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Cape Town Gay Bar Injures 9 |
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Compiled by GayToday
Cape Town, South Africa—Nine people were injured here Friday when a
homemade pipe bomb exploded inside Blah Blah Bar, a popular gay nightspot.
The bomb went off at 12:20 am, when the area was particularly crowded. Police have interviewed witnesses of the carnage in an attempt to determine whether some customers can recall what they may now regard as suspicious behavior prior to the blast. Glass and shrapnel, exploded behind an interior wall separating customers from the front door. Among the injured were the bar's co-owner, Craig Gibson, bar manager Marnitz Vermeulen, and waiter Ian Martin.
"We offer our sympathies and support. From our experience of the April bombing in Soho, London we know how shattering such an attack can be. We hope that the gay community in South Africa will not be devastated by this incident and will continue the excellent work they have done towards building a country where all individuals are treated with equal respect." Keith Goddard, Programmes Manager for Zimbabwe's GALZ said: "GALZ adds it voice to those expressing alarm and concern at what seems to be the commitment of a hate crime against the gay community of Cape Town. "If the explosion at the Blah Blah Bar is indeed an anti-gay attack, those who committed this heinous crime need to be reminded that the lesbian and gay community in South Africa fought hard to bring down apartheid and that since then, those same people have struggled tirelessly to transform South Africa into a truly democratic nation with equality for all. "All of us from GALZ send our sympathy and condolences to those injured in the explosion and their families and we wish them all a speedy recovery." |
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