Video: Egyptian LGBT to occupy Tahrir Square on January 1

Source: Global Voices

By Mona Kareem

If Islamists were the ones to appeal as threatening to women and religious minorities in Egypt, then they are not alone when it comes to opposing passing LGBT rights in post-revolution Egypt. Recently, a Facebook page was established to promote the rights of homosexuals and to call on them to gather on the 1 January, 2012, in Tahrir Square to demand their rights.

Hundreds joined the page, not necessarily to support the demands, but to write homophobic comments, murder threats, and to cite Quran verses that show how Islam forbids homosexuality and defines it as a major sin. In one of the pictures posted by the page admin, a comment is written to define the page and to justify the rights of homosexuals to a normal life [ar]:

من حقنا الظهور في المجتمع بشكل علني لحمايه نفسنا و لحمايه المجتمع من اضطهاد المثليين لان المجتمع اللي لا يقبل الاخر يبقى مريض

We have the right to come out in society and to protect ourselves and protect our society from oppressing homosexuals because a society that doesn't accept the other is a sick one.

To explain why they have chosen to protest in Tahrir Square in January, the page had a post saying:

من نحن: نحن مجموعه من شباب مصر المثلي الجنس..نزلنا الميدان و شاركنا في الثوره..و نرى الان انه لنا كل الحق في العيش باحترام و علانيه..فنحن جزء من مصر الثوره ..فلا يزايد علينا احد

We are a group of gay Egyptian youth. We were in Tahrir and we took part in the revolution. We see that each of us has the right to have a life of respect in public. We are part of Egypt's revolution and we won't allow anyone to question our loyalty.

In one of its status updates, the page admin posted a message that s/he received from a gay Egyptian man, who was afraid to post it himself after he saw the insults and threats filling the page's wall:

ايه الضرر لما يكون في اتنين من نفس الجنس في مكان ما في العالم نايميين في حضن بعض؟؟ انا ضريتك في ايه؟؟

اخدت حاجة بتاعتك؟؟ اكلت اكلك؟؟ ايه؟؟ انا انسان احس واحب واكره واغضب واسامح وافرح

What's the harm if two people from the same sex somewhere in this world are hugging each other? How did I harm you? Did I take something that is yours? Did I eat your food? What? I am a human who feels, loves, hates, gets angry, forgives, and feels happy!

The page admin has also posted a note to media stating the reason behind rejecting interviews:

لكننا نعتذر لجميع الصحفيين عن عدم التواصل معهم..حيث اننا نرى ان تناول الاعلام لهذا الحدث الان سيؤدي الى احداث بلبله و ضجه اعلاميه قد تؤدي الى اجهاض اليوم من اساسه وارهاب شخصيات مثقفه وطنيه كانت قد ابدت موافقتها على المشاركه..و نرى انه من الانسب تغطيه الحدث وقت حدوثه وسيتم توجيه دعوات لجميع المؤسسات الاعلاميه في حينه

We apologize to all journalists for not responding to them. We think if media talks about this, there will be a big fuss which might lead to the failure of the national gay day we are planning. It will also make some national personages and intellectuals change their minds about attending the day after giving us their approval. We see it's better if the event gets covered at the time it takes place and we will invite media to be there then.

Another status came as a reply to all the threats that the page had on its wall:

الى الساده المصدومين من اعداد المثليين في مصر : احنا موجودين بينكم من زمان لكن انتم فرضتم علينا نعيش تحت الارض و دفنتم رؤسكم في الرمل كالنعام..ثانيا :كفايه بلطجه ومحاولات ارهاب لينا مش هانسمح لحد يشكك في وطنيتنا

To those who are shocked of how many of us exist in Egypt: we have lived with you for a long time but you forced us to live hiding. Stop you terror attempts; we do not allow you to question our patriotism.

The page has also posted a YouTube video which plays a written message from a gay Egyptian who says that he is just another citizen who contributes to the society and respects all, and expects to be treated the same in his own country.

