Announcement Call: Are the rights of the LGBTIQ people in Croatia realized?!
17/01/2007
Submitted by
Marko Jurcic, Sanja Juras
Announcement Call
Zagreb 8. january 2007.
Are the rights of the LGBTIQ people in Croatia realized?!
Dear friends,
In the past few days, we have been witnesses to numerous statements in which the most prominent Croatian gay activist Dorino Mazin, president of (newly formed) Association Second Step (Drugi Korak) distorts the image of the status of human rights and the general position of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, transexual and queer people in Croatia today.
Those who sign this announcement do not intend to re-evaluate Manzin's motives or goals, but rather to warn the public, press, NGOs, citizens of Croatia and the LGBTIQ community itself how such claims compromise the civil scene and create an entirely false image that hurts a marginalized social group.
Manzin so claimed that the majority of LGBTIQ rights are realized (24 sata, January 4 2007, "Gay rights in Croatia have been more or less realized and there is no need to complain about how everyone hates us or are against us.").
The rights of gays and lesbians in Croatia are far from realized! Above all, every other lesbian, gay or bisexual person in Croatia has suffered some form of violence. Research conducted at the end of 2005 by the Lesbian group Kontra on a national sample it proof enough. Only a year back reports came in of brutal assaults in the streets of Zagreb, homophobic and rasist beatings of gay tourists in Hvar and a break-in to the Rainbow Party in Club Santos in Svetice, Zagreb where a dozen people were beaten up.
Secondly, even though the legislative regulations have been changed within the past three years, numerous accounts of omissions have been noted in the implementation of anti-discimination regulation, and daily infringement on basic current rights of sexual and gender minorities is occuring. Prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation is explicitly stated only in a handful of legislature while discrimination based on gender identity and gender expression is not recognized at all.
Thirdly, same-sex couples are denied the rights and obligations available to heterosexual couples through the institutions of marriage and civil union. Ever since the law dealing with same-sex unions has been passed, the Legal teams of Iskorak and Kontra have received numerous calls from persons living in same-sex unions asking about the rights they can realize. It was difficult for us to explain to these people that just because they and their partners are of the same sex, they virtually possess no rights: They cannot have social or health-care insurance through their partners, visit them in intensive care or inherit an apartment or house where they lived with their deceased partners. Even the right of dividing common property they own they can realize only if they can prove that they lived together. Therefore, after years of living together, they have to prove that their union existed! So much for how rights of sexual and gender minorities are "more or less realized!"
Dorino Manzin has also, in numerous statements in the past three years, argued for statements detrimental to Zagreb Pride, one of the most important annual LGBTIQ events in the organization of which he did not even participate. Furthermore, ever since 2004 he has not been part of the activities of the Legal team of Iskorak and Kontra, and is now attempting to undermine the worth and value of their activities and accomplished breakthroughs in the protection of human rights.
We support everyone's right to personal opinion, and with this the pluralism of opinions and concepts within the non-governmental scene in general, as well as its segment dealing with the rights of members of the LGBTIQ population. Nevertheless, we feel that such rash and reckless actions, entirely unadjusted to elementary principles of culture of dialogue within civil society contribute direct damage to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, transexual, intersexual and queer people in Croatia.
Sanja Juras,
Lesbian group Kontra coordinator
Hrvoje Fuček,
Iskorak, group for the rights of sexual and gender minorites - coordinator
Marko Jurčić, Jelena Poštić, Daniel(a) Šurjan,
Zagreb Pride Committe
Arina Balenović,
Lesbian Organization Rijeka, LORI
Bojana Genov,
Women's Network Croatia coordinator
Tom Novak,
Cultural-Street Gay Action, kugA
Stjepan Pavlek,
Inqueerzicija – The New Gay Scene president
Sanja Sarnavka,
Be active - Be emancipated, B.a.b.e coordinator
Maja Mamula,
Women's Room coordinator
Zagreb 8. january 2007.
Are the rights of the LGBTIQ people in Croatia realized?!
Dear friends,
In the past few days, we have been witnesses to numerous statements in which the most prominent Croatian gay activist Dorino Mazin, president of (newly formed) Association Second Step (Drugi Korak) distorts the image of the status of human rights and the general position of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, transexual and queer people in Croatia today.
Those who sign this announcement do not intend to re-evaluate Manzin's motives or goals, but rather to warn the public, press, NGOs, citizens of Croatia and the LGBTIQ community itself how such claims compromise the civil scene and create an entirely false image that hurts a marginalized social group.
Manzin so claimed that the majority of LGBTIQ rights are realized (24 sata, January 4 2007, "Gay rights in Croatia have been more or less realized and there is no need to complain about how everyone hates us or are against us.").
The rights of gays and lesbians in Croatia are far from realized! Above all, every other lesbian, gay or bisexual person in Croatia has suffered some form of violence. Research conducted at the end of 2005 by the Lesbian group Kontra on a national sample it proof enough. Only a year back reports came in of brutal assaults in the streets of Zagreb, homophobic and rasist beatings of gay tourists in Hvar and a break-in to the Rainbow Party in Club Santos in Svetice, Zagreb where a dozen people were beaten up.
Secondly, even though the legislative regulations have been changed within the past three years, numerous accounts of omissions have been noted in the implementation of anti-discimination regulation, and daily infringement on basic current rights of sexual and gender minorities is occuring. Prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation is explicitly stated only in a handful of legislature while discrimination based on gender identity and gender expression is not recognized at all.
Thirdly, same-sex couples are denied the rights and obligations available to heterosexual couples through the institutions of marriage and civil union. Ever since the law dealing with same-sex unions has been passed, the Legal teams of Iskorak and Kontra have received numerous calls from persons living in same-sex unions asking about the rights they can realize. It was difficult for us to explain to these people that just because they and their partners are of the same sex, they virtually possess no rights: They cannot have social or health-care insurance through their partners, visit them in intensive care or inherit an apartment or house where they lived with their deceased partners. Even the right of dividing common property they own they can realize only if they can prove that they lived together. Therefore, after years of living together, they have to prove that their union existed! So much for how rights of sexual and gender minorities are "more or less realized!"
Dorino Manzin has also, in numerous statements in the past three years, argued for statements detrimental to Zagreb Pride, one of the most important annual LGBTIQ events in the organization of which he did not even participate. Furthermore, ever since 2004 he has not been part of the activities of the Legal team of Iskorak and Kontra, and is now attempting to undermine the worth and value of their activities and accomplished breakthroughs in the protection of human rights.
We support everyone's right to personal opinion, and with this the pluralism of opinions and concepts within the non-governmental scene in general, as well as its segment dealing with the rights of members of the LGBTIQ population. Nevertheless, we feel that such rash and reckless actions, entirely unadjusted to elementary principles of culture of dialogue within civil society contribute direct damage to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, transexual, intersexual and queer people in Croatia.
Sanja Juras,
Lesbian group Kontra coordinator
Hrvoje Fuček,
Iskorak, group for the rights of sexual and gender minorites - coordinator
Marko Jurčić, Jelena Poštić, Daniel(a) Šurjan,
Zagreb Pride Committe
Arina Balenović,
Lesbian Organization Rijeka, LORI
Bojana Genov,
Women's Network Croatia coordinator
Tom Novak,
Cultural-Street Gay Action, kugA
Stjepan Pavlek,
Inqueerzicija – The New Gay Scene president
Sanja Sarnavka,
Be active - Be emancipated, B.a.b.e coordinator
Maja Mamula,
Women's Room coordinator
