World Roundup

by Rex Wocker

Authorities smashed South Korea's "1st Seoul Queer Film & Video Festival" hours before it was set to open Sept. 19 at Yonsei University.

Officials from Seoul's Soedaemun District, where the university is located, delivered an order canceling the festival for alleged failure to register with the government. They threatened to seize the equipment and films and fine organizers $22,000 if they went ahead with the program.

At the same time Yonsei University withdrew its support, threatening to cut electricity to the building. The university reportedly came under pressure from alumni whose donations helped build the theater in which the films were to be screened.

The festival was set to run through Sept. 25 offering 85 movies from around the globe. Organizers promise to return in a matter of weeks with a second attempt to stage the event.

Messages of support can be e-mailed to festival organizers at queer21@interpia.net or posted to The 1st Seoul Queer Film & Video Festival, Nakwon-dong 195-1, Midong Building #301, Chongno- ku Seoul, South Korea.

A preliminary European Court of Justice ruling in a British lesbian's dispute with her employer likely will result in Europe-wide protections for gay and lesbian workers.

Lisa Grant sued South West Trains for refusing to give her lover the travel benefits accorded heterosexual employees' partners. She was represented by Cherie Booth, wife of British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

In a tentative ruling Sept. 30, the court's Advocate General declared that the train company discriminated against Grant based on her gender in violation of Article 119 of the European Community Treaty.

If, as expected, the advocate's decision is upheld by the full court later this year, it will become illegal throughout the 15-nation European Union for employers to treat employees differently because of the gender of their domestic partner.

The Costa Rican Supreme Court last week ordered the nation's government-run healthcare system to buy anti-HIV "cocktail" drugs for four people with AIDS who had filed suit over the matter.

It is expected that the ruling will extend to other HIV-positive Costa Ricans.

The first and decisive ruling came in the case of severely ill psychology student William Garcia, 29, who launched his suit Aug. 28. Garcia presented the court with prescriptions (for AZT, 3TC and Crixivan) that the socialized medicine system, Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social (CCSS), had refused to fill. He also provided proof that he had paid the required 23 percent of his salary into the healthcare system during the years he had been employed. CCSS continues to claim there is no proof the drugs work, that they have debilitating side effects, and that they are too expensive.

Costa Rica, pop. 3 million, is prosperous by Latin American standards. According to gay activists, about 300 people, mostly gay men, need the anti-HIV drugs right now.

Members of the Rio de Janeiro gay group Atoba Sept. 29 burned posters announcing Pope John Paul II's visit to Brazil.

The protest, in Candelaria Plaza, focused on Atoba's demand that the Catholic Church recognize gay marriage.

Speaking to 4,000 people Oct. 4, John Paul reiterated that the church will not recognize sexual "diversity."

Brazil's Medical Council gave the OK Sept. 24 for free sex-change operations in public and university hospitals.

"Transsexuality is not against the law," said council President Waldir Mesquita. "Today techniques are sufficiently developed to demonstrate that the surgery is not mutilation."

The operations will be available to certain people over age 21 after they complete two years of consultation with doctors, psychotherapists and social workers.

Gender reassignment "will not be performed simply because of a homosexual's aesthetic considerations," the council said.

Following Auckland City Council's decision to provide no funding for next year's Hero Parade, the city's biggest gay event, the Mayor of Wellington has invited the celebration to relocate.

"We'll gladly run the country's largest gay and lesbian celebration here in Wellington" said Mayor Mark Blumsky.

Activists charge that Auckland City Council is out-of-touch with the wishes of taxpayers.

The defunct Bulgarian gay group Gemini is reviving itself and looking abroad for help.

The organization was the first gay group officially registered in Bulgaria, in 1992, but it faded away after founder Valery Laftchiyski died of AIDS in 1994.

The activists who are relaunching the group need books, magazines and other material on coming out, gay youth, gays and psychology and other topics. Their address is Nikolai Zhorov Georgiev, P.O. Box 123, BG-1784 Sofia, Bulgaria. E-mail: geonick5@cserv.mgu.bg.

Philippine President Fidel Ramos signed a law Sept. 30 that allows spouses and men to sue for rape. "Through this law, we ensure that no woman -including wives-or man is subjected to sexual acts against her or his will," Ramos said.

The law reclassifies rape as a "public" crime which permits anyone to file suit on behalf of a victim. It also allows for the death penalty if the victim is a minor or in the custody of the police or military-or if the rapist knows he or she is HIV-positive.

The definition of rape is expanded to include oral and anal sex as well as insertion of objects into sexual organs.

The Netherlands' annual Homo Expo, staged this year in the southern border city of Eindhoven Oct. 3-5, attracted thousands of Belgian, Dutch and German gays with exhibits on "lifestyle, culture, associative life, and entertainment."

More than 100 stands focused on furniture, decorating, travel and clothing. Others showcased artists and gay organizations.

Gay Canadian Member of Parliament Svend Robinson was ejected from the House of Commons for one day Oct. 1 after he refused to apologize for accusing fisheries minister David Anderson of treason over his handling of the Pacific salmon dispute with the United States.

Hong Kong's new Joint University Queer Union already has attracted more than 200 members. The primarily social group is linked to seven universities. The word they translate as "queer" is "tongzhi." Literally, it means "comrade" or "those sharing similar aspirations."

One hundred seventy marchers turned out for the first gay-pride parade in Prince George, British Columbia, Canada, last month, reported Vancouver's Xtra! West.

The city, pop. 67,621, 12 hours by car from Vancouver, is considered B.C.'s northern gateway. Xtra! West Editor Gareth Kirkby described it as a "redneck resource industry town."

The march began at the downtown civic center and proceeded about one kilometer to a city park.

"What a party!" said Kirkby, who spoke at the rally. "What an overwhelming sense they had that they were making local history!"

Other speakers included openly gay Member of Parliament Svend Robinson and openly gay Member of the British Columbia Legislative Assembly Tim Stevenson.

A new poll of the Flemish people-five million residents of northern Belgium-found that 60 percent of those who have a gay person in their family favor gay equal rights compared to 50 percent of those who do not know of any gay family member.

The survey also found that one in four respondents knows someone gay. Two-thirds of those questioned have no objection to a homosexual being a government minister.

Dimarso Research Bureau pollsters interviewed 1,058 people.