Read more »

Anti-immigrant far-right rising online in Europe

Image via Wikipedia

By Paul Canning

A new generation of far-right, populist movements is growing in Europe, a new report has shown.

The report by the British thinktank Demos (which can be downloaded for free here) for the first time examines attitudes among supporters of the far right online. Using advertisements on Facebook, they persuaded more than 10,000 followers of 14 parties and organisations in 11 countries to fill in detailed questionnaires.

It comes a few months after the mass-murder by Norweigan Anders Breivik of 69 people, the investigation of which showed his extensive connections into this online, Pan-European far-right network - connections which far-right supporters have been keen to disavow.

Parties touting anti-immigrant and Islamophobic ideas have spread beyond established strongholds in France, Italy and Austria to the traditionally liberal Netherlands and Scandinavia, and now have significant parliamentary blocs in eight countries. Elsewhere, although parties haven't gained in elections street movements have, like the English Defence League (EDL) which has grown despite the failings of the nationalist British National Party (BNP). The ideology of parties differes considerably as well - some of the Scandinavian parties being strongly pro-welfare. What unites them is attitudes to Muslims and to multiculturalism and immigration and this describes the men - and almost all were men - surveyed for this report.

The report points out that sucess at the polls and even street demonstrations are like the tip of the iceberg. Underneath and online there is a new generation following these organisations and swapping ideas, particularly through Facebook. For most parties the numbers online saying they support them are much bigger than their actual registered memberships.

The report used Facebook tools to find that of 450,000 supporters of 14 organisations examined, almost two-thirds were aged under 30, against half of Facebook users overall. Three quarters were male, and more likely than average to be unemployed.

Contrary to what normal polling finds, amongst this group it was the younger ones who were most opposed to immigration, which concerned them far more than the state of the economy.

Matthew Goodwin from Nottingham University, an expert on the far right, told the Guardian:

"As an appeal to voters, it marks a very significant departure from the old, toxic far-right like the BNP. What some parties are trying to do is frame opposition to immigration in a way that is acceptable to large numbers of people. Voters now are turned off by crude, blatant racism - we know that from a series of surveys and polls."

"[These groups are] saying to voters: it's not racist to oppose these groups if you're doing it from the point of view of defending your domestic traditions. This is the reason why people like [Dutch politician] Geert Wilders have not only attracted a lot of support but have generated allies in the mainstream political establishment and the media."

The poll was conducted before the Eurozone crisis but that is likely to increase old 'north-south' racism within Europe. Says Goodwin:

"What we have seen over the past five years is the emergence of parties in countries which were traditionally seen as immune to the trend - the Sweden Democrats, the True Finns, the resurgence of support for the radical right in the Netherlands, and our own experience with the EDL."

Gavan Titley, co-author of the recent book The Crises of Multiculturalism, tells The Guardian that since 9/11 casual islamophobia from mainstream politicians has helped the far-right.

"Racist strategies constantly adapt to political conditions, and seek new sets of values, language and arguments to make claims to political legitimacy. Over the past decade, Muslim populations around Europe, whatever their backgrounds, have been represented as the enemy within or at least as legitimately under suspicion. It is this very mainstream political repertoire that newer movements have appropriated."

"As antisemitism was a unifying factor for far-right parties in the 1910s, 20s and 30s, Islamophobia has become the unifying factor in the early decades of the 21st century," said Thomas Klau from the European Council on Foreign Relations.

Says Jonathan Birdwell from Demos:

"Populist movements have a history of memorable and charismatic leaders, from fascists like Mussolini to revolutionaries like Che Guevara. These leaders have invoked appeals to 'the people' against the 'system' and the 'elite' to create a cult-like status, inspire a new generation of activists and galvanise political support. They offer the illusion of integrity, courage and passion against the backdrop of complacent bureaucrats and tired, out of touch political elites."

"The problem of every self-styled 'outsider' politician is that eventually to gain power they have to become part of the system. We saw this firsthand, particularly in our case study fieldwork in Denmark: the majority of radical populists we spoke to felt that the Danish People's Party had compromised too much and were now part of the system. By gaining power they immediately lose the virtue that brought them to power - their anti-establishment credibility."

