This past weekend several of Chile’s leading LGBT-rights organizations held a “unity” march in observation of the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia which, by some estimates, drew as many as 50,000 people.
The country recently elected president Michelle Bachelet on a platform that includes debating marriage equality although she has since put it on the back burner saying that the debate won’t happen until at least next year.
The country has also seen a series of vicious anti-gay attacks and murders in the last few years including Daniel Zamudio who was beaten to death in 2012 and whose aggressors carved swastikas on his body using broken beer bottles
Sometime during Sunday night or Monday before dawn someone spray-painted a number of hateful messages outside the offices of the MOVILH, one of the leading LGBT-rights organizations in the country. The messages read: “Death to faggots”, “AIDS-ridden faggots”, “Put your marches up your ass, fucked faggots”, “More AIDS, less fags” and “Do me a favor AIDS, and kill more faggots”.
There has been an outpouring of support for MOVILH and international condemnation for the attack. The United Nation’s Office of the High Commissioner released a statement in Spanish through it’s South American Regional Office which they call on the state to investigate the crime and hold those who did it accountable. The Chilean government under Bachelet has also responded quickly sending a spokesperson to the site of the attacks to express strong support for MOVILH and a commitment to address the crime.
If you would like to express support for MOVILH, please take a couple of minutes and drop a line or two on their facebook page: Movilh Chile.
Source – Blabbeando
