive order to form a seven-member committee, with a doctor appointed by Health Ministry, one representative from National Human rights commission, the Law Ministry, one socialist appointed by government of Nepal, a representative from the Nepal police, a representative from Ministry of Population and Environment and one advocate as a representative from the LGBTI community, to conduct a study into the other countries' practice on same-sex marriage.
Based on its recommendation the government will introduce a same-sex marriage bill.
Mr Pant, founder of Blue Diamond Society, was named in May as one of five representatives of the Communist Party of Nepal-United in the 601 member new constituent assembly.
The Maoists are the largest party with 220 seats.
Maoist insurgents, who fought a ten-year guerrilla war against monarchist forces at a cost of over 12,000 lives, finally signed a peace agreement with the new democratic government in November 2006.

LGBT people joined the Maoist rebels and others to protest in a democracy movement against the king, demanding a freely elected, secular government.
King Gyanendra eventually relinquished sovereign power to the civilian government and elections were finally held for a new assembly on 10th April.
Gays and lesbians in the Himalayan kingdom previously suffered persistent persecution from security forces during the absolutist rule of King Gyanendra. The harassment of lesbian, gay and trans people continued at the hands of Maoist rebels.

The assembly will draft a new constitution, decide the fate of the monarchy and govern Nepal for the next two years.
Mr Pant is a hero to many gay activists across the world. On a visit to India last week he said:
“We have moved from being a marginalised and persecuted lot who were thrown out of homes, schools and jobs to people who have human rights and are now protected by the police, the same people who once harassed us.
"In Nepal, the LGBTI communities were part of the campaign for garnering votes for the Communist Party of Nepal.

"They approached me to campaign and I managed to secure 15,500 votes. It makes a statement that LGBTI people are interested in matters of politics and governance and not just sex.
"The campaign not only gave LGBTI issues visibility but a platform to negotiate for rights.
"It is one thing to clean up the city and stop transgenders from begging but one must provide them with alternative means of living.

"India is a very big country and a single strategy may not work. However, I’m sure it won’t be long before a political party will tap the LGBTI vote bank¯there are millions of untapped votes.”
In May 2007 the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission gave its Celebration of Courage award to Mr Pant.

Met Police hypocrisy on homophobia - SMM London

Collusion with murder music

Bounty Killer refuses to sign RCA agreement

But police allow London concert to go ahead

Vybz Kartel's signature of the RCA symbolic document

"The Metropolitan Police are hypocrites. They allow homophobic singers to perform in London, but not racist ones. Racist artists are banned on the grounds that they are a threat to public order and good community relations. It's double standards," said Peter Tatchell of the gay human rights group OutRage!, coordinator of the worldwide Stop

Murder Music campaign.

"Homophobic artists are allowed to perform, even when they are on record as inciting the murder of lesbian and gay people. Although inciting murder is a serious criminal offence, the police give their approval for these singers to hold concerts in London," added Mr Tatchell.

"The Met Police are supporting the right of Jamaican 'murder music' singer, Bounty Killer, to perform in London this coming weekend –despite his encouragement and glorification of the killing of lesbian and gay people.

See samples of his murderous lyrics below.

"Officers have approved his concert at the Stratford Rex venue in East

London on Sunday 23 November – even though Bounty Killer has refused to sign the Reggae Compassionate Act, whereby singers promise to not incite homophobic hatred and violence.

"The Met Police have previously said that no murder music singer will be allowed to perform unless they sign the RCA.

"Officers have broken their promise. They are taking the side of a singer who has promoted and celebrated the murder of gay people, and who is defying the RCA.

"In their defence, the police stress that Bounty Killer will not be permitted to perform songs that incite homophobic violence. 

Big deal.

"A white racist singer who advocated killing black people would not be allowed to perform anywhere in London, even if he agreed to not incite the killing of black people at his concert. The police would argue that any stage performance by a white racist singer would risk public disorder and damage community cohesion. They would ban him, full stop.

"Yet when it comes to straight homophobic singers who urge the murder of gay people, the police adopt a softer stance. They let the concert go ahead. It's bare-faced hypocrisy.

"Equivalent racist performers would have their concerts cancelled by the Metropolitan Police. In contrast, the police are dismissing the concerns of the LGBT community. It is a complete disgrace.

Examples of Bounty Killer's homophobic murder music are listed below and here:

http://www.petertatchell.net/popmusic/Dancehall-Dossier-FINAL.pdf

"In March this year, police in Bradford and Birmingham stopped Bounty

Killer's concerts from going ahead, saying that they would have undermined good community relations. That same month the Met Police authorised his London concert to proceed. If other police forces can take a stand against homophobia, why can't the Metropolitan Police?

