Lankan figures in a rights conference, says 'homosexuality outlawed in my country'

"I feel that many, in North America particularly, don't have any idea about what people go through in developing countries - how their sexuality plays such a huge role is subjugating them even further than the poverty, ethnicity, class and other factors dictate," said Rosanna Flamer-Caldera, co-secretary of the Brussels-based International Lesbian and Gay Association (ILGA).

Flamer Caldera is attending the largest human-rights conference on issues of interest to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered individuals taking place at the Palais des Congres in montreal Canada.

Flamer-Caldera also is an activist with a small group called Equal Ground in her native Sri Lanka."We are fighting for the rights of all those who are marginalized due to their sexual orientation and gender identity - in a country where homosexuality (both men and women) is still a criminal offence," she said of her homeland.

The talks will wrap up with a statement of the human rights claims by the international LGBT community, known as the Declaration of Montreal. It is to be read at the opening ceremonies of the Outgames by Olympic medallist Mark Tewksbury and tennis legend Martina Navratilova.

The Declaration subsequently will be presented to the United Nations as a demand for action on human rights for the worldwide LGBT community.

One of the key players, Tyler, was one of the grassroots organizers of stopdrlaura.com, a 2000 campaign that resulted in the cancellation of Dr.Laura Schlessinger's television talk show after the host's repeated references to gays as "biological errors." "This conference is important because historically, it will show that the LGBT community truly is international and have each other's interests at heart," Tyler said.

"It doesn't matter if the UN responds - we're making history by saying we're together."

"I hope this conference will unite the communities to speak in one loud voice," Flamer-Caldera added. "We can never be too complacent when it comes to our right.

Expected keynote speakers at the conference include Alice Nkom, a lawyer who is defending 11 men imprisoned for being gay in Cameroon; Walter Schubert, founder of the Gay Financial Network and the first open gay member of the New York Stock Exchange; Ashok Row Kavi, HIV activist and founder of Bombay Dost, India's first registered gay magazine; and Georgina Beyer, the world's first transsexual Member of Parliament from New Zealand.s ."

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