Wired Strategies April 6, 1999 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: John Aravosis President, Wired Strategies 202/328-5707 tel. [EMAIL PROTECTED] SERBS CALL WESTERN LEADERS GAY Yugoslav gay advocate reacts in exclusive online interview (Washington, DC) - Yugoslav television is demonizing western leaders by accusing them of being gay, according to an exclusive Wired Strategies interview with a leading gay rights advocate in Belgrade. Late last week, Wired Strategies' John Aravosis struck up an online friendship with Dusan Maljkovic, a 23-year-old openly-gay student, journalist, and gay rights advocate living in Yugoslavia's capital. Using email and an Internet chat program, Aravosis and Maljkovic have held a series of online discussions on the war and its effect on gay politics in Serbia. Maljkovic is on the executive committee of the Campaign Against Homophobia, an organization reportedly funded by the Soros Foundation, whose mission is to collect data on gay rights violations in Yugoslavia, and to lobby for positive social change. While legislation outlawing homosexual acts was repealed in 1994, much of Serbia still remains highly homophobic. According to Maljkovic, there are few openly gay Serbians because "gay people are here discriminated on all levels of society." He explains that discrimination starts "with the families, that usually do not support gay/lesbian identity." Employment discrimination is also a paramount concern: "People can be fired because it is found out that they are gay, usually with some other explanation." According to a report issued by the Campaign Against Homophobia, Serbian police stations "hold files on gays and lesbians, with their photographs and fingerprints," and often use "illegal methods such as phone tapping, interceptance of mail etc." to compile lists of suspected homosexuals. Maljkovic also notes that in contrast to much of the West, Serbia officially considers homosexuality an illness. "Serbian psychiatry still finds homosexuality a disease, and 'treatment' for that is sometimes electro-shocks," he says. The situation for people with HIV and AIDS is equally dire. According to the Campaign's report, "recently, a man died of AIDS outside the hospital, just because the ambulance team refused to treat him upon learning of the nature of his illness." In another highly-publicized case, a "seven-year-old boy was unable to attend classes in a Belgrade primary school because of protests by his fellow-pupils' parents who learned that the boy was HIV+." While things were already tough for Gay Yugoslavs, Maljkovic - who does not support the NATO raids - says things only got worse once the bombs started falling. First, the Campaign Against Homophobia had to close its doors last week due to a lack of funding. "Since our government stopped all diplomatic relations with USA, among other NATO countries, all main funders left, and thus we don't have financial support. We cannot work without it," Maljkovic says. Second, Maljkovic and a friend were hoping to soon launch Serbia's first gay-oriented radio show on B-92, the independent radio station that has long been at odds with the Milosevic government. Milosevic last week used the war to justify closing the station, something he has been unsuccessful in doing for ten years now. Third, the Serbian media is now reportedly demonizing gay people at unprecedented levels. "The Serbian media, especially Palma Television, accused the leaders of the West to be gay or lesbian, and presented it as a 'sexual perversion' and 'mental disorder,' so all our efforts to change the opinion of Serbian population towards accepting homosexuality as a normal aspect of sexuality are now destroyed," Maljkovic says. Reportedly, the Serbian government often uses the "gay card" to slur political opponents. "In the propaganda war among the republics of the former Yugoslavia, the Serbian side used homosexuality for making fun of 'the Western republics' of former Yugoslavia. For example, stories on the alleged homosexuality of Slovenian prime minister Janez Drnovsek were published very often," he notes. Maljkovic worries that gays and lesbians are now in more danger than ever as a result of the war. "Since the most radical national homogenization of Serbia is taking place: anyone that doesn't fit the standard model of the strong man defending his native land, determined to fight for it until the last drop of blood, is a possible victim of discrimination, ranging from verbal insults to physical violence and even murder," he says. He fears that things will only get worse. "We expect a greater discrimination after the war, and banning all gay activism as well as NGO [non-governmental organization] structures in general." In spite of the circumstances, Maljkovic maintains his wry sense of humor. Recently, as he was chatting online with Aravosis, a missile flew over his Belgrade apartment, exploding nearby. Maljkovic was asked how things were going. He replied "BOMBASTICALLY!" -- Wired Strategies (http://www.wiredstrategies.com) is an Internet political consulting firm based in Washington, DC, specializing in the use of the Internet for public policy and advocacy. -- Leftlink - Australia's Broad Left Mailing List mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.alexia.net.au/~www/mhutton/index.html Sponsored by Melbourne's New International Bookshop Subscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=subscribe%20leftlink Unsubscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20leftlink