"Why don't the government and police stop Bounty Killer from entering the UK? He has committed the criminal offence of incitement to murder.

If a white singer advocated the killing of black people he would not be allowed into the country. The Police Commissioner would demand his exclusion. The Home Secretary would deny him a visa. Why the double standards?

"The police apparently take the view that racism is worse than homophobia and that different standards should apply. This is completely outrageous.

"Why does the gay community let the Met Police walk all over us? The black community would riot if the Met was colluding with racist performers. But most gay people seem to hold up the white flag of surrender. They think we don't deserve the same protection as black people.

"Our community is riddled with internalised homophobia, including many gay rights organisations who apparently agree with the police that inciting racist violence is worse than inciting homophobic violence.

"There must be zero tolerance of singers like Bounty Killer who advocate the murder of other human beings.

"I am fed up with the phoney diversity and equality claims from the Met Police. When the chips are down, their commitment to oppose homophobia means little or nothing.

"Police claims that they are cracking down on homophobic hate crimes now look like a public relations stunt at the expense of the lesbian and gay community.

"The campaign to cancel Bounty Killer's concert is supported by the Jamaican gay rights movement, J-Flag, and the Caribbean-wide C-Flag coalition of black gay and straight human rights organisations. They are demanding an end to murder music in the Caribbean and worldwide.

"We have no problem with reggae or dancehall music – only with singers who abuse the genre to incite violence against lesbian and gay people.

"There are many great reggae and dancehall stars who do not stoop to murder music. We salute them.

"There is no need for singers to spout violent anti-gay hatred. They choose to do so. It is wilful and malicious homophobia and therefore they must expect to suffer a backlash.

"Our campaign is in solidarity with black lesbian and gay people in Jamaica and the Caribbean who suffer nightmarish levels of homophobic violence. We are acting at their request and in support of their right to live their lives free of the threat of violence," said Mr Tatchell.

Further information:

Peter Tatchell – OutRage! – 0207 403 1790

Bounty Killer songs that incite homophobic violence

Another Level

Bun a fire pon a puff and mister fagoty (Uh huh)

Translation: Burn a fire on poofs and faggots (Uh huh)

Poop man fi drown an dat a yawd man philosophy (Uh huh)

Translation: Shit men [queer men] must be drowned and that's a yardy man [Jamaican] philosophy

Man A Badman

You know we need no promo to rub out dem homo

Translation: You know we don't need prompting to rub out [kill] a homo

Look Good

Mi ready fi go wipe out this fag wid pure laser beam

Translation: I'm ready to go wipe out this faggot with a pure laser beam (emphasizing the intensity or urgency of the killing of gays)

Examples of "kill gays" murder music by Bounty Killer and seven other Jamaican reggae/dancehall singers can be found here:

http://www.petertatchell.net/popmusic/Dancehall-Dossier-FINAL.pdf

(thanks to Peter Tatchell)

Ephebophilia vs Paedophilia & Male Homosexuality (Repost)

In light of the increase in cases of child molestation and alleged buggery of young boys here in Jamaica it begs the question of what is it are we faced with really? Is it predatory actions by adult gay males to boys or is it ephebophilia? which is separate from paedophilia and male homosexuality.

Ephebophilia or hebephilia refers to the sexual preference for adolescents around 15-19 years of age. Experts use specific terms for age preferences: ephebophilia to refer to the sexual preference for late adolescents, hebephilia to refer the sexual preference for pubescent persons, and pedophilia to refer to the sexual preference for prepubescent persons. The term pedophilia, however, has also been used colloquially to refer broadly to sexual interest in minors, regardless of their level of physical development.

Ephebophilia is not listed as a paraphilia in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, Text Revision (DSM-IV-TR), unlike pedophilia, which is categorized as a disorder in the manual.

Pedophilia or paedophilia has a range of definitions as found in psychology, law enforcement, and the popular vernacular. As a medical diagnosis, it is defined as a psychological disorder in which an adult experiences a sexual preference for prepubescent children.According to the DSM, pedophilia is specified as a form of paraphilia in which a person either has acted on intense sexual urges towards children, or experiences recurrent sexual urges towards and fantasies about children that cause distress or interpersonal difficulty. The disorder is frequently a feature of persons who commit child sexual abuse.

