Beirut gay pride 2018 suspended after leader detained by police

[Jo]

Beirut Pride events have been suspended after its founder was detained by police.

Hadi Damien, who created the festival, has now been released by authorities after being taken in yesterday for questioning in the Lebanese capital.

It is still not clear why he was detained.

A source close to Hadi told PinkNews: “There’s lots of speculation so I don’t know what’s true and what’s not.

“The police closed down one of the two events last night and took Hadi in for questioning. He was released about an hour and a half ago and now the rest of pride is suspended.

“Everyone here is waiting on the full explanation to be published.”

Beirut Pride’s Facebook page confirmed what Damien himself has told his followers, writing that he had been released and that “Beirut Pride is safe.

“The events scheduled under the label of Beirut Pride until May 20 2018, are suspended for the time being,” the message continued.

“We thank you for your concern and empathy, and kindly ask you to refrain from speculating. We will issue a detailed statement by 9pm to explain [what is] happening. #alwaysproud #foreverstrong”

Source: https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2018/05/15/beirut-pride-suspended-after-leader-detained-by-police/

Last year's gay pride was a success in Beirut and more than 4,000 people attended: Beirut gay pride 2017

 

[Jo]

بيان توقيف نشاطات بيروت برايد — ٢٠ أيّار ٢٠١٨


ترتكز بيروت برايد ٢٠١٨ على تسعة أيّام تتمحور حول السّابع عشر من أيّار، أي اليوم العالمي لمناهضة رهاب المثليّة. أُطلِقت بيروت برايد ٢٠١٨ في الإثنَي عشر من أيّار من خلال لقاء يحتفل بالأهالي الذين حافظوا على عائلتهم، فلم بنبذوا أولادهم عند إعلانهم عن مثليّتهم الجنسيّة، أو على الأقلّ، بادروا إلى الحفاظ على تماسك العائلة. وأطلقت بيروت برايد مبادرتها المُتعلّقة بمواكبة العائلات لاستيعاب الأهل وأولادهم. واحتفلنا مساءً في سهرة إفتتاح بيروت برايد التي استقطبت عدد هائلًا من الحضور. وفي الثالث عشر من أيّار، برانش مع موسيقيّين تخلّله حديث عن متحوّلي الجنس، ثمّ حوار في الـMigrant Community Center حول الذّكوريّة والأنوثة، قبل عرض راقص في إحدى الملاهي. تخلّل اليوم الثالث لقاءات مثمرة، قبل إطلاق مبادرة الـCorporate Pledge التي تُعنى بعالم المؤسّسات وسياساتها المتعلّقة بالموظّفين والزّبائن المثليّين ومزدوجي الجنس والمتغيّرين منه. وتدخل هذه البادرة حيّز التّنفيذ في أيلول ٢٠١٨. ومن بعدها، أمسية في استديو زقاق، يتخلّلها قراءة في اللّغة العربيّة للنص المسرحي ”غيلان“ (“Ogres”)، يليه حوار ثمّ سهرة في المكان نفسه. ونصّ ”غيلان“ مجموعة من الرّوايات والقصص القصيرة التي تُحاكي جرائم واعتداءات نُفِّذت باسم كره المثليّين والرّهاب تجاههم.

