Gay protestors call for action on Iran
Ben Townley, Gay.com
UK
Wednesday 5 October, 2005 12:52
Protestors called on the British government to take action against Iran’s
treatment of lesbian and gay people yesterday, at a demonstration in London.
The protest, which took place outside the Iranian Embassy, also called for
the Iranian government to update its stance on sexuality after the public
execution of two teenagers who were accused of being lovers.
Organised by AXM magazine and gay rights campaigners Outrage, the protest
ended with the formal handing over of a petition featuring as many as 1,500
names to Labour MP Chris Bryant.
Bryant said he would pass the document on to the Foreign Secretary, Jack
Straw.
Although the protest featured less than 100 people, it had attracted
celebrity support from a range of gay musicians, actors and personalities.
Matt Lucas, Simon Callow, Boy George and Andy Bell had all sent their
messages of support to the event, while comedian Scott Capurro, actor Jeremy
Sheffield, gay rapper QBoy and former Big Brother contestant Josh Rafter
attended.
All spoke of how the ‘horror’ of the execution had motivated them to attend.
“It’s shocking that this abomination happened in today’s modern world,”
Rafter told GAY.COM, “especially when we have come so far in the UK”.
“The killing of these two boys was barbaric and unbelievable. It shows how
far these fundamentalists across the globe are from today’s society.”
Capurro said he came to the protest after reading about the issue online.
“I just think it’s horrible,” he said. “I’m sick of this shit.”
“These boys were tortured and given lashes and then hung, just for having
sex.”
“I know there are cultural differences. But I really want Tony Blair to come
forward and say something about this. A western leader making those kind of
statements would make a big difference.”
Sheffield said he believed more media attention should be given to the
issue.
“The reason I’m here is because of the shock of it,” he told GAY.COM.
“I’m a gay man who is generally aware of such things, but I haven’t been
completely aware of this whole issue. And if I’m not aware of it, the
general public is definitely not aware of it, hence why I’m here.”
Bryant, an out MP, said it was important that tolerant and forward thinking
countries were reminded of the situation elsewhere.
“It’s all too easy for us, in the wake of great advances for gay people, to
forget what can happen elsewhere,” he said.
“It’s important that Iran listens to this kind of protest and makes
changes.”
The protest was also attended by Iranian campaigners, including those
fighting for more women’s rights and trade union rights and those from
political parties currently suppressed in the country.
Outrage’s Peter Tatchell said the protests must continue.
“We will continue to protest until Iran is free,” he added.
“It is important to understand that this wave of oppression, is part of a
pattern of oppression in all people in Iran. They are all suffering;
suffering detention without trial, torture, judicial disappearance and of
course, execution.”
AXM’s Matthew Miles said he also hoped protests would continue to be held
across the western world.
“It was tremendous to see the effort so many had made to attend this
important protest.”
“The images from today, which OutRage! will ensure reach gay groups in Iran,
will give great hope to many people and will hopefully make the Iranian
Government think twice about sentencing more homosexuals to death.”
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