The lateness of the IACHR is amazing to me when this took place on June 13th almost a full month now and two other murders since of popular socialite members as carried on this blog with gay cruising and downlow issues seemingly clashing as the motives for them and to think a suspect is already in custody for the awful June 13th double killing of the homeless brethren and awaiting preliminary hearing proceedings while the IACHR press release paints a picture that it is a homophobic killing when it is NOT. We know we have homophobic killings indeed but we need to take each case for their own merit and be honest when agitating then its no wonder why Les Green and Betty Ann Blaine came out swinging at us and berating our posturings and non belief to calls of gay murders, many persons do not believe there are even homophobic killings but it doesn't help our case when we do not explain the facts properly and show clear differences between community issues gone bad versus homophobic abuse and murders or homo negative fallouts. Just see this latest vox pop by the Jamaica Observer.
Let us wait and see what the actual trial will bring to bear as well before jumping the gun.
What about no mention of the previous homeless persons who were murdered by Dumfries Road by allegedly the same individual who is in custody now? So much for out of touchness with the issues on the ground and fassing in affairs with improper information then to present a farce in this case as homophobic, we must be ethical in how we do business. Bearing in mind also JFLAG's Executive DIrector Dane Lewis had to retract his original hypothesis that is was a homophobic crime while on the radio show Beyond the Headlines with host Dionne Jackson Miller, Miss Miller on her blog made note of the error:
So let’s acknowledge that violence against gays is real. We are not as uniformly tolerant as we would have the outside world believe. But neither have the gay activists done their cause any good by overstating the extent of the problem. Gay-on-gay violence is also real.
Recently, the Jamaica Forum for Lesians Allsexuals and Gays (JFLAG) publicly condemned the killing of gay men. In a statement (re-tweeted by Amnesty Caribbean), they said:
“Members of the LGBT community have reported to J-FLAG that eight gay men have been murdered within the last three months bringing to the fore the reality that despite progress towards greater tolerance, the LGBT community continues to be at great risk of violence. Among the most recent attacks against the gay community was the savage killing of two young men.
“The men were apparently brutally murdered with blunt instruments in the vicinity of the intersection of Trafalgar Road and Lady Musgrave Road. Persons who are homeless frequented this area; among them are young gay men who have been made homeless because of the continued intolerance of homosexuality in Jamaica.”
In an interview with me on my radio programme Beyond the Headlines a few days later, JFLAG spokesman Dane Lewis admitted that the organisation had jumped the gun, and that his later information was that the two men in question had been killed by members of the gay community. He said he withdrew that part of the statement and promised a corrected version. I haven’t seen that yet.
So which is it? Are we homophobic or are we tolerant of the gay lifestyle?
I submit that we are both
Source
Here is the press release and my subsequent comment:
IACHR Condemns Murder of Two Gay Men in Jamaica
July 9, 2012
Washington, D.C. – The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) condemns the killing in Kingston, Jamaica, of two men who, according to the civil society organizations and media outlets, were gay.
The two bodies were found on June 13, 2012, in the vicinity of the intersection of Trafalgar Road and Lady Musgrave Road, in New Kingston. According to the information received the bodies appear to have been chopped or mutilated, and were found near several rocks with blood stains. According to a local LGTB organization, this ocurred in a context of severe violence against the LGTB community in Jamaica, where eight gay men have been murdered within the last three months, among other reported acts of violence.
The IACHR reminds the State of its obligation to investigate such acts on its own initiative and to punish those responsible. The Inter-American Commission urges the State to conduct an investigation that takes into account whether this murder was committed because of the gender expression, gender identity or sexual orientation of the victims.
The Commission continues to receive information on killings, torture, arbitrary arrests, and other forms of violence and exclusion against lesbians, gays, and trans, bisexual, and intersex persons in the continent. In addition, the Commission notes that problems exist in the investigation of those crimes, which involve, in part, failures to open lines of investigation into whether the crime was committed by reason of the victim’s gender identity or sexual orientation. The ineffectiveness of the state response fosters high rates of impunity, which in turn lead to the chronic repetition of such crimes, leaving the victims and their families defenseless.
The IACHR urges the State to take action to prevent and respond to these human rights abuses and to ensure that LGTBI people can effectively enjoy their right to a life free from discrimination and violence, including the adoption of policies and public campaigns and the amendments necessary to bring laws into line with the inter-American instruments on human rights.
A principal, autonomous body of the Organization of American States (OAS), the IACHR derives its mandate from the OAS Charter and the American Convention on Human Rights. The Inter-American Commission has a mandate to promote respect for human rights in the region and acts as a consultative body to the OAS in this area. The Commission is composed of seven independent members who are elected in an individual capacity by the OAS General Assembly and who do not represent their countries of origin or residence.
No. 82/12
ENDS
Here was my comment on their site:
Your comment is awaiting moderation.
Peace and tolerance
A suspect has already been held in the matter and is awaiting trial as it has to do with homeless msms and internal conflicts but by how this release is postured it makes it look as a homophobic killing when it is not so in this case, we must be honest that is not to say those do not exist either but if one wants to know what is truly happening one needs to come to Jamaica and see the issues on the ground for oneself the intellectual dishonesty that reaks from that press release like this helps noone or is it just how out of touch the advocacy structures are with regards to LGBT homelessness in Jamaica, all the populations are used for is to collect data with no meaningful followup to solves the issues the persons actually go through.
LGBT advocacy is not just about repealing or decriminalizing buggery but also addressing those lives interrupted on the ground who face untold hardships.
More audio commentary:
here is another press release from the J in response to the discourse: IS JAMAICA A MORE TOLERANT SOCIETY?
Peace and tolerance
H
