WORLDWIDE PROTESTS PLANNED Muslim Gay Group Al-Fatiha initiates US and European Protests Protest date - Wednesday 15 August A coalition of sixty interest groups including Al-Fatiha, an association of gay muslims with two thousand members, the Human Rights Campaign, the Tampa Bay Coalition, the Metropolitan Community Church and Amnesty International are organizing protests worldwide from Australia to America. The plan is to target Egyptian embassies and consulates and "flood" them with telephone calls and faxes demanding the immediate release of the 52 Queen Boat detainees. These men will stand trial on 15 August for the "crime" of having attended a gay night at a floating disco, "The Queen Boat" in Cairo on the night of 10/11 May. At the same time as these men are being escorted into a State Security Court, handcuffed and after having already endured over three months of imprisonment and torture, Al-Fatiha and other gay groups plan to hold demonstrations in cities across Europe, Australia, Africa and North America. The list of targeted Egyptian diplomatic missions includes those in the cities of Atlanta, Berlin, Canberra, Geneva, Kampala (Uganda), London, New York, Paris, San Francisco, Vancouver and Washington. GayEgypt.com believes that some of these demonstrations may be held infront of Egyptian embassies and consulates but we are still awaiting confirmation of exact details. However the details of the Washington DC demonstration are now known [see below]. Below is a list of contact e-mail addresses and telephone numbers for the protests - Atlanta (Georgia, United States) - Suha at sdabbous@aiusa.org New York - Ariel at aherrera@aiusa.org San Francisco - Faris at aquarius@well.com Vancouver (Canada) - Imtiaz at imtiazpopat@mybc.com Washington DC - Faisal at mfaisalalam@yahoo.com In Washington DC the protest has been organized by Al-Fatiha and Amnesty International and it will take place in front of the Egyptian Culture and Educational Bureau at 1303 New Hampshire Avenue NW, on Wednesday 15 August, from 5.30 to 7.30pm. Geneva - Magazine 360 on tel 022 741 0070 or Pink Cross on 022 738 0200 [mornings] or Diologai on 022 906 4040 [afternoons]. If you live in the UNITED KINGDOM or the UNITED STATES you can also help by sending your protest against the continued detention of the fifty two men to any of the following Egyptian diplomatic posts - UNITED KINGDOM EMBASSY HEAD OF MISSION Ambassador ADEL ELWY EL-GAZZAR ADDRESS 26 SOUTH STREET, MAYFAIR, LONDON W1Y 6DD. CITY LONDON TEL (44207)499-2401 / 499-3304 FAX (44207)355-3568 / 491-154 E_MAIL etembuk@hotmail.com CONSULATE GENERAL HEAD OF MISSION Consul General Mohamed Saad ADDRESS 2 LOWNDES STREET, LONDON SWI X9ET CITY LONDON (CONSULATE) TEL (44207)2359777/2365562/2359719 FAX (44207)2355684 E_MAIL Egyptconsulate@netscapeonline.co.uk UNITED STATES [contact info kindly supplied by the US gay rights group - Tampa Bay Coalition] Ambassador NABIL ISMAIL FAHMY 3521 International C.T N.W. Washington, D.C. 20008 Tel: (202) 895-5400 Fax: (202) 244-4319/244-5131 Email: egypt-embassy@usa.net Ambassador El Hosseini Abdel Wahab 500 N. Michigan Avenue Suite 1900 Chicago, IL 60611 500 N. MICHIGAN AVE. SUITE 1900 CHICAGO, IL 60611 Tel: (312) 828-9164/828-9163/828-9162 Fax: (312) 828-9167 Ambassador Minou Serry 1990 Post Oak Blvd. Suite 2180 Houston TX 77056 Tel: (713) 961-4915/961-4916 Fax: (713) 961-3868 Ambassador Mahmoud Allam 1110 Second Avenue New York, N.Y. 10022 Tel: (212) 759-7120/759-7121/759-7122 Fax: (212) 308-7643 Email: egyptcg@aol.com Minister Plenipotentiary Afaf El Mazariki 3001 Pacific Avenue San Francisco CA 94115 Tel: (415) 346-9700 /346-9702/346-7352 Fax: (415) 346-9480 Email: egypt@egy2000.com US CONGRESSMEN WARN MUBARAK IMPRISONING THE QUEEN BOAT 52 COULD COST EGYPT TWO BILLION DOLLARS 7/8 August 2001 Senior US Congressman Barney Frank has sent a letter to Mubarak, signed by 34 other House members. It warns Egypt's president that continued US aid could be dependent on the country demonstrating respect for lesbian and gay people. It requests that the 52 men arrested in May at the Queen Boat