إلّا أنّه، وعند السّاعة الثامنة والعشر دقائق، تلقّيت اتّصالًا من استديو زقاق يحيطني علمًا أنّ عناصر من قسم الرّقابة في الأمن العام متواجدين في الاستديو، رافضين حصول القراءة من دون حصول استديو زقاق على إجازة عرض. وتجدر الإشارة إلى أنّ إجازة العرض كناية عن موافقة قسم الرّقابة في الأمن العام على حصول عرضٍ ما، ولا تحتاج القراءات إلى إجازة من هذا النّوع. وكان استديو زقاق قد سأل قسم الرّقابة سابقًا إذ يحتاج إلى إجازة عرض لقراءة نصّ ”غيلان“، وأتى الجواب بالنّفي. لم يُجدِ الحديث مع الرّئيس في قسم الرّقابة إلى تحسين الوضع، وبدأت الأسئلة تنهال على الهاتف حول برايد وماهيّة برنامجها. لم تفلح سلسلةٌ من الإتّصالات الهاتفيّة مع سياسيّين وأمنيّين في طريقنا إلى مكان العرض إلى الوصول إلى نتيجةٍ ما، وأبلغنا القيّمون على استديو زقاق عن تواجد عناصر من الأمن العام والإستقصاء والرّقابة والآداب تنتظرنا للتحقيق معي، بصفتي منسّق نشاطات بيروت برايد. عقدنا اجتماعًا مع ممثّلي المكاتب الأمنيّة وبحضور استوديو زقاق ومحامين، تخلّلته إتّصالات مكثّفة من مكتب الآداب لاستدعائي يوم غد إلى مخفر حبيش في شارع بليس. وإذ انسحب القسم الأكبر من الجمهور خوفًا من تفاقم الأمور ومن أيّ اعتقالات تعسّفيّة جماعيّة قد تتمّ، تناقشنا فكرة نقل القراءة إلى مكان سكنٍ خاص بغية عدم إلغاء الحدث، لما يحمل من موقف سياسيّ ومقاوم واحترامًا لجهد العاملين على هذه الأمسية. وتوقّف الإجتماع عند دخول عناصر من مكتب الآداب، طالبين منّي مرافقتهم الفَوريّة للتحقيق. توجّهنا مع العناصر إلى الثكنة، من دون مذكّرة إحضار وأصفاد، لنعلم عند وصولنا قرابة الحادية عشر ليلًا أنّني سأبيت في نظارة السجن. كانت الإتّصالات تنهمر علينا، البعض منها من الجمعيّات التي تُعنى بشؤون المثليّين في بيروت، وقد حضر بعض أعضائها إلى الثكنة من دون التمكّن من دخولها بسبب تأخّر الوقت. تتّسع نظارة السجن لخمسة أشخاص، وكنّا تسعة وثلاثين شخصًا فيها. جالسًا على الأرض، كنت أستجمع أفكاري، أستعرض حلول لكيفيّة استمرار النّشاطات من جهة، وأحاول استنباط سَير التحقيقات من جهة أخرى. فصدى التحقيقات في ثكنة حبيش ومجمل الإنتهاكات التي تحصل هناك ليست ألطف ما يكون.

تمّ استدعائي إلى التحقيق قرابة الحادية عشر من صباح اليوم (الثلاثاء ١٥ أيّار). سعيدٌ كان حظّي إذ لم يطلني طاقم التحقيق ولم يعتد عليّ جسديًّا أو لفظيًّا، ولا يمكن تعميم هذا الأمر على كلّ المعتقلين الذين بانت بقعٍ زرقاء وخضراء وعلامات قالوا أنّها علامات ضرب. تبيّن أنّ سبب الإستدعاء الرّئيسي هو حصول النّيابة العامّة على ”برنامج“ بيروت برايد في نسخةٍ عربيّة محرّفةٍ. وضّحنا تفاصيل كلّ نقطةٍ تم التطرّق إليها، قبل الإدلاء بإفادتي أمام رتيب التحقيق. إفادة تعرّف عن بيروت برايد، ماهيّتها ومباداراتها، تصحّح الكلمات المستخدمة خطأً وتتطرّق إلى التّفاصيل المهمّة. بعد اتصالٍ مع المدّعي العام، عُرِض عليّ مخرجَين إثنين. الأوّل هو إلغاء جميع نشاطات بيروت برايد المدرجة في البرنامج حتّى ٢٠ أيّار ٢٠١٨، وتوقيعي على تعهّد بإلغاء النشاطات ليُطلق سراحي بموجبه بعد توقيع ثانٍ على سند إقامة. المخرج الثّاني هو إلغاء جميع نشاطات بيروت برايد المدرجة في البرنامج حتّى ٢٠ أيّار ٢٠١٨، وعدم توقيعي على التعهّد المذكور أعالاه، لأُحال إلى قاضي التحقيق ليتمّ إستجوابي بعد الإدّعاء عليّ بمواد الحضّ على الفجور والإخلال بالآداب العامّة بسبب تنسيق النشاطات. وكان المخرج الأنسب حسب المحاميّة هو توقيع التعهّد. أُقفِل المحضر وخرجت من الثكنة قرابة الثانية والرّبع من بعد الظّهر.

وبالتّالي، تدعو بيروت برايد المنظّمين كافّةً إلى تجميد نشاطات هذا الأسبوع احترامًا للتعهّد الموقّع، وحرصًا على سلامة الأفراد القيّمين والمشاركين فيها.​

Source: بيان توقيف نشاطات بيروت برايد — ٢٠ أيّار ٢٠١٨

 

[JustLeb]

Very good move. This proves that the authorities are awake and doing their jobs.

