Date: Mon, 26 Apr 1999 13:29:26 -0400 From: JAM'NG <Rainbowpuppies at PRODIGY.NET>
Gays demonized by Serb war machine.
Belgrade - Yugoslav television is demonizing Western leaders by accusing them of being gay, according a leading gay rights advocate in Belgrade. Dusan Maljkovic, a 23-year-old openly-gay student, journalist, and gay rights advocate living in the Yugoslav capital, said the Serbian media is now targeting gay people at unprecedented levels. "The Serbian media 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 said.
According to Maljkovic, 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 of the Western republic of former Yugoslavia. For example, stories on the alleged homosexuality of Slovenian prime minister Janez Drnovsek were published very often," he said.
Maljkovic, who is on the executive committee of the Campaign Against Homophobia, worries that gays and lesbians are now in more danger than ever as a result of the war.
"Since the most radical national homogenisation 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 said. He fears that things will only get worse. "We expect a greater discrimination after the war, and the banning of all gay activism."
While legislation outlawing homosexual acts was repealed in 1994, much of Serbia remains highly homophobic. According to Maljkovic, there are few openly gay Serbians because "gay people are here discriminated on all levels of society."
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."