Gay Today: World

Serbian Gay Group Continues Work

Ukrainian Gay Group Denied Registration

By Rex Wockner
International News Report

Serbian Gay Group Continues Work

Yugoslavia's Campaign Against Homophobia continues despite NATO air attacks on the military of President Milosevic

Yugoslavia's Campaign Against Homophobia (CAH) will continue its work despite the NATO bombing and Serbia's war on Kosovo, members said last week.

"If the Campaign was stopped for an unknown period of time, its continuance would be unsecured in a potentially better condition, so we think that we must continue with lesbigay activism in Serbia in order to create conditions for further maintain[ence] of such activities, essential for future human rights development," Deputy Executive Coordinator Dusan Maljkovic said in an English-language press release.

Maljkovic also said it is important "to create a balance to the current extreme national homogenization and growth of discrimination of everyone who thinks/acts not according to patriarchal stereotypes and macho consciousness. ... We do not believe that any radical or essential change toward [the] reception of [the] homosexual population is possible, but we think that every -- even a most minor -- attempt of activity on development of human rights is needed more then ever."

CAH is in the final stages of publishing an anthology to showcase "lesbigay creativity in the fields of science, fine arts and philosophy." They seek funding to create a "psychological self- help workshop," do media monitoring and launch a Web site.

To reach Maljkovic, e-mail camp@beotel.yu, phone 011-381-11-105- 277, or ICQ chat 16854837.

Related Stories from the GayToday Archive:
Serbian Gays Denounce NATO and Milosevic

Ukraine: Gays & Lesbians Don't Exist Legally

Related Sites:
Serbia Gay & Lesbian Organziation
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Ukrainian Gay Group Denied Registration

Ukraine's Our World Gay and Lesbian Center in Lugansk was denied registration by the Justice Ministry April 21.

The Lugansk Regional Department of Justice declared: "A purpose of the public organization's activity -- assistance for improvement of the social and psychological state of people of homosexual orientation and simultaneous reduction of the social tension towards this group of people in Ukrainian society -- does not meet the requirements of the law currently in force, viz Article 3 of the Law of Ukraine 'About citizens' associations'."

Article 3 reads: "A public organization is an association of citizens for satisfaction and protection of their lawful social, economic, creative, age-related, national, cultural, sport and other common interests."

Our World has filed an appeal of the denial with a local court.