discotheque and charged with "perversion" be released unconditionally and it reminds the Egyptian state that US taxpayers who finance the current two billion dollars a year in aid include millions of gays and lesbians. Egypt is the world's second largest recipient of US aid. The amount in military aid alone is staggering. Last year Washington gave Cairo 1.3 billion dollars to help upgrade Egypt's armed forces. The country's once antiquated Soviet based army has been rapidly modernized with US help in recent years and now includes 139 F-16 warplanes, 555 of the latest M1-A1 tanks, 105 attack helicopters including the deadly quiet Apaches and several Perry class frigates with "over-the-horizon" capabilities. US aid is also vital to Egypt's economic and social infrastructure. Last year it totalled 735 million dollars. Few parts of Egypt's economy would be immune from a reduction or withdrawal of support. US aid has financed schools, power generation, telecommunications, the rebuilding of mosques, hospitals, water and sewarage systems and other basic but crucial urban facilities. Congressman Barney Frank, who has initiated the protest is a senior member of Congress and a member of several key Congressional committees and sub-committees. He has long been a leading supporter of gay rights. A Massachussets Democrat whose career began in 1980, he was the first Congressman to come out as gay in 1987. His mobilization of support in Congress for this protest is a warning that Egypt cannot afford to ignore. The letter drafted by Frank was cosponsored by Tom Lantos who is co-chair of the Congressional human Rights Caucus and the most senior Democrat on the House International Relations Committee. The other signators come from both the Republican and Democrat camps including Lane Evans, a Democrat who sits on the House Armed Services Committee. A copy of the letter follows below - August 3, 2001 His Excellency Muhammad Hosni Mubarak Office of the President Al Etehadia Building Heliopolis, Cairo, Egypt Dear President Mubarak: As members of the House of Representatives who have been strong supporters of United States aid to Egypt as well as active proponents of fair treatment of lesbian and gay people, we write to express our very strong disapproval over the arrest of 52 men in Egypt on the basis of their perceived sexual orientation. We believe the decision of the Egyptian government to prosecute these men who have been accused of engaging in consensual sexual activity with adult persons of the same sex, and in a state security court under Egypt's emergency laws, is indefensible. As you know, Egypt is the second largest recipient of U.S. foreign assistance. We note that this assistance comes from the people of the United States, including a great number of taxpayers who are gay and lesbian, and it is approved by members of Congress, many of whom are fully supportive of the right of gay and lesbian people to be free from discrimination and violence. Given this, it is very troubling for us to hear that these Egyptian men are not only facing trial and possible jail sentences, but also may have been mistreated, beaten or tortured while in detention. We believe close cooperation between Egypt and the United States on many issues is in our mutual interest, and this adds to our concern over the negative impact this incident will have if it is uncorrected. REP. TOM LANTOS REP. BARNEY FRANK REP. NITA M. LOWEY REP. CYNTHIA A. MCKINNEY REP. BARBARA LEE REP. NANCY PELOSI REP. JOHN LEWIS REP. ALBERT RUSSELL WYNN REP. STENY H. HOYER REP. JAMES P. MCGOVERN REP. TAMMY BALDWIN REP. CHRISTOPHER SHAYS REP. JOSEPH CROWLEY REP. WILLIAM D. DELAHUNT REP. ELIOT L. ENGEL REP. ROBERT WEXLER REP. JIM MCDERMOTT REP. CONSTANCE A. MORELLA REP. FRANK PALLONE, JR. REP. CHARLES A. GONZALEZ REP. NEIL ABERCROMBIE REP. LYNN C. WOOLSEY REP. JOHN B. LARSON REP. JERROLD NADLER REP. LYNN N. RIVERS REP. BERNARD SANDERS REP. BRIAN BAIRD REP. BOB FILNER REP. JANICE D. SCHAKOWSKY REP. JOHN F. TIERNEY REP. ANTHONY D. WEINER REP. DENNIS J. KUCINICH REP. GEORGE MILLER REP. FORTNEY PETE STARK REP. LANE EVANS |