TG News From Around the World
Courtesy Aegis Online News
200 MARCH IN EL SALVADOR
Two hundred gays and transvestites marched through San Salvador,
El Salvador, last month to celebrate gay pride.
The event was organized by Entre Amigos (Between Friends), an
"Association for the Integral Development of Sexual Minorities."
A transvestite dance show followed in a central plaza.
"Homosexuals are ... productive beings who don't want to cause
harm to anyone," said Entre Amigos President William Hernandez.
BRITISH TRANSSEXUALS WIN RIGHT TO SUE FOR BIAS
British transsexuals July 15 won the right to sue employers for
harassment and discrimination brought on by a sex-change
operation.
The Employment Appeal Tribunal said such bias violates the Sex
Discrimination Act.
"This bold and far-reaching decision finally recognizes that
transsexuals need legal protection against the considerable
discrimination they face," said Kamlesh Bahl, chair of Britain's
Equal Opportunities Commission.
JAILED TURKISH TG LEADER RELEASED
Turkish transsexual gay leader Demet Demir is out of jail after
yet another run-in with local police.
Demir, a winner of this year's International Gay & Lesbian Human
Rights Commission award for outstanding contributions to the
movement, was taken into custody by Istanbul police July 12 as
she tried to stop them from beating another transsexual. Police
said they were beating the woman because she was Kurdish.
"They started to hit me and I was bruised on several parts of my
body," Demir said via e-mail. "They took me to the police station
and wrote a report that I was accepting that I insulted the
police, and they wanted me to sign it. But I insisted that I
wouldn't sign anything before my lawyer came. They were angry at
me and they opened my purse. My passport was in the purse and
they saw the American visa on the passport. ... They asked me why
I went to US and I told them for a human rights award. Then they
were a little bit worried and changed their attitude into an
apologetic one. They started to address me as 'Miss Demet.' I
stayed in jail for the night and the day after I was taken to the
court. The judge ... decided that I should be set free."
Demet then filed suit over the arrest.
"[Now] their eyes are over me all the time," she said. "[Beyoglu-
area Police Chief] Suleyman Ulusoy, who is nicknamed as Suleyman-
the-Hose, famous for beating the transvestites with hose pipes,
comes to my door and tries to provoke me and my friends by
staring in our windows. They have also sued me for insulting the
police. ... They went to the shop owners around the area and
wanted them to talk as witnesses to the court that I really
insulted the police. [The owners] did not accept to do that but
they neither accept to talk as witnesses on my side because they
are afraid of the police."
SYDNEY 'TRANY BALL' A SUCCESS
Sydney, Australia's Trany Pride Ball last month was a social and
financial success, organizers said. Six hundred fifty dollars
raised at the event will go toward construction of a Trany Pride
float for next year's Mardi Gras Parade, Capital Q reported.
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