Fri, 16 May 2008
More activities from "refuse it" group of initiatives
Last December (2007) I wrote about
"The Initiative for Conscientious Objection in Cyprus" and its
activities. The group has been very active since then and has received
a lot of "negative" (wonderful thing!) and "positive" (another
wonderful thing!) media attention in Cyprus and abroad. They have been
present in all major demonstrations in Cyprus. They have just
celebrated May 15th, the International Conscientious Objectors' Day
with a daring demonstration and press conference in front of the main
military recruitment center in northern Nicosia. I am proud to be part of this group.
What I said earlier was:
"The initiative is being organized under a larger umbrella titled
"refuse it" (reddet, http://www.reddet.org )which includes rejection
of militarism, homophobia, discrimination, racism, occupations, wars
and nationalism amongst its goals."
Back then, only the part about conscientious objection was
active. Now, there is an extensive and creative section about
homophobia too, which now has its own web-site at:
http://www.homofobiyekarsiinisiyatif.org/ . They have
participated in various demonstrations and are planning a bunch of events
for May 17th, Global Anti-Homophobia day. They have also submitted a
request to the puppet parliament to change the archaic laws that make
homosexual relationships a crime. This is a very significant step in a
society that is not as intolerant as other societies in the region as
long as people keep their sexual orientation secret. I have hopes that
these taboos may be shattered too and the individuals who have stepped
out to be part of this initiative deserve our support, solidarity and
participation in their activities.
We need more of these. Bring it on!
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