Gay LGBT organizations and activists in Peru support Ollanta Humala in presidential elections

More than 36 organizations of lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender citizens of Peru have decided to support the candidacy of Ollanta Humala in the upcoming presidential election of June 5th.

A public statement signed by organizations and more than 56 LGBT leading activists from different regions of Peru, declares the decision to support a model that promotes social inclusion, equity, respect for human rights, freedom of press, ideas and tolerance from religious institutions.

Ollanta Humala and the Indigenous flag Wiphala which has 7 colors and is a symbol used by Andean peoples for thousands of years. The LGBT flag which is similar has 6 colors and was created in 1976 in the U.S. Photo AP

“We call on our communities, civil society organizations and the general public to mobilize in favor of Ollanta Humala,” says the document that I translate here:

STATEMENT

FOR AN INCLUSIVE PERU WITH JUSTICE AND RIGHTS FOR ALL

In the April 10 elections it was made clear that [most] Peruvians demand urgently a model of economic growth with social inclusion and equity, that can ensure the respect for human rights, that will not undermine the environment and that can respect the life of indigenous peoples. We cannot longer tolerate the government celebration of the successes of the [current] model, while inequality, injustice and lack of opportunities remain for the majority.

In this context, there is a deliberate intention to defeat the will of the people [of Peru] to prevent the State to comply with the historical debt it owes to the Peruvian people. The conservative right and the big economic power groups have joined the hierarchy of the church and the media run by groups in power, on promoting a scandalous demolition campaign against the proposals of Gana Peru [Humala’s party] and its presidential candidate Ollanta Humala, with lies or half-truths to instigate mistrust and fear in the electorate.

These groups –acting as Fujimori’s political operators- are those who now seek to clean the legacy of the corrupt and murderous dictatorship and their faults in the past. They repeatedly say that Keiko Fujimori (the First Lady during that dictatorship) has no political relationship with his father, when both are part of the same political party and have the same allies and advisers (Rafael Rey, Martha Chavez, Fernán Altuve, Jorge Trelles, Alejandro Aguinaga, Jose Chlimper and Hernando de Soto, among others). All of them are responsible for covering the Fujimori coup, the existence of paramilitary groups, crimes against humanity, forced sterilization of hundreds of thousands of [Indigenous] women, widespread corruption in the State, and other abominable acts.

We haven’t forgotten the crimes [of Fujimori] against our communities. Just finished the first vote of the 1990 elections, Fujimori fired Oscar Ugarteche from his Government Plan team claiming his homosexuality. During his government and weeks after the 1992 coup, Fujimori expelled 117 diplomats with charges of “scandalous homosexual behavior.” The National Intelligence Service (SIN) introduced a perverse system of extortion and blackmail to [closeted] artists, politicians and businessmen in order to control them politically. LGBT bars, clubs and hostels became a target of media persecution to fill the pages of the dictatorship tabloids, using us as a smokescreen to hide the barbarism.

This is why we denounce the media campaign of lies and fear that intends to manipulate the democratic will again, in order to impose again the Fujimori dictatorship, and we assert the defense of our citizenship rights, our memory and our dignity.

In that sense, the following LGBT organizations and activists included in this document, hereby call on our communities, the civil society organizations and the general public to mobilize in favor of Ollanta Humala, promoting a critical and vigilant vote in favor of:

• The urgent need for changes in the current economic model, to ensure the social inclusion of disadvantaged groups and communities, thus assuming the historical debt of the State to the national majorities.

• The defense of democratic institutions and democratic governance in a pluralistic and participatory system, in order to ensure social justice for all Peruvians, whose foundations are defined in the policies of the National Agreement.

• The unrestricted defense of all human rights for all Peruvians, regardless of race, religion, gender, age, economic status, health status, sexual orientation and gender identity of people, among others.

• The recognition and defense of the secular State, guaranteeing the right of each and all Peruvians to decide over their bodies and sexuality in the context of the respect for human rights and the recognition of cultural diversity, and

• A national collective memory, history and culture that assumes the errors and injustices of the past and compensates the peoples, groups and communities historically abused and / or excluded, as recommended by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (CVR).

No to the impunity and crimes of the past!

For an inclusive Peru, with justice and rights for all!

