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Links to other documents from the "Homophobia" dossier

Sexual Orientation Discrimination in Slovenia - a report by ©KUC-LL Report from the IGLYO's Hearing on the Situation of LGBT youth in the Accession Countries Eleven years of state, eleven years of homophobia

PRESS MATERIAL, Wednesday 27.2.2002

"FUCK THE BLODY TRANSVESTITES; THEIR BALLS SHOULD BE CUT OFF... FAGGOTS AND ÈEFURS (derogatory term for Serbs, Croats OR Bosnians) THAT'S WHAT THEY ARE! THOSE FAGGOTS SHOULD ALL BE KILLED! FAGGOTS CANNOT REPRESENT US IN EUROPE! A DISGRACE FOR SLOVENIA! EQUALITY FOR ALL, EXCEPT MUSLIMS, CHRISTIAN ORTHODOX, NIGGERS, TRANSVESTITES, HOMOSEXUALS AND THE REST OF SCUM!" Messages like those stated above started to pour out right after the winning song of Slovenian Eurovision Song Contest 2002 preselection had been announced and have been filing the space of various media, such as internet forums and SMS messages to radio stations. They prove that dr. Rugelj's* publicly stated opinion is not a sole excess, but merely the tip of an iceberg of Slovenian intolerance and hostility to everything different. Twisting around voting complications cannot hide its striking directness, at least to us. Only after revising all reactions and commentaries in the EMA case it is clear that it is not the song that is problematic, but the performers. Three transvestite sisters (Sestre) are a disturbing element, members of 'the different', that do not have the right to exist, let alone represent Slovenia abroad. Such intolerance and homophobia are so strongly present in Slovenian society and are not visible only in the response of the audience. Even politics had to interfere; especially right-winged parties had to express their disagreement with the selection- with the selected transvestites. Some of the media, various experts and latent homophobes also added their share, stating that the problem was merely in the suppose to be problematic voting. It is not a question of one or another song, but one of having the right to be who you are: a transvestite, a homosexual, a heterosexual, etc. Words from our constitution and the penal code are now empty letters on the paper and no one takes them seriously. Hate speech, encouraging and spreading intolerance, calling for open violence - all this in the name of 'freedom of speech' and' normal citizens' encouraged by some politics and some of the media- should not be a part of the idea of contemporary Europe. By revealing the evidence of the verbalized intolerance we would like to call your attention to real reasons behind the EMA 2002 scandal, so their creators, as well as the media and broad public, can face them instead of following them. At the same time we would like to stress that in the given situation reselection of the winning song would only mean voting, some kind of a referendum, for or against intolerance. Dru¹tvo ©KUC, redakcija Magnus, Ljubljana Dru¹tvo ©KUC, redakcija LL, Ljubljana Legebitra - Skupina za istospolno usmerjene mlade, Ljubljana (LGBT-youth group in Ljubljana) !! ONLY FOR THE CLARIFICATION OF THE ENGLISH VERSION: * Dr. Rugelj, Janez is a Slovene Psychiatrist who claims, that homosexuality is a sickness and WHO is wrong when thinking that it isn't. He has given an interview in September 2001 in a monthly Slovene magazine with statements: "How can somebody who wants to put his dick in a dirty stinking ass call himself normal? It's disgusting that's what it is." Ljubljana 27.2.2002

A PUBLIC STATEMENT IN RESPONSE TO REMARKS FROM THE DIRECTOR OF THE INFORMATION OFFICE OF THE REPUBLIC OF SLOVENIA

We have become acquainted with remarks by Alja Brglez, Director of the government Information Office of Republic of Slovenia, in which she states: "Slovenia is an open and democratic society that can and will be able to deal with difference in an entirely civilized manner." She also states that she is "firmly convinced that homophobia is not behind the complications surrounding EMA 2002." The materials, or media archives, that we have been sistematically compiling on the EMA 2002 case, prove her wrong. Based on many years of experience advocating for equal rights of homosexuals, we have come to the conclusion that there is a high level of homophobia and intolerance towards anyone who is different in Slovenia. We are troubled by the fact that the director of the Information Office of the Republic of Slovenia is not informed about the situation in this area. The widespread diffusion of homophobia in our society has been confirmed by statistical data and research carried out by nongovernmental organizations. Ms. Brglez's assertions are unfounded and misleading to both the domestic and international public. We demand that the Information Office provide a suitable explanation of the reasoning behind Ms. Brglez's statemet and correct this misleading information. Groups: ©KUC - Magnus, Ljubljana ©KUC - LL, Ljubljana Legebitra - skupina za istospolno usmerjene mlade, Ljubljana (GLBT youth group) ©KUC - Roza klub, Ljubljana Out in Slovenija. Ljubljana Ljubljana, 5.3.2002

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