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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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