Supporters of LGBT rights will hold a peaceful demonstration in The Hague, Netherlands, protesting the murder and torture of Cameroonian activist Eric Lembembe. The event is being organized by Uganda Gay on Move and the Out & Proud Diamond Group, which sponsored a similar protest on July 23 at the Cameroon mission in London. The … Continue reading
Monthly Archives: July 2013
Demand to Cameroon to bring lynch mob to justice
The African human rights group REDHAC is calling for the government to speak out against the wave of homophobia currently gripping the nation and to bring to justice those who stoned an LGBT man to death on July 24. The following press release from REDHAC largely confirms the accounts of the death as reported in … Continue reading
Russian lawmaker threatens arrests of gay Olympians, tourists
Russia isn’t making it easy for LGBT-rights advocates to stomach the idea of participating in the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. Iin an article entitled “Russian lawmaker : We will arrest gay athletes, tourists at Olympic Games,” Gay Star News reports: A Russian lawmaker has said the ‘gay propaganda’ law will remain enforced during the … Continue reading
Boycotting anti-gay Russia: Vodka, maybe Olympics too
The Russian LGBT Network says opponents of Russia’s anti-gay crackdown should protest at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, rather than boycotting them. That stance contrasts with the position of RUSA LGBT, a Russian-American gay rights group, which is urging a boycott of the Games in Sochi. It said: Do not go to Sochi. … Continue reading
Cameroon activist released by police probing LGBT murder
Police in Cameroon have released activist Michel Engama, financial officer of the LGBT-rights and anti-AIDS organization Camfaids (Cameroonian Foundation for AIDS). He had been detained along with a colleague on the basis of testimony that they had been in a night spot with Eric Lembembe, the executive director of Camfaids, on the evening of July … Continue reading
76+ painted faces protest 76+ countries’ anti-gay laws
British poet-activist Vince Laws has again turned a spotlight on the 76-plus countries where homosexuality is illegal, painting the faces of 85 volunteers with those countries’ names before an audience of about 200. His performance-art protest, called “Banned,” was presented at the launch of the Pride Without Prejudice art exhibition on July 22 in Norwich, … Continue reading
Pope replaces Cameroon’s anti-gay archbishop
Vehemently anti-gay Archbishop Victor Tonye Bakot of Yaoundé, Cameroon, has resigned at a time when new Pope Francis is emphasizing the importance of accepting LGBT people in society. The Vatican named Bishop Jean Mbarga of Ebolowa as his replacement, at least provisionally. Public announcements and published discussions of Bakot’s resignation did not cite his anti-gay … Continue reading
Cameroon: LGBT activists in custody; harassment continues
Police in Cameroon have refused to release two LGBT activists whom they detained on Saturday, July 27, as potential witnesses in the so-far-unsuccessful investigation of the murder of activist journalist Eric Lembembe. Lembembe’s former colleagues reported that Michel Engama, finance officer of Lembembe’s activist organization, Camaids, was among those arrested. No charges were filed against … Continue reading
Pope’s message for anti-gay Catholics: Accept gays
In an interview today, Pope Francis spoke graciously about how the Roman Catholic Church should treat LGBT people. Will Catholics in the 76-plus countries that imprison people for homosexual behavior stop fueling anti-gay hatred and instead model themselves after the head of their church? Here’s what Pope Francis had to say: “If a person is … Continue reading
Cameroon: ‘Abusive detention’ of friends of Eric Lembembe
See the July 29 update of this news here: “Cameroon: LGBT activists in custody; harassment continues.” Below is a little bit of further information from July 27 about that day’s detention of LGBT activists in Cameroon, which was first reported in the article currently headlined “3 arrests in Cameroon as LGBT harassment continues“: Police in Cameroon have … Continue reading