Peru, May 2011

Groups signing this declaration:

Movimiento Homosexual de Lima –MHOL Lima

Kolektiva Rebeldías Lésbicas Lima

Colectivo ContraNaturas Lima

Asociación Amigas por Siempre Callao

Bloque Estudiantil LGTBI Perú Lima

Versiones UNMSM Lima

Acción Crítica Lima

Colectivo GLBT Alma Chiclayo Lambayeque

Colectivo Lésbico Flor de Retama Ayacucho

Encuentros Diversidad y Cultura Lima

Mesa de Concertación LTGB de Ayacucho

Movimiento Homosexual de Ayacucho –MHODA Ayacucho

Qary G Kanny Ayacucho

Red Trans Gino Lynch Ayacucho

Movimiento Gay Lésbico Trujillano –MGLT La Libertad

Asociación de Gays Feministas “El Club de Toby” Lima

Asociación Civil Diversidad San Martinense San Martín

Asociación Civil Lazos Sin Fronteras Arequipa

Instituto Runa de Desarrollo y Estudios sobre Género Lima

Colectivo Claveles Rojos Lima

Asociación Movimiento Homosexual de Bellavista –AMOHOBE Piura

Grupo de Comunidad Gay Manos Unidas Piura

Red Trans Brenda Alayo Piura

Asoc. Movimiento Homosexual de Piura –AMHOPI Piura

Mesa de Concertación LTGB y TS-Región Piura

Movimiento de Trabajadoras Sexuales del Perú Lima-Nacional

Mesa de Concertación LTGB y TS de Lima Metropolitana Lima

Colectivo Raíz 2.0 Lima

Mesa de Concertación LTGB y TS – Pucallpa Ucayali

Movimiento Homosexual Vida y Prevención –MHOVIPRE Ucayali

Movimiento Cultural Igualdad y Futuro –MOCIFU Ucayali

Red Trans Ucayali Ucayali

Movimiento Lésbico Soy Mujer y Amo a Otra Mujer –SOMUAMU Ucayali

Movimiento Homosexual Ucayali –MHOU Ucayali

Movimiento Mujeres Unidas Luchando por Nuestros Derechos Ucayali

Movimiento de Trabajadoras Sexuales Ketty Vida y Corazón Ucayali

More than 56 LGBT activists signed this petition, read the list here.

Ollanta Humala is supported by people in Lima, on 14 May. Photo Reuters

 

Adhesion

I personally and fully endorse this public statement. Like many LGBT Peruvians who live abroad, I know of the benefits that mean to live in a society that respects human diversity, where sexual orientation and gender are not reasons for exclusion, where there are educational systems that promote respect for human rights, and where there is an organized movement that promotes legislations that protect LGBT citizens against abuse, violence and discrimination.

In September 2010 I interviewed the candidate Ollanta Humala, who was accused of being homophobic by the media in Lima, because of statements made by his mother who reportedly said he had to shoot homosexuals. Ollanta Humala has assured he is not homophobic and his government will promote the respect of civil rights for all Peruvians.

Being LGBT in Peru is not easy, like in many Latin American countries because of our cultures, idiosyncrasies, but mostly because of sexist, racist and repressive religious beliefs. To this day some of my family members do not accept my homosexuality, largely due to homophobia promoted by Catholicism in Peru.

Heterosexual citizens of Peru need to understand that there are differences between generations and cultures, and that religions have justified injustice and abuse for too long. Unfortunately the Catholic Church in Peru and other religious institutions continue promoting a culture of homophobic and transphobic discrimination. Incidentally, a Catholic news agency warned today:

The gay lobby and Peruvian pro-abortion organizations supporting Ollanta Humala. The Office for Latin America of the Population Research Institute (PRI) reported that leading organizations such as the feminist abortionists Manuela Ramos, Flora Tristán and Promsex, among others, and the gay lobby in Peru have begun a campaign of Ollanta Humala, the presidential candidate of the party Gana Peru for the June 5 election. Humala has changed its strategy and does not mention the issue of abortion in his last election manifesto.

The PRI is a NGO funded mainly by The Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation, Inc., considered the most important foundation of the U.S. extreme right, linked to conservative religious groups against women’s reproductive rights.

The government plan of Ollanta Humala promotes respect for life, civil rights of all Peruvians, the rights of sexual minorities (LGBT citizens) and above all it supports a secular state where there is freedom of worship and ideas.

With this statement, I hope that the Peruvian population can understand that beyond our differences, we can find a way to for the common good, tolerance and respect for diversity. For all Peruvians.

Happy International Day against Homophobia.