Barbelith Underground > Switchboard > Spanish Trans-Activists Threaten Hunger Strike in Quest for Rights

OK, apologies but for this first post at least I'm cutting and pasting from various Press for Change emails, not as yet archived on their site (and probably won't for a while, as they seem to only be up to Autumn last year).

Sent: 01 May 2006 20:16

Dear Friend,

I hereby inform you about a situation which oblige us to react with strength.

After the law related to marriage for homosexuals, we were waiting for Gender Identity Act for very soon. The Government had declared publicly / in public that our bill would be tabled in Parliament during the first semester of 2006.

This semester went by without the bill being tabled to parliament. Justice Ministry's non official declarations which are dated only the day before yesterday now announce "there is no date" and "it may be before or after this summer".

This brought Carla Antonelli to make a decision very nasty to her as a Socialist Party militant and as a coordinator of the trans' section of this one: to announce she will go on hunger strike on the 15th may if the government have not decided on a date before the 15th May.

Therefore, Trans' movement in spain rallied. We begun to declare ourself in a complete solidarity and if necessary and if there is no answer, actions will be undertaken afterward. The medias begun to know it and I'm sure they are interested.

Now, we shall need international support. It's for this I write you by asking you to pass it to whom you will want, in a first time for information purpose, and if necessary for call to solidarity purpose, in a very sensitive period where a Government which could recognize homosexuals rights doesn't seem to understand the urgency of transsexuals claims.

I send you enclosed to this letter the press release that our organization of Andalusia wrote. You can follow the actuality on www.CarlaAntonelli.com.

Friendly Militant Kisses.

Kim Pérez Fernández-Fígares
Chairwoman of the Association of Gender Identity of Andalusia (Asociación de Identidad de Género de Andalucía)

PRESS RELEASE OF GENDER IDENTITY ASSOCIATION OF ANDALUSIA (ASOCIACIÓN DE IDENTIDAD DE IDENTIDAD DE GÉNERO DE ANDALUCÍA).

Our rights currently are going through a critical period. Or they are recognized, according to the promise made par the socialist party in which we still pin all our hopes, or they are posponed indefinitely with all the risks of non fulfilment this suppose.

The transsexual person go having serious problems of documentation, which would make possible our insertion in vocational life, and of public health care, which we neither must nor can carry on expecting.

Human rights are not to be granted but are to be recognized; and we have for two years grounded hopes one will recognize fully those of this human group which is the transsexual community.

The political life in a democratic society is based on the commitment and the faith in adquired commitments .

For this reason, the Gender Identity Association of Andalucia (Asociación de Identidad de Género de Andalucía) supports fully our sister and fellow Carla Antonelli as transsexual activist and Spanish Workers Socialist Party (Partido Socialisto Obrero Español) militant given what take over commitments and deserve a full reliance in one's favour means.

We look at the calandar and also hope the party which have recognized the rights and the human dignity of a part of the GLBT movement, can honour its commitment to keep up recognizing those of the other of the parts, the one made up of transsexuals.

The international dimension also must be taken into account. The expectancy showing evidence of the avant-garde position of our country which has been provoked worldwide by the legislation put in force until now, remain lively faced to the legislation to come and cannot be thwarted. The GLBT movement, currently very linked, is particularly attentive. The same which is pleased with what was done until now, all thing considered shall go on expecting the reform process to continue.

Meanwhile, the transsexuals, as all the GLBT movement, which thus has made up our unity, we shall keep up by our mobilization in order to get the rights we cannot renounce become law.

Grenade (Grandada), the 26th April 2006.

--

Sent: 02 May 2006 21:05
Subject: Diary -13

DIARY

DAY -13 BEFORE TRANS HUNGER STRIKE IN SPAIN

This evening, Chairwomen Gina Serra, from ATC Libertad (Catalonia) and Andrea Muñiz, fromTransexualidad Euskadi (Basque Country) have decided also join the hunger strike, proposed by Carla Antonelli. Four activists are now committed to strike if the Government does not fix a date for presenting the Gender Identity Bill to Parliament.

This morning, some papers and many digital publications have relayed the decision of Kim Perez, as Chairwoman of an Andalusian trans-organization, to join the strike, and her appeal to the Andalusian Ombudsman to mediate with the Government.

We have received also very important support from Press For Change, the European TransGender Network, Crisalide Azione Trans, and Lynn Conway. We have also sent a letter to LesBiGay organizations to ask for solidarity. Some gay volunteers and friends are beginning to cooperate
with us.

At 3h p.m. our news have been seen at Telecinco, a nationwide network. Three trans women (Manuela Rute, Sofia Lopez and Kim Perez) have been interviewed, speaking about our labour and documentation problems.

--

From: Kim Pérez
Sent: 04 May 2006 19:45
Subject: Day minus 11

DIARY

DAY MINUS 11 BEFORE TRANS HUNGER STRIKE IN SPAIN

The declaration, yesterday, by the Minister of Justice put us in a doubt: whether the [Spanish] Government intends to continue preparing the Gender Identity Bill or if it wants to include the norms about us in a new Law for the Registry.

We have asked the Socialist Party and been assured that the Gender Identity Bill continues its progress. We could never accept the Registry Law, because the Gender Identity Bill would be suddenly deleted. I have written today to the Minister of Justice, asking for clarification.

Two new activists have joined us today: the Roman Catholic homosexual priest, José Mantero, expelled by the Church, (Andalusia) and the former member of the LGBT Group of the Socialist Party, Jaume d'Urgell (Catalonia). Both have declared their committment to the hunger strike.

Media pressure goes up. Our nationwide newspaper, El Mundo, publishes today half a page about the hunger strike, with a photograph of Carla Antonelli.

Does anyone have better links, or ideas how this is likely to play out? Spain was the third country to allow same-sex marriages and pulled out of Iraq. Are they just busy and trans-activists are being unreasonable, or is this something else?