Iran, Iraq and that gay-hunt the Left keeps ignoring
By Gabriele Zamparini
"In Iran, we don't have homosexuals, like in your country." – Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad [see also here - Unzipped: Gay Armenia]
Iran did it again. Makvan Mouloodzadeh, 21 years old, was executed because homosexual. The Iran Lobby, so powerful within some quarters of the Western “Left” and the so-called “anti-war movement”, will once again try to justify this barbaric murder and repeat the lies of the Iranian theocracy: he was killed not because homosexual but because he was accused of rape. This time however the homophobic apologists on the “Left” will need to find a better excuse; Makvan “was accused of committing anal rape (ighab) with other young boys when he was 13 years old. However, at Mr. Mouloodzadeh's trial, all the witnesses retracted their pre-trial testimonies, claiming to have lied to the authorities under duress. Makvan also told the court that his confession was made under coercion and pleaded not guilty.”
Like canaries in a coal mine, homosexuals have always been the minority whose treatment in a society would detect the grade of freedom and tolerance within that society or the lack of them. Probably the most persecuted minority in most of the times, cultures and places [but ‘most’ doesn’t mean ‘all’], the attitude toward homosexuals is indicative of the state of that society in its whole. More...
*This report by The Cat's Dream cited also my post Gay death in Iraq: a desperate call for help
While I understand the shock of the Iranian president's statement on gays in Iran, he wasn't referring to whether they existed or not, but many people interpreted his statement as meaning that he didn't believe that gay identity was the same in Iran as in the U.S., which is true.
ReplyDeleteSure, Iranian is archaic and repressive in terms of gay rights but I think that the issue is not being served when false statements about perceptions are being "spinned" and propagated and real issue are not being targeted.
I agree that Iranian president's statement has been propagated too much for various political reasons, and at times by people who never showed any devotion to human rights for real. As far as I remember, soon after that statement someone from his administration provided clarification which was similar to what you mentioned.
ReplyDeleteHowever, with all its exaggeration, it serves as a good 'opening line' to expose hypocrisy not only of Iranian regime but others too.
But... forget his statement, the very real issue is that gays in Iran are still being executed, like in this very recent case of 21yrs old Makvan Mouloodzadeh...
That's so true and it MUST stop. The fact that anyone is being killed for being gay is a TOTAL DISGRACE to civilization and anyone who is supporting this must be stopped and shamed.
ReplyDelete