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Compiled By GayToday
Jamaica--In light of a number of concerns raised recently by gay and lesbian
tourist interests, the Jamaica Forum of Lesbians, All-sexuals and Gays,
J-FLAG, has called on government and tourism interests to make
Jamaica more appealing to the U.S. $17 billion international gay and
lesbian tourist market.
J-FLAG activists say they are concerned that Jamaica's international image--unfriendly to gays and lesbians-- will damage their country's already fragile tourist industry.
Additionally, the organization notes that Jamaica's internationally known homophobia will alienate it from more progressive nations that have no sanctions against sexual practices between consenting adults. Jamaica, it appears, is set to come under increasing pressure from international gay and lesbian organizations, such as the International Gay and Lesbian Travel Association, whose Executive Director Agustin Merlo on December 30, 1998 stated that his organization: "strongly condemns Jamaican authorities for failing to ensure the safety, welfare and comfort of gays and lesbians living on and visiting the island nation. The island nation appears to be a leader in the region's emerging homophobia that has already shown its ugly face in the Cayman Islands and Costa Rica. That is a tragedy." Merlo continued: "If Jamaica is unwilling or unprepared to welcome gay and lesbian tourists to [its] shores, then IGLTA is prepared to warn all of our member companies and associations that our tourist dollars are no longer welcome in that country." The activists are pointing out that if Jamaica continues to be seen as a destination that discriminates against gay and lesbian tourists, it will lose the multi-billion dollar international gay and lesbian tourist market, which South Africa, with its nondiscriminatory policies, has already aggressively begun to court. Considering the importance of tourism to Jamaica's economy, J-FLAG says it is calling on the government and tourism interests to put in place measures aimed at welcoming all tourists regardless of their sexual orientation. Buggery and Gross Indecency Laws Condemned
An official statement by J-FLAG states that "any move toward welcoming
gay and lesbian tourists to the island should be accompanied by the repealing of the island's
buggery law and a change in the interpretation of the gross indecency
law."
According to J-FLAG, the gross indecency law punishes homosexual acts which are not covered under the buggery law. The organization views these laws as state interference in the private lives of individuals, and believes that they serve only to promote the persecution of gays. J-FLAG says that it remains open to the government and other tourism interests for discussions on these matters, as it considers them critical to Jamaica's social and economic advancement. J-FLAG Telephone: 876-978-1954 Fax: 876-978-7876 Email: JFLAG@hotmail.com |
