[Prishtina-E] Fwd: Gay Rights In Kosova / BCR # 433

[Jeton Ademaj]

>From: "Institute for War & Peace Reporting" <info at iwpr.net>


>GAY KOSOVARS FLIRT WITH DANGER
>
>Fierce homophobia forces members of Kosovo's gay community to lead double
>lives.
>
>By Tanja Matic in Pristina
>
>Veton is at ease amongst the well-groomed, watchful young men who frequent
>the more flamboyant bars of London's Soho district.
>
>The 27-year-old left Kosovo ten years ago. Sitting in a Soho bar on a
>Sunday afternoon, he says he has no intention of going back to a violent,
>prejudiced society where he would be regarded as a criminal.
>
>However, unlike most Albanians living in London, Veton is not a victim of
>ethnic conflict.
>
>Nor is he part of the minority involved in the vice trade - the Albanian
>gangs which, London police say, now dominate the capital's underworld.
>
>The reason Veton prefers Soho to Kosovo is his sexuality - he is openly
>gay.
>
>"I cannot live there because my lifestyle with my partner would be seen as
>shocking and abhorrent. No one's harassing us here," said Veton, whose
>name has been changed at his request.
>
>Homosexual relationships, though technically not illegal, have always been
>a matter of shame and taboo in Kosovo. Gay men who do not want to become
>the pariahs of this fiercely patriarchial society make sure they keep
>their relationships secret.
>
>Gay rights activists say the situation has not improved, despite the
>post-war influx of western money and values. They receive regular reports
>of men being beaten up or intimidated on suspicion of being gay, while
>homophobic views are routinely published in Kosovo's newspapers.
>
>But they say the problem has failed to attract the attention of human
>rights groups in the area because fear of being "outed" stops most gays
>from reporting hate crime to the authorities.
>
>Kosovo ombudsman, Marek Nowitzki, told IWPR he had not been informed of
>any such attacks during the past two years, but added "there are cases
>which are not usually reported to the police".
>
>"We are dealing with a very traditional society here... there is no
>tolerance for homosexuals at all," said Nowitzki.
>
>Kosovo's gays are at a critical point in their struggle for acceptance -
>encouraged, on the one hand, to be bolder by their exposure to western
>media and values, while on the other hand, still bound by the expectations
>of a fiercely conservative society.
>
>Experts have tried to explain Kosovo's antipathy towards gays by looking
>to the Code of Leka Dukagjini, the law that has guided Albanian clans
>since the 15th century. Although the code makes no direct mention of
>homosexuals, it heavily emphasises masculine honour. To this day, men who
>deviate from their customary role as husbands and fathers are accused of
>bringing shame and stigma upon the entire family, if not the clan.
>
>"Men are expected to act as real men - strong and macho," said Martin
>Berisha, president of Kosovo's first gay and lesbian association, Elysium
>and Sappho. "That is why the Kosovo Albanian community will not accept
>someone who does not behave as a man in the way the patriarchial society
>thinks he should," said Berisha.
>
>While Kosovo's gays try to keep a low profile, their enemies have become
>increasingly brazen.
>
>The daily newspaper Zeri recently produced an article backed by comments
>from various academics and religious leaders, putting forward the view
>that homosexuality was unnatural.
>
>Kosovo's top imam, Sabri Bajgora, caused particular offence in gay circles
>by warning that Islamic law regarded homosexuality "as a disease which
>needed to be healed and prevented".
>
>The article also claimed that the leading human rights group in Kosovo,
>the Council for the Defence of Human Rights and Freedoms, had no clear
>stance on the matter. A spokesman for the council, Ibrahim Makolli,
>confirmed to IWPR that they did not "have any defined attitude" towards
>the subject.
>
>Martin Berisha said the council's neglect was disappointing, adding, "If
>they, as human rights activists, don't have a clear stance on this issue,
>then what can we expect from religious extremists or even the common
>folk?"
>
>Observers say attitudes towards homosexuals within Kosovar society may
>also have hardened because of the recent conflict with Serbia, during
>which machismo was held up as a patriotic virtue.
>
>Worryingly, some Albanian conservatives believe this virtue is once again
>facing an external threat - not from the Serbs, but from the westerners
>who now live and work in Kosovo.
>
>In an article published last September, the daily newspaper   Epoka E Re
>spoke of the "dangerous ways and behaviour brought by the foreigners",
>before naming a restaurant near the university in Pristina as a popular
>meeting place for homosexuals.
>
>According to the OSCE's media advisor in Kosovo, Willem Houwen, three
>members of Kosovo's gay and lesbian association were beaten up immediately
>after the article was published.
>
>Houwen, who helped the association to become registered in Kosovo, told
>IWPR that when one victim reported the assault to local police, he was
>mocked and verbally abused. No action was taken against the perpetrators.
>
>As Kosovo has no hate crimes law that distinguishes between an attack on a
>homosexual and an ordinary assault, gays are loathe to report homophobic
>attacks to the police. But whether such legislation were introduced or
>not, society would immediately seize upon any such complaint as an
>admission of homosexuality - a disaster for the many gays who lead
>dangerous double-lives as devoted husbands, fathers and sons.
>
>At a private party in Pristina, such men are happy to discuss and discard
>their disguises.
>
>A 25-year-old man from northern Kosovo speaks of how he lies to his
>parents every time they ask him why he hasn't found himself a girl to
>marry. His boyfriend, an American, adds that his partner is deeply
>paranoid of being discovered.
>
>A 40-year-old from Presevo in southern Serbia spends every weekend with
>his lover in Pristina after telling his family he has left town on
>business.
>
>Another young man kisses his lover and says, "Doing this in our office or
>anywhere outside would be suicide."
>
>Tanja Matic is an IWPR associate in Pristina.
>

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