Lebanon: Gay 'activities' should be banned, say Beirut counsellor
Taken from : AKI website
Beirut, 30 May
(AKI) - A Beirut city counsellor has urged the
Lebanese government to ban what he described as "public manifestations" of
homosexual and transgender activities. "Homosexuality goes against the
moral, religious and human principles of Lebanese society and its public
manifestations should be banned," the counsellor, Saad ad-Din al-Wazzani
told Adnkronos International (AKI). "I call on the government and Interior
Minister Ahmad Fatfat to withdraw any permission to associations which
promote homosexual and transgender activities in Lebanon," he added.
Al-Wazzani said he was specifically referring to a public conference
entitled "Against Homophobia," organised by a gay rights group, Helem, and
held on 17 May at Beirut's luxury Monroe Hotel.
The conference, sponsored by the the Heinrich Boll Foundation, an
institution linked to Germany's Green Party, also launched "Homophobia,
visions and positions," an Arabic-language book.
"This was a provocation and I am amazed that no other political leader has
publically condemned it. What realy worries me is the wish of associations
[like Helem] to spread their activities and distribute their publications
even in schools," al-Wazzani said.
"We have to oppose this, and I ask that at the next cabinet meeting the
government approve a decree which will revoke permission for the
associations to operate," al-Wazzani told AKI.
Helem, an acronym for Protection for Lebanese Homosexuals, but which also
means "Dream" in Arabic has been operating in Lebanon since 2005 and is
financially supported by the Dutch Embassy in Beirut.
In recent months the association has published two editions of it magazine
Barra (Out) which focused on the different types of sexual orientation among
the Lebanese.
While no officials figures exist on the number of homosexuals and
transgender people in Lebanon, several clubs and bars in Beirut cater for
gay and lesbian clientele, as does a beach near the town of Byblos (Jbeil)
located some 30 kilometres north of the capital.
Still, as in many other Arab nations, homosexuality remains a taboo subject
and is rarely discussed in public.
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