A N C D A I L Y N E W S B R I E F I N G
FRIDAY 31 MAY 1996
@HARARE, Zimbabwe - President Robert Mugabe's censors have so
far ignored a planned international film week, starting here
Friday, in which nine of the 13 featured titles deal with
homosexuality and lesbianism - still serious offences under
Zimbabwean law.
Mugabe last year ordered the eviction of Gays and Lesbians of
Zimbabwe from an international book fair here dedicated to freedom
of expression and human rights, saying they were "lower than pigs
or dogs" and "have no rights at all".
In a climate of nation-wide homophobia whipped up by a series
of increasingly hysterical speeches from Mugabe, a white South
African priest was accused of offences against schoolboys, but the
charges were revealed to be malicious and dropped.
Organizers of the film festival include members of GALZ, whose
meetings have been invaded by police seeking their literature and
membership lists. Sodomy and "gross indecency" (which can cover
lesbian acts) remain serious offences punishable by long terms of
imprisonment, or by whipping where the convicted person is under 18
years old. Mugabe has rejected amending the Zimbabwean Constitution
to guarantee freedom from discrimination on grounds of gender
orientation, as in South Africa.
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