Related articles

• Are the main parties just taking on BNP policies? (irr.org.uk)
• New British Fascism by Matthew J Goodwin - review (guardian.co.uk)

Breaking News: LGBT has hit Sudan!

By Ghareeb

Part one of a two-part series. Read Part Two.

There is a Sudanese website called Rumat Alhadag which posted in 2009 an article about the establishment of the Sudanese LGBT Association Freedom Sudan and its goal to improve the rights of LGBT individuals in Sudan, a quick analysis of the replies to this article reveals the following:

1. There were 39 replies (repetitions were not counted).
2. While only 4 replies reflected positive attitude toward homosexuality and homosexuals, 33 replies displayed a negative (many times very aggressive) attitude toward the issue. However, 1 reply acknowledged its existence without showing a clear attitude and another one only displayed a surprise feeling.
3. Words used to describe homosexuals included: “dregs”, “decadents”, “immoral”, “animals alike” and “salacious” with calls to “be expelled to an empty jungle”, “buried alive” and “pursuit by authorities”.

Before the establishment of the LGBT association in Sudan (Freedom Sudan) in 2006, homosexuality was a taboo subject and not many people dared to talk about it publicly and if they did so they would then have to face fierce and sometimes personal attacks from the society members. Even if they displayed a judgmental negative attitude toward the issue they would probably be labeled with descriptions like “profligate” and  “excitement seekers” and accused with “attempting to distort the image of Sudan”.

Sexual behavior in Sudanese culture is strongly linked to honor (the honor of the individual and the honor of the group are inseparable) and the concept of “honor” is a great and dangerous deal here in Sudan, it pushes many people to lie even to themselves if it was necessary in order to protect it. That is why these attempts to talk freely about homosexuality were met by such enormous denial and aggressive attack. Even until now after it has started to become less and less a forbidden subject, many people still think that this issue shouldn’t be discussed openly and should be dealt with secretly by security measures only, after all (according to these voices) these “deviants” represent only a very small and closed group in Sudan and no one supports them.

Homophobia in Sudan: a “ping pong” game!

In the highly charged political climate of Sudan, many political and religious movements seized the opportunity of the already existent negative public attitude toward LGBT people and the shock caused by the formation of an association for LGBT individuals and also the appearance of LGBT groups on Facebook (i.e. “gay story in sudan”, “SUDAN NEXT TOP GAY”, “Sudanese Gays” ... and others) they seized all this and used it as an argument against other opponent groups.

Those who consider themselves to be moderate or even liberals or progressive thinkers blame the hypocrisy of  the NCP* government and its supporters which, as they like to prescribe, while raising the logo of the “civilized Islamic project” have created a proper atmosphere for “extraneous and deviant phenomena” like the “spreading” of homosexuality by forcing in a puritanical form of Shari’a** (was prominent during the 90s then started to weaken afterwards) that inhibit the mixing of males and females in public and academic life which caused the elevation of sexual oppression among both sexes and pushed them to search for the “alternative” (by which they mean homosexuality)!.

Many of them like to adopt the opinions of some journalists and social thinkers like Mariam Othman and Hanan Aljak who prescribed Homosexuality and Bisexuality as psychological ailments and attributed them to many factors like:

• sexual assaults during childhood; 
• physical or emotional absence of the parent from the same gender and; 
• other socio-economic factors like poverty, ignorance and the rising costs of traditional heterosexual marriage.

Ironically, extremists and fundamentalist Islamist groups like Ansar Alsunna (which has close ties with Saudi Arabia and the thinkers of the strict Hanbali School of Islam which prevails there) also blame the NCP government for its failure to implement the Shari’a sufficiently strong enough. They also don’t forget to aim their arrows at their natural enemies (the liberals) for calling for more freedom in the society and separation of religion from politics.

