First civil society organization for sexual minorities

“MASSO” protects the rights of the homosexuals

“Love is love” is the logo of the first civil society organization in our country that is concerned with the rights of the sexual minorities. The Macedonian Association for Free Sexual Orientation was established in September last year. It became known in the public after the latest reaction for protecting these minorities, when its members sent a letter to the European Commission representative in Macedonia, Donatto Chiarini, asking for an explanation why in the EU Questionnaire, the Government has not provided a single answer to the questions related to the condition with the sexual groups in the country. The Questionnaire asks questions on the measures taken for stopping the discrimination on the basis of nationality, ethnic or social background, race, skin colour, language, religious confession and whether Macedonia has established specialized services for fight against discrimination.

“In its reply, the government has not presented the facts, has not given any explanation whatsoever and has not shown any intention to fight against the discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. It is a fact that there is no legal framework, no institutional context, no tools for prevention or fight against the discrimination on that basis. It is the Government’s duty to present these facts in front of the European Commission and also to show willingness for making some legal changes and a plan for measures to be taken in order to stop this type of discrimination”, Says Koco Andonovski, president of “MASSO”. He explains that the homosexuality in the country has been discriminated ever since 1996, with the ratification of the European Convention for Human Rights and Freedoms. Since then, says he, the Government has done nothing to prevent any kind of discrimination referring to the homosexuals.

“MASSO” unites about 70 members from Macedonia, most of them from Skopje. “Our goal is to make LGBT people visible, because if you aren’t visible, you don’t exist, and if you don’t exist, you have no rights. We want to raise the awareness on the existence of the LGBT people here and that they have rights which are available to them. It is important that these people know they are not alone”, says the first person of “MASSO”. He states the fact that homosexuality has been removed from the list of illnesses by the World Health Organization. “In our country the gay culture is not developed or protected as in the other countries where homosexuals are well-known artists or ambassadors of culture”, said Andonovski. He pointed to the examples of two members of “MASSO” who had problems because they publicly declared to be homosexuals. “One of them was taken to a psychiatrist by his parents, and the other one is sleeping at friends houses”, adds the president of “MASSO”.

This year, the organization’s work is focused on preparing some legal changes, following the example of Croatia, which passed a Law on same-sex communities, and they are also expecting the implementation of the Law on non-discrimination by the Helsinki Committee. For September, the organization “MASSO” is preparing the first gay-week in Skopje on “Love is Love”. “MASSO” strategic partner is the Macedonian Helsinki Committee, and the main donor is the Swedish Helsinki Committee.

 

Z.G.