Kuddos to them.
Falyasqot El tabagisme

Your turn @Isabella

 

[My Moria Moon]

Daesh style light, they made him cancel the event in a voluntary manner w billati hiya a7ssan. As evident as the sun is warm, once they have established roots in society, these movements can no longer be destroyed and annihilated by these kind of restraints.

If the intended outcome is to make them only disappear from the public surface, these measures are certainly effective. If to completely erase their existence, keep dreaming in red.

So good luck with remaining all hetero habalonis, it's hard to impose sexual conformity in a society with less than using physical violence.

 

[Isabella]

Very good move. This proves that the authorities are awake and doing their jobs.

Kuddos to them.
Falyasqot El tabagisme

Your turn @Isabella

Dude cut the crap with this offensive abhorrent language! I don't need to keep telling a grown man to stop acting like a homophobic prick!

 

[My Moria Moon]

Very good move. This proves that the authorities are awake and doing their jobs.

Kuddos to them.
Falyasqot El tabagisme

Your turn @Isabella

I don't want to imagine what you may have gone through to grow such a hate and disgust against tabagism. Therefore I ask you: Lei hal2add, shou 3emmillak el tabagism ya akhi?

 

[Isabella]

Daesh style light, they made him cancel the event in a voluntary manner w billati hiya a7ssan. As evident as the sun is warm, once they have established roots in society, these movements can no longer be destroyed and annihilated by these kind of restraints.

If the intended outcome is to make them only disappear from the public surface, these measures are certainly effective. If to completely erase their existence, keep dreaming in red.

So good luck with remaining all hetero habalonis, it's hard to impose sexual conformity in a society with less than using physical violence.

Even using physical violence, it didn't work for thousands of years and it's not going to work now!

 

[Isabella]

I don't want to imagine what you may have gone through to grow such a hate and disgust against tabagism. Therefore I ask you: Lei hal2add, shou 3emmillak el tabagism ya akhi?

It's sad he uses very offensive language in a veiled manner that ends up looking like he has issues with smoking whereas his real intentions are behaving like a vile homophobic prick!

It's both extremely funny and offensive at the same time!

 

[My Moria Moon]

It's sad he uses very offensive language in a veiled manner that ends up looking like he has issues with smoking whereas his real intentions are behaving like a vile homophobic prick!

It's both extremely funny and offensive at the same time!

nuh, the language and the mind usually go hand in hand.. and you should stay "ya jabal ma yhezzak ree7". JustLeb drools over reading your angry reaction, he explicitly called for you from across the internet vallies to come and explode. He finds charm over you shaking in fury ya Isa.

 

[Isabella]

What's even more sad is that this event started with celebrations of families who accepted their kids despite their different sexual orientation... These people came out of the closet and were not shunned by every single person in their immediate surrounding and that was reason enough for them to celebrate and honour their families... Now the authorities cancel this event by coercing the leader into it... What we're basically telling them is that no matter who accepts you, you belong in the closet!

 

[Isabella]

nuh, the language and the mind usually go hand in hand.. and you should stay "ya jabal ma yhezzak ree7". JustLeb drools over reading your angry reaction, he explicitly called for you from across the internet vallies to come and explode. He finds charm over you shaking in fury ya Isa.

If he writes these same insults in Arabic you guys would be removing them since they break forum rules, but he uses the words he does and then it's okay because his intentions are not entirely clear! I'm basically only asking him to be 1% more respectful towards others and refrain from using incredibly offensive language

 

[Libnene Qu7]

Great job darak! Because these people are the real danger, not the gangs on their mopeds who invaded Beirut last week.

 

[Skunk]

The police closed down one of the two events last night and took Hadi in for questioning

I wonder what they questioned the guy about.
We have jokes for some laws man..

 

[JustLeb]

I don't want to imagine what you may have gone through to grow such a hate and disgust against tabagism. Therefore I ask you: Lei hal2add, shou 3emmillak el tabagism ya akhi?

You don't have to imagine dude just ask. Daddy is here to provide answers.
But get ready it's gonna be shit talk

At late teenage you know there were practically no internet yet. So it was DVDs that were circulating. Do you remember those days ? When you lay your hands on a banging DVD is as if you found a treasure.
We even used to making gathering with beer to watch them
So we used to watch everything that bangs, from the shitty to the shittiest ... Until one day someone gives you a DVD of tabagisme.
Of course you already heard about it but never really gave it a thought.
So 5min into the DVD I couldn't bare it, I rushed to the toilet and threw up, literally.
I disposed the DVD as it was a curse...