Lubna Hussein (in green)

Meanwhile, the NCP seems to be using the issue tactically against its opponents like in the famous case of the journalist Lubna Hussein who was arrested in August 2009 among other women from a restaurant in Khartoum for wearing “indecent dress” in a public place - and thus breaking the notorious article 152 in the Sudanese low “Indecent Acts” (she was wearing trousers in that incident).

The other women were flogged by law with 40 lashes each, but Lubna was excluded from the sentence. Her immunity was due to her working for the United Nations Mission in Sudan, however she challenged the authorities by refusing to pay a fine and called for the abolition of article 152. Her case caused great embarrassment to the NCP government which was faced with not only international calls from human rights organization to release Lubna and remove the above mentioned article but also with demonstrations inside Sudan which supported Lubna and her cause.

When the preparations of these demonstrations were taking place, an article was published in Alwifaq newspaper (known to be a pro-government newspaper) under the title “And with the aid of western embassies, demonstration by prostitutes and homosexuals for the abolishing of the public order law” in which the writer mentioned that a demonstration was going to be organised by prostitutes and homosexuals benefiting from the case of the journalist Lubna with the aim to reach the headquarter of UN in Khartoum and to hand in a petition requesting pressure on the government to remove the public order law.

The article was largely condemned and the government was accused with attempting to abort the demonstrations that supported Lubna and prevent supporters from gathering by sending a message via this article that whoever goes out in this demonstration is either homosexual or a prostitute. In other words using public homophobia as a weapon against opponents’ demonstrations.

In the middle of all this political exchange, public opinion becomes more congested and homophobia exacerbate. So it wouldn’t be a surprise to find a group on Facebook named (as it is translated to English) “fighting homosexuals and those who call for sex in Sudan on Facebook” which incites the visitors to help in closing Sudanese homosexual groups by clicking 'report/block this person' on their page.

Even many individuals who are supposed to be objective considering their position display obvious prejudiced non-professional opinions which could be sometimes completely wrong. For example, in the forum of the Sudanese universities of public health graduates and public health officers (suphof) some members put homosexuality side-by-side with increasing cases of AIDS in Sudan. Additional  homophobic statements were made by some members of the National Program for the Prevention of AIDS, of whom some prescribed homosexuality as a “negative mutation” in sexual practices in Sudan and that it also contributed to the high increase in AIDS in Khartoum state.

Although they mentioned concurrently that whereas the known HIV to them reached around 10,000 cases (the estimate is 88,000 cases), the number of Homosexuals known to them was only 715 and the estimate prevalence of HIV virus among them was 7.8% - which means, according to their figures, that there are only around 56 homosexuals infected with HIV. This contradicts their argument about homosexuality and AIDS spreading. The danger with these statements is that it came from a health program that is supposed to be objective and shouldn’t discriminate against any group in order to promote early voluntary examination amongst the community.

Shadows from the Past

For me, fundamental Islamic teachings wasn’t enough to explain all that hatred and the discrimination practiced at both official and popular levels against homosexuals, so I have searched for the missing part in the past and only then the picture started to became clearer to me.

Shawghi Badri

Mr.Shawgi Badri is a popular Sudanese writer and historian well known for his bold style in writing. Although he displays a frankly negative attitude toward homosexuality and considers it as a problem, yet (the opposite to the public mainstream) he acknowledges both its presence and its historic existence in the Sudanese community. This attitude has brought him many accusation of being “non loyal to the country” and “a non modest man who passed the seventh decade”  The reader can only imagine if this is what a man who himself disapproves of homosexuality had to face, because he spoke freely about it, if this is the case, what do homosexuals have to face on daily basis?!

