Kita pasti sudah mendengar berita mengerikan mengenai pembunuhan Xulhaz, pendiri majalah LGBT di Bangladesh. Untuk itu, bersama dengan APCOM, aktivis, dan organisasi lainnya, GAYa NUSANTARA ikut menandatangani joint statement untuk Bangladesh.

“We, the undersigned, join other voices from across Asia and the Pacific – and around the world – in calling upon the Government of Bangladesh to step up efforts to effectively address the horrific violence that has claimed the lives of several journalists, bloggers, academics, activists and other civilians who advocated for a secular, open, just and equitable society for all citizens — regardless of religion, ethnicity, sexuality or any other labels.

The latest victims of the carnage were the prominent LGBTI activists Xulnaz Mannan and Mahbub Rabbi Tonoy, both hacked to death by a group of assailants at Mannan’s home in Dhaka. So-called “Islamist” groups, including or linked to ISIS and Al-Qaeda, have claimed responsibility for these and previous attacks, but the facts surrounding many of these killings over the past year remain unclear.
The Bangladesh government has sworn to track down those responsible for Mannan and Rabbi’s murders. While we welcome that pledge, the international human rights organization Amnesty International has noted that “not a single person has been held to account” in the various killings so far.
In recent years, LGBTI activists in Bangladesh have sought to expand the space for dialogue and inclusivity for their communities even though they are criminalized by the country’s British-era penal code. These efforts in Bangladesh and other countries such as Indonesia have, on one hand, brought about acceptance and openness on some levels, but have also been met by an increasingly severe backlash as well from a range of actors including governments and religious institutions.
The escalating threats to civil liberties, including LGBTI rights, in so many places are all the more ironic – and dangerous – considering we are in the era of the Sustainable Development Goals that underpin the 2030 Agenda whose primary pledge is “to leave no one behind.”
How can we as a region, and indeed as a world, even begin to fulfil such a pledge if we do not collectively come together to address these threats that target our friends, families and fellow human beings? The rhetoric of the SDGs and 2030 Agenda will indeed ring hollow if we do not bring about genuine openness and understanding leading to an end to persecution and terror. Governments must be held accountable, but organizations such as ours, and each of us as individuals, must play our part as well.
Let us seize this opportunity then to bring about dialogue between governments and civil society, with the support of the United Nations, national, regional and global human rights networks and other facilitators, to tackle the mounting crises in Bangladesh and elsewhere
Together we call on the government of Bangladesh to bring justice and ensure that the rule of law is firmly in place and is implemented to provide safety to all citizens.
All individuals across Asia and the Pacific must not see these atrocities as isolated events, but must act in solidarity to uphold the rights of all human beings.
Ultimately, we must collectively work towards a world where enlightenment prevails, even as we vow never to forget the sacrifice that far too many have made to safeguard our shared humanity.
Signed By:endorsed by
  • Midnight Poonkasetwattana, Executive Director, APCOM
  • Sattara Hattirat, Regional Coordinator, ILGA Asia
  • Ryan Silverio, Regional Coordinator, ASEAN SOGIE Caucus
  • Natt Kraipet, Network Coordinator, APTN
  • Niluka Perera, Project Officer, Youth Voices Count
  • Rima Ather, Coordinator, CSBR
  • South Asian Human Rights Association of Marginalised Sexualities and Gender

 

Endorsed By The Following Organizations:

  1. Association of Transgender People in the Philippines (ATP), Philippines
  2. Blue Diamond Society, Nepal
  3. Central Initiative for Transgender, Young Gay, Lesbian Asylum Seekers (CITY GLASS), Kenya
  4. Consultation Centre of Aids Aid and Health Service, China
  5. EQUAL GROUND, Sri Lanka
  6. GAURAV, India
  7. GAYa NUSANTARA Foundation, Indonesia
  8. Haus of Khameleon, Fiji
  9. Health Options for Transgender (HOT GENDER), Tanzania
  10. Health Options for Transgender, Tanzania
  11. HIV YOUNG VOICES (Hi 5), Kenya
  12. Human Rights Working Group, Indonesia
  13. Human Rights- Youth Health Support Centre NGO, Mongolia
  14. I-Girl group, Việt Nam
  15. IDENTITY ETHIOPIA (ID ETHIOPIA), Ethiopia
  16. ILGA Oceania
  17. India HIV/AIDS Alliance, New Delhi, India
  18. Khwaja Sira Society, Pakistan
  19. LGBT Kiribati, Kiribati
  20. Life Gets Better Together (LGBT FOUNDATION), South Sudan
  21. Lighthouse club, Việt Nam
  22. NAZ Pakistan, Pakistan
  23. NGO Phoenix PLUS, Russia
  24. Oogachaga, Singapore
  25. Organization Intersex International-Chinese, Taiwan
  26. PinoyFTM (Filipino Trans Men), Philippines
  27. Project Mama, Rwanda
  28. QUEER ESCORT NETWORK (Quest Net), Madagascar
  29. Rainbow Pride Foundation Youth Wing, Fiji
  30. Safety Urban Network (SUN East Africa), Uganda and Kenya Chapter
  31. Samoa Faafafine Association, Samoa
  32. Sangama, India
  33. Sierra Leone Youth Coalition on HIV & AIDS, Sierra Leone
  34. SOMALI SOCIETY CARE (SSC), Somalia
  35. South Asian Human Rights Association for Marginalized Genders & Sexualities (SAHRA)
  36. SUNCITY AFRICA FOUNDATION, Kenya
  37. Taiwan Tongzhi (LGBT) Hotline Association, Taiwan
  38. Transgender Resource Center, Hong Kong
  39. Transgender Youth Revolving Fund (TRAY REFUND), Uganda
  40. Transmen Indonesia, Indonesia
  41. Transpiration Power, Thailand
  42. We are students club, Việt Nam
  43. Yourself Belize Movement, Belize

 

Endorsed By The Following Individuals:

  1. Abhina Aher, India
  2. Ahsan Ullah, Bangladesh
  3. AR Arcon, Philippines
  4. Farid Ahmed, Bangladesh
  5. Idrissa A. Conteh, Sierra Leone
  6. Jake Oorloff, Sri Lanka
  7. Jofiliti Veikoso, Fiji
  8. Kemas Achmad Mujoko, Indonesia
  9. Masaki Inaba, Japan
  10. Nguyễn Đặng Duy Anh, Việt Nam
  11. Qasim Iqbal, Pakistan
  12. Raksak Kongseng Desaulniers, Thailand
  13. Sumit Pawar, India
  14. To’oto’oali’I Roger Stanley, Samoa
  15. Trung Tâm NT.LGBT, Việt Nam
  16. Tuisina Ymania Brown, Samoa
  17. Vaialia Iosua, Samoa

 

Media Contacts:

Midnight Poonkasetwattana, Executive Director, APCOM
midnightp@apcom.org, +66-85-360-5200 (Bangkok)

Sattara Hattirat, Regional Coordinator, ILGA Asia
sattarah@gmail.com, +66-82-339-5252 (Bangkok)

Ryan Silverio, Regional Coordinator, ASEAN SOGIE Caucus
rsilverio@aseansogiecaucus.org, +63-917-879-7710 (Manila)

Natt Kraipet, Network Coordinator, APTN
natt.kraipet@weareaptn.org, +66-82-653-3999 (Bangkok)

Niluka Perera, Project Officer, Youth Voices Count
niluka@youthvoicescount.org, +66-94-835-1762 (Bangkok)

**sumber http://www.apcom.org/2016/05/02/5049/

Published by GAYa NUSANTARA