Nicholas Groth is a pioneer in the scientific study of sexual offenders against women and children, who has treated over 3000 child molesters over the course of two decades. A former director of the Sex Offender Program at the Connecticut Department of Corrections, Groth is the author of Men Who Rape: Psychology of the Offender, a work widely regarded as a classic textbook on the psychology of sexual violence.

He concurred in a recent debate on homosexuality vs paedophilia that Homosexuality and homosexual pedophilia are not synonymous. In fact, it may be that these two orientations are mutually exclusive, the reason being that the homosexual male is sexually attracted to masculine qualities whereas the heterosexual male is sexually attracted to feminine characteristics, and the sexually immature child’s qualities are more feminine than masculine. . . . The child offender who is attracted to and engaged in adult sexual relationships is heterosexual. It appears, therefore, that the adult heterosexual male constitutes a greater sexual risk to underage children than does the adult homosexual male.

The general belief in the stereotype that "Homosexuals are dangerous as teachers or youth leaders because they try to get sexually involved with children" or that "Homosexuals try to play sexually with children if they cannot get an adult partner." is very real in our scenario.

Let's hear your views.

Please follow up on this on Homosexuality versus Pedophilia article.

More reading
PAEDOPHILIA AND HOMOSEXUALITY,
Child Molestation by homosexuals and heterosexuals HOMILETIC & PASTORAL REVIEW
The Debate Link's Blog

(some excerpts taken from Andrew Sullivan's post on The Debate Link)

When is rape a “sexual depravity” and not just “an unfortunate and tragic event”? by LONGBENCH

Visit LONGBENCH'S BLOG for more

Well, I didn’t like the answers I found in yesterday and today’s Gleaner, so I wrote the following letter:


To the Editor:

It is deeply problematic that the violence against Christopher Sukra in Westmoreland would provoke a need for Gleaner editors to call for “draw[ing] the line against sexual depravity”, despite the numbers of women’s and girls’ who have been similarly brutalized and used as fodder for newspaper and tv reportage over the past several months.

Similarly, the sexism and deep-seated and destructive hatred of homosexuality that pervades this society, and which drove many in 2006 to argue against changing the definition of rape in order to prevent the recognition of homosexual sex between men, are the same social prejudices that Orville Taylor invokes in his column, telling us to see the crime against this and other boy children as different from and more serious than rape because it was “capped by the awful act of sodomy.” Even after that 2006 debate, we have people pandering to the notion that some kinds of sexual violence are more important than others, based on which sexual acts were deemed acceptable. Apparently, rape is about sex after all.

I am left wonder how many dead and dismembered girls and women will it take for that symbolic line in the sand to be crossed, where what is done to them is not registered as normal and acceptable, but rather a form of violence as well? Both Taylor’s column and the editorial tell us, albeit not in so many words. When the crime is committed against girls and women, the problem is too “complex” to sort out. On the other hand, the rape and murder of a boy is as an issue of “sexual propriety”, the violence being that a man was the perpetrator and a boy the victim. Furthermore, the problem is not related to diffuse social types called “monsters” but have nameable perpetrators and actionable behaviours. We can now focus on “big men, middle-aged and elderly” who commit sexual violence against children. Isn’t it amazing what it takes to get beyond the emotionality, moral outrage and speechifying about “our children”, and directly to issues of public policy?

Contrary to the editors’ backhanded defense of their claim, it is absolutely true that there is carte blanche permission for men to violate women and girls in Jamaican society. The evidence is in how girls and women move in this society. We know this violence and experience this everyday, to the extent that many of us don’t interpret what is done to us as violence; it is jus’ an everyday ting, as ordinary as buying a Mother’s patty.

And yet, for many of us, it is not entirely surprising that denial of the real motivations and consequences of violence against women and girls would rears its head in how opinion-makers choose to interpret similar victimization of boys as somehow worse and therefore cause for action. These stances confirm what Jamaican women and girls know intuitively: that we are not [ever?] going to get justice through the courts; and that the men who violate the little-known rules know that they will almost always get away with rape and murder; and that our silence will not protect us from being victimized all over again. Just look at the history of rape trials in this society, and even in the past few months, for amazingly powerful evidence that shows how the sexism regularly enables and endorse rape and violence against women and girls.

The deep-seated sexism and hatred of homosexuality are closely related, and we should not take comfort in one or the other; both do us a disservice, from how we make sense of these cases, to how we act to protect our children. Perhaps if our political leaders had demonstrated the moral leadership and courage necessary to draw the lines against those social prejudices, Keturah Bennett, Nordia Campbell and many would still have their children.