 Iain Clacher
Claims by anti-homophobia activists that their Mardi Gras Parade banner was outlawed for being "too political" have been denied by event organisers.
Community Action Against Homophobia (CAAH) spokesperson Rachel Evans
told Evolution Online that the banner, which featured a picture of Pakistani
detainee Ali Humayun and the slogan "Free Ali Humayun", was banned from
the front of CAAH's float.
She said a Mardi Gras worker named
Neil told CAAH it was "too political".
"He said that it wasn't just
him, but that it was the board as a whole that didn't want the banner
shown," Evans said.
"Later, we spoke with the head
of logistics and she didn't give a reason why."
New Mardi Gras chair Marcus
Bourget told Evolution Online organisers had "bent over
backwards" to allow CAAH to participate in the parade, despite the group
failing to bring the necessary paperwork.
"All entries are required to bring their paperwork and
turn up as they've described in the parade entry form," Bourget said.
"They had no documentation and they were unable to get
their documentation. When we saw the sign, we asked them to describe who this
person was and no one at the time was able to tell us who the person was or why
they wanted it at the front of the float.
"We pulled out all the stops to let them march. And
given they couldn't tell us who this person was, we asked them to take it down.
We allowed them to march in accordance with the description of their parade
entry."
Bourget said that out of 150 floats only CAAH was unable to produce the documentation, and accused the group of
using the incident for its own ends.
"This kind of stunt is
typical of the way CAAH operate to create issues," he said.
"They did
it to us last year at Fair Day. They have nobody to blame but themselves."
Rachel Evans said the paperwork
was a separate issue: "That's a furphy. The paperwork question was
just a lack of understanding on our part - we didn't have one paper. They still
banned the banner from being shown.
"They didn't ban the placards
that said the same thing, just the banner. Should we have to submit what every
banner, every placard and every bum will have written on it?"
Evans said the banner was
disqualified because Mardi Gras did not want to "upset" the federal government.
"I think New Mardi Gras is
scrambling for funds from federal and state governments, and the federal government
is under fire for keeping refugees in detention.
"We think that New Mardi Gras
is seeking not to embarrass the federal Labor Government on this pertinent
human rights issue, because they want the funds and that means the Ali campaign
is not supported."
She said CAAH would invite Mardi
Gras representatives to visit Humayun in Villawood Detention Centre and get
behind the campaign to free him.
"If he's sent back to
Pakistan, his family will slaughter him," she said."It is so clear
the LGBT community should be supporting this campaign."
Ali Humayun, 26, has been detained in Villawood Maximum
Security for almost three years.
His partner, former detainee Julio Lorenzo, said the
Pakistani student had received death threats from his fundamentalist Muslim
father and brother for bringing shame on the family.
In 2006, the Refugee Tribunal dismissed Humayun’s claim for
asylum on the grounds of inconsistent evidence.
"I do not accept that the applicant is in fact bisexual in sexual
orientation as he claims," tribunal member Giles Short stated.
"I consider that his relationship with Mr Lorenzo is simply the product
of the situation, where only partners of the same sex are available, and says
nothing about his sexual orientation."
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