There is no evidence that science-fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke is a pedophile, Sri Lankan Deputy Inspector General of Police M.S.M. Nizam said April 6.

In January, Britain's Sunday Mirror newspaper quoted Clarke as saying: "Once they have reached the age of puberty it is O.K. ... It doesn't do any harm. ... I think most of the damage comes from the fuss made by hysterical parents afterwards. If the kids don't mind, it is fair enough. ... I am trying to think of the youngest boy I have ever had because, of course, you can't tell it here [in Sri Lanka where I live]."

"We are satisfied that he has not violated any Sri Lankan laws or committed any crime," Nizam said, noting that police interviewed three of the sources quoted in the Mirror story. "Two of them told us that they were given money to say what they allegedly said," Nizam said.

But, investigators are still waiting for "Interpol to help us get a copy of the taped interview one of [the Mirror's] journalists is supposed to have had with Clarke," Nizam added.

Clarke, 80, who has lived in Sri Lanka since 1956, denied the newspaper's report and said he will file a defamation lawsuit.

"I have done no wrong and I know I am going to win the case," he said.

Clarke wrote "2001: A Space Odyssey" and 80 other books. Sri Lanka, located off the southern tip of India, is well-known for easy access to commercial sex with young men and boys.

MEXICO CITY LEGISLATORS TO STAGE GAY FORUM

Mexico City's Federal District Legislative Assembly, the city council, will stage a Legislative Forum on the Defense of the Rights of Homosexuals and Lesbians May 13-15.

"Arbitrary discrimination, exclusion and segregation against homosexuals and lesbians affects all facets of their lives, from the family, in which they suffer the first rejection, to social repudiation ... including police extortion, raids on gay gathering spots, beatings, firings, being kicked out of rented housing due to the stigmatization of which they are the object, on up to unpunished murders," said Deputy David Sanchez Camacho, speaking to fellow lawmakers on behalf of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) which holds the most seats in the legislature.

The speech and the plans for the forum were occasioned by a report in the news magazine Proceso about the increasing number of gay Mexicans seeking asylum in the U.S. to escape homophobic abuse at home.

"To leave your nation of origin because of physical or moral aggression disturbs the soul of the individual and harms the dignity of the nation," Sanchez Camacho said.

The PRI promised to launch a campaign against all human-rights violations based on sexual orientation, declaring that homosexuals "are among the most vulnerable groups" in society. The party will seek proposals from non-governmental organizations, citizens, professionals and investigators aimed at guaranteeing unrestricted respect for the individual rights of persons who have a sexual preference that excludes them from society, the lawmakers said.

Gay leader Jose Maria Covarrubias told reporters that activists plan to address matters related to education, sexual diversity, human rights, health, social security, social participation, legislation, and abuse in the justice system.

Contributing to this week's report: Max Mejia

Rex Wockner's weekly international news reports dating back to May 1994 can be searched at http://www.wockner.com. The reports in their original form are archived at http://www.qrd.org/qrd/www/world/wockner.html, which also archives Wockner's Quote Unquote column and some of his longer gay-press articles.