SiQRD - Slovenian Queer Resources Directory; Slovenski seznam virov za geje in lezbijke

A REPORT FROM THE "BYPASS AROUND INTOLERANCE - A MARCH AGAINST HOMOPHOBIA
LJUBLJANA, 7.7.2001 - Yesterday the first Gay and Lesbian Pride in Ljubljana, Slovenia took place. It was organized by bUZI (see note below) and entitled "Bypass around intolerance - a march against homphobia" - around 300 protesters (Ljubljana has a population of aroud 350.000) bypassed a bar in downtown Ljubljana where two gay men were denied at the door a month ago - the event which triggered enough outrage in the gay and lesbian community to organize protests.

The manifestation started in front of Galerija Škuc with unfolding and waving a huge, 15 meter rainbow flag.

Speeches and cultural programme followed. Tatjana Greif and Roman Kuhar of bUZI (see note below) first explained reasons for the protest - increasing homophobia, xenophobia and racism in Slovenia, silently supported by the government - and told the Slovenian history as seen through "pink glasses". In the ten years of the country's independence we've been called names ("dead and dry branches on the living trees of lifes"), equated with rapists, evicted from the Ljubljana Castle, denied the right to marry, and this year, lesbians were denied the right to matherhood by accepting a law that gives access to artificial insemination only to married women and women in common-law marriage.

Other speakers were Alenka Jerše from Amnesty International Slovenija, who said that Slovenians are a very phobic nation and that this could lead to Slovenia ending up in various human rights violations reports. Mojca Sušnik of the Peace Institute noted that majority of Slovenians admitted they were at least a little racist and concluded that we are an intolerant society. Mirjana Ule of the Faculty of Social Sciences said that hostile silence bothers her more than loud discrimination. Miha Zadnikar of UZI added that media are too often silent this way, too. (A side note - he was right, the manifestation had very poor media coverage and was totally ignored by the national television.)

Culturale programme included "Rene the priest", who in a short song told the participants that all loves are beautiful and that it's not good to be in the closet. Irena Duša performed in her short comedy "I shall bleed no more" in which she tells parents what to do to prevent their children from "turning gay as she did". This was followed by the legend of Slovenian drag scene Salome and by a drag trio Strumpantl Sisters.

After the programme protesters headed to the city hall, bypassing the homophobic bar, which was heavily guarded by hired security during the whole event. Protesters were carrying signs "Slovenia - a center for removal of the different", "we want wedding", "silence = death", "Slovenia - a Vatican banana republic", "Rode (the archbishop) - the banana fuehrer", "politics buggers us", "my husband is bUZI" (note below), "better a test tube than Cukjati (the main oponent of single women's right to artificial insemination) for the father".

Protesters stopped in front of the city hall where they unfolded the huge rainbow flag again and yelled "Vika, Vika" (the mayor's name), who - to noone's surprise - didn't show up. Then they continued on to the city's center point, the Prešeren Square where they fold the flag around Prešeren's (most important Slovenian poet) monument, and after few minutes went on to Metelkova, alternative culture complex, where the official part of demonstration ended and the party began.

Notes:
UZI - Urad za intervencije = Office for Interventions is an umbrella of different civil movements, dealing with human rights, ecology, anti-globalisation, and of course, gay and lesbian rights
bUZI - UZI's GLBT section. "Buzi" is also a derogatory term for a gay man.

This project's bUZIs were:

  • members of all Slovenian gay and/or lesbian groups/organizations: Škuc-Magnus, Škuc-LL, Škuc-Roza klub, Legebitra and Out in Slovenija
  • volunteers of the international summer camp, organized by Škuc-Magnus
The project was sponsored by:
  • Škuc
  • many individuals with volunatry contributions
  • club Tiffany which made sure we weren't thirsty