Since the elections the Central Asian republic has been in the news continuously. We have all seen the demonstrations and plundering in Bishkek and other cities. No one could imagine that the people of Kyrgyzstan would take the matter in their own hands. But what has been the effect of all this on our colleagues of Labrys? The lesbian organisation has only recently got its own office, thanks to a grant from the Amsterdam based organisation Mama Cash.
Anya Dovgopol sends this message from Bishkek: ” We are doing perfectly fine. I bet the whole world is talking about Kyrgyzstan now. It doesn’t seem like a planned revolution, there is no a single leader, which is a regrettable thing because they don’t quite know what to do next.
As for the situation in the city, you must know that they burned down all big stores, but simple people didn’t suffer. These were people from Bishkek, not from the south, who were stealing. I am not sure where it is all going. Overall, by now, the situation has pretty much stabilized. Our organization is fine too. The only thing is that we were planning to give an ad about us on TV and in newspapers, but now we have to postpone this. I don’t know what will be the position of the new power regarding homosexual people, I hope nothing would change. Even considering the fact that Southern people are more conservative… much more…”
Wall of hands – launching a new lesbian support group in the Kyrgyz capital (photo: INIS) The COC report on the LGBT situation in Kyrgyzstan can still be found on the COC website (www.coc.nl).
Source – COC, Netherlands