So conclusion of the story, it's a DNA repulsion thing..
Enta Shou bt2oul ya 7akim

 

[Indie]

People should keep their sexual lives for themselves. There's no reason for anyone publicly celebrating being gay, anymore than there is a reason for anyone publicly celebrating being straight.

If they want to lobby to remove laws that criminalize homosexuality, that's totally justified. However, no need to glorify the lifestyle and turn it into something cool that will influence kids who would otherwise not have thought of it.

I used to think there is no harm in such things (and even attended a pride parade, once); but, after seeing the doors such things opened to the excesses of the transgender lobby, I consider that more caution is necessary.

 

[Isabella]

People should keep their sexual lives for themselves. There's no reason for anyone publicly celebrating being gay, anymore than there is a reason for anyone publicly celebrating being straight.

people don't get shunned from their families and their immediate entourage for being straight, they are also not under any risk of being sent to jail just because of their sexual orientation! Gay pride is about a lot more than just being okay with who you are and your sexual orientation that you cannot actually change... It's about asking for your rights and your dignity as an individual and an equal in society! It's also about raising awareness that unlike what you have been taught your entire life, you have nothing to be ashamed of if you experience an attraction to someone from the same sex!

If they want to lobby to remove laws that criminalize homosexuality, that's totally justified. However, no need to glorify the lifestyle and turn it into something cool that will influence kids who would otherwise not have tought of it.

Yes asking for basic human rights is indeed glorifying their lifestyle and turning it into something cool! And yes of course kids are usually influenced into becoming gay! For someone so fond of pointing out logical fallacies it's a shame you seem to be becoming a big fan

I used to think there is no harm in such things (and even attended a pride parade, once); but, after seeing the doors such things opened to the excesses of the transgender lobby, I consider that more caution is necessary.

ah yes I almost forgot your new found disdain towards what you call the transgender lobby, you haven't mentioned it in about 2 weeks now but i guess being away from the forum played a big hand in that lol! Thanks for reminding me anyway !

Beirut pride was cancelled since the organiser was arrested and asked to sign a pledge to cancel the event! But hey at least no kids would be influenced now!

Hey would you look at that, I guess more caution wasn't necessary after all!

 

[Skunk]

If they want to lobby to remove laws that criminalize homosexuality, that's totally justified. However, no need to glorify the lifestyle and turn it into something cool that will influence kids who would otherwise not have tought of it.

How does their lifestyle affect you exactly?

Homophobia is not only a ‘law’

We have a Monster society that treats gays as lower class citizens, discriminated and frown upon.

Straight people whether Teenager or adults will not turn gay because of a Pride parade and colorful flags.. really?

Homophobia needs to be abolished, starting from primary schools.
Teenagers that discover their homosexuality should not be scared to show it rather than living their whole lives in insecurity from the eyes of out beloved society.

Gay people deserve to be heard, and they have the right to express their sexuality same as everyone else (i Love women with big boobs, sue me)

Haven’t you heard of gay people going through straight marriages in Lebanon, trying to look normal in the eyes of society (look around your neighborhood you’ll find plenty) and how that same Marriage looked like in the end?

 

[Indie]

people don't get shunned from their families and their immediate entourage for being straight, they are also not under any risk of being sent to jail just because of their sexual orientation! Gay pride is about a lot more than just being okay with who you are and your sexual orientation that you cannot actually change... It's about asking for your rights and your dignity as an individual and an equal in society! It's also about raising awareness that unlike what you have been taught your entire life, you have nothing to be ashamed of if you experience an attraction to someone from the same sex!



Yes asking for basic human rights is indeed glorifying their lifestyle and turning it into something cool! And yes of course kids are usually influenced into becoming gay! For someone so fond of pointing out logical fallacies it's a shame you seem to be becoming a big fan



ah yes I almost forgot your new found disdain towards what you call the transgender lobby, you haven't mentioned it in about 2 weeks now but i guess being away from the forum played a big hand in that lol! Thanks for reminding me anyway !

Beirut pride was cancelled since the organiser was arrested and asked to sign a pledge to cancel the event! But hey at least no kids would be influenced now!

Hey would you look at that, I guess more caution wasn't necessary after all!

Re-read my post and if you still don't get my point after that, sign up to reading comprehension courses.

An attitude adjustment course would serve you well, too.

 

[Isabella]

Re-read my post and if you still don't get my point after that, sign up to reading comprehension courses.

An attitude adjustment course would serve you well, too.

Your post had no point other than a thinly veiled homophobic rant justified by random logical fallacies!

At least justleb is more upfront about his opinions!

 

[Iron Maiden]

Are traps gay?