FORMER MALAYSIAN DEPUTY PREMIER IN SODOMY SCANDAL

Two men were sentenced to six months in prison Sept. 19 for having sex with former Malaysian Deputy Premier Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.  Munawar Ahmad Anees, 51, Anwar's former speechwriter, and Sukma Darmawan Sasmitaat Madja, 37, Anwar's adopted brother, acknowledged allowing Anwar to sodomize them, which is a prohibited "act of gross indecency" in Malaysia. Anwar, who was ousted as deputy premier Sept. 2, has called the men's confessions coerced, saying they are part of a conspiracy to destroy him that also includes allegations of bribery, jeopardizing national security, abuse of power, sedition and interfering with police investigations.

AUSTRALIAN GAY MP MAKES SCENE

"I just want him to stop the car, get out and talk to us," Brown told police, according to Melbourne Star Observer.

Howard was in Tasmania to shore up support for Liberal MPs (Liberals are conservative in Australia) including anti-gay MP Chris Miles, who organized "Say no to sodomy" rallies during

Tasmania's conflicts over anti-gay laws in the mid-1990s.

The European Parliament passed a resolution Sept. 17 denouncing Austria, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Estonia, Hungary, Lithuania and Romania for unfair treatment of gays. The vote was 110 to 89 with 6 abstentions.

The move was spurred by Austria, Cyprus and Romania's recent refusals to bring their anti-gay laws into line with European human-rights standards.

The parliament also expressed its refusal to "give its consent to the accession [into the 15-nation European Union] of any country that, through its legislation or policies, violates the human rights of lesbians and gay men."

Specifically, the EP

* called on Austria to repeal Article 209 of the penal code, which sets a higher age of consent for gay sex than straight sex (this is particularly embarrassing since Austria holds the EU presidency for the second half of 1998);

* deplored the "insufficient law reform" passed by the Parliament of Cyprus on May 21, which replaced the complete ban on male homosexuality with a series of other  discriminatory provisions, including a higher age of consent;

* deplored the refusal of the Romanian Chamber of Deputies on June 30 to adopt a government bill that would have repealed all anti-gay legislation included in Article 200 of the penal code.

"The adoption of this resolution is a big success for the European lesbian and gay movement," said Kurt Krickler, co-chair of ILGA-Europe, a regional body of the International Lesbian and Gay Association.

The new Zambian gay group LEGATRA (Lesbian, Gay and Transgender Association) said last week it will out closeted politicians if members are prevented from registering their association.

"If pushed too far, we'll do so," said spokesman Alfred Zulu.

Home Affairs Minister Peter Machungwa has said group leaders will be taken into custody if they appear at the office of Registrar of Societies Herbert Nyendwa, who has said he will refuse to look at LEGATRA's application forms.

"An association formed to further the interests of homosexuals can never be registered in Zambia," Zambian Vice President Christon Tembo explained Sept. 22. "Those who will persist in championing the cause for homosexual activities in Zambia risk being arrested for the felonies of committing criminal acts or for conspiracy to commit criminal acts."

Gay sex is punishable by five years imprisonment.

An art exhibit showing Jesus and his apostles in drag and as gay leathermen required police protection last week at the Lutheran Cathedral in Uppsala, Sweden, 40 miles north of Stockholm.

The exhibit, "Ecce homo" by Elisabeth Ohlson, attracted over 12,000 viewers, groups of demonstrators and several bomb threats.

"I think it's up to the faithful to decide for themselves," said Tuulikki Koivunen Bylund, the pastor who organized the show. "I know some people have denounced me over this, accusing me of making out that Jesus was a woman."

Activists with the Rome gay group Circolo Mario Mieli are upset that city public-works officials plan to close a popular gay cruising area nightly at 2 a.m.

The group says the gardens of the Campidoglio, known as Montecaprino, are "a symbol of our history as gay people. Closing off access to them represents efforts to deny us our rights to live as productive citizens and associate freely with each other.

"It seems clear that there are some political reasons behind this decision," Circolo Mario Mieli said. "We wonder if the city government of Rome is not bowing to pressure to transform the city in certain ways for the [Christianity] Jubilee of 2000."

City Councillor for Public Works Esterino Montino said the nightly shutdown is necessary to protect archaeological remains.

Gays and lesbians aged 15 to 25 in Belgium's Flanders region are two to five times more likely to attempt suicide than straight youth, according to researchers at Ghent University.

Sociologist John Vincke and psychologist Kees van Heeringen studied 404 young people -- half gay and half straight. Their report was presented at the 7th European Symposium The Suicidal Process Challenges for Treatment and Prevention, held Sept. 9-12 in Belgium.

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