{"id":174077,"date":"2017-02-19T02:42:18","date_gmt":"2017-02-18T21:12:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?p=174077"},"modified":"2017-02-23T13:27:50","modified_gmt":"2017-02-23T07:57:50","slug":"sri-lankan-lgbtqi-activists-condemn-all-outs-anti-sri-lanka-petition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/sri-lankan-lgbtqi-activists-condemn-all-outs-anti-sri-lanka-petition\/","title":{"rendered":"Sri Lankan LGBTQI Activists Condemn All Out\u2019s Anti-Sri Lanka Petition"},"content":{"rendered":"

All Out, the global advocacy group on LGBTQI rights (largely an advocacy INGO) recently launched a petition<\/span><\/a> campaign on Sri Lanka, entitled \u2018no deals with homophobes\u2019. This petition was intended at the calling upon the European institutions (especially the European Parliament) to avoid GSP+ trade deals with the government of Sri Lanka, until it \u2018dropped\u2019 its \u2018anti-gay law\u2019. What they are referring to are Articles 365 and 365A of the Penal Code, which criminalise non-heterosexual sexualities. All Out conveniently avoids mentioning the fact that these laws were imposed upon Sri Lanka under British rule.<\/p>\n

This petition has earned severe criticism from leading members of Sri Lanka\u2019s LGBTQI community, who advocate for a locally-grounded strategy of Queer Liberation, identifying discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity as interconnected to other gender-based patriarchal oppressions, affecting cis women victimised by the country\u2019s long war. Sri Lankan activists stress the importance of developing an intersectional local dialogue, connecting the struggles of the LGBTQI community with broader gender and social justice struggles. This effort has received the endorsement of the large majority of LGBTIQ Sri Lankans, many of them professionals and committed gender justice and human rights activists. <\/span><\/p>\n