In a post on the sudaneseonline.com website, Badri wrote a brief glance at the history of homosexuality since the Fonj Sultanate in Sinnar until the 80s passing through the era of “Almahadia” in the late 19th century and the years of British colonisation and the period after independence. He referred to global historical figures who many people tend to believe were gay like Alexander the Great, Richard the Lionheart, the First Earl Kitchener and Leonardo da Vinci. He compared them to homosexuals in Sudan using the following statement which I think is the key statement in his article:

“For those people there were choices, however what is practiced in Sudan is a process of enforcement and humiliation”

He gave the following examples:

• His schoolmaster used to force some of his classmates to have sex with him before he was caught. 
• In many areas in the capital Khartoum were not safe for boys and young men to walk in after dark fall and even in the daytime some kids were harassed or even raped 
• Badri wrote that he himself was subjected to harassment and many attempts but his strong physical structure and his aggressive behavior during adolescence protected him from these attempts.
• Some of this harassment took a “class hatred” nature being carried out by some men of low socio-economic status against kids from families of high socio-economic status just to break their spirits and be “well remembered by them when they grow up”. 

Another very alarming statement made by him which is relevant to the status quo was

“Sudanese youth in high schools and universities who were harassed or forced under fear, stimulation or threatening to have sex they found a shelter in the Islamic Brotherhood Organization which embraced them and offered them protection. Some of those were filled with hatred against the society and the others because they did not perform these acts by their own will and that might explain their dark behaviors when they reach power”. 

Badri once heard the mother of one of his classmates complaining to their neighborhood grocery man:

“What shall we do if the Minister of the Interior parks his car beside our house, climbs it and cries out for our kid from behind the wall”!

It is obvious from what is mentioned above that homosexual acts in the minds of many Sudanese are linked to sexual harassment, child abuse, class hatred and marital infidelity as Badri summarised it at the beginning as a “process of enforcement and humiliation”.

I failed to find one known example of a man to man or a woman to woman relationship described as being based on mutual love and respect between the two partners. If this is the case, no wonder from where all this anger came from.

Who knows, perhaps the men who are today eagerly chasing LGBT  individuals are the children of yesterday whose innocence was brutally taken from them by past monsters. It made me ask myself the following question: To what extent is the reality today different from the past? Well, I am still in the process of finding out the answer.

Definitions:

• *(National Conference Party), the ruling party in Sudan since 1989. Previously called the National Popular Party before the split of the Dr. Hasan Alturabi (the mastermind behind the 1989 coup d’état) and his supporters in 2000
• ** Shari’a or Sharia: is the code of conduct or religious law of Islam. Most Muslims believe Sharia is derived from two primary sources of Islamic law: the precepts set forth in the Qur'an, and the example set by the Islamic Prophet Muhammad in the Sunnah. Fiqh jurisprudence interprets and extends the application of Sharia to questions not directly addressed in the primary sources by including secondary sources. These secondary sources usually include the consensus of the religious scholars embodied in ijma, and analogy from the Qur'an and Sunnah through qiyas. Shia jurists prefer to apply reasoning ('aql) rather than analogy in order to address difficult questions.

 (Definition taken from wikipedia.org)

Ghareeb is a member of Freedom Sudan

Related articles

• Video: Sudanese LGBT produce first video (madikazemi.blogspot.com)
• World's newest country off to bad start on LGBT rights (madikazemi.blogspot.com)

Video: In Turkey, another trans woman murdered

Source: TGEU

With great sadness and anger have we learned that yet another trans woman has been killed in Turkey on 31st of July 2011. This is the info received today from TGEU member organisation Pembe Hayat:

dear friends,

as regards to the murder of didem, today we have more information. the murderer is a 26 years old man, who met with didem on facebook and agreed to have sex by paying her - didem is a sex worker. interestingly, the murderer is a fugitive soldier, named o.f.k.

he was caught by the police just after the murder after the high level of noise coming from the victim. he confessed to the police, "i thought that she was a woman, but she was a travesti. after learning this, i killed her."

tomorrow, we will have a silent protest in front of the apartment of didem together with the trans community in istanbul at around 18.00 p.m. in findikzade district of istanbul.

here is the link, where you can find the video taken just after the murder, where you can see the murderer and the trans friends of didem.

Our thoughts go out to Didem's close ones and the Trans and sex worker communities in Turkey.

These transphobic murders and attacks have to stop! Impunity for transphobic murders and attacks needs to be ended now!

Related articles

• In Vienna protests against removal of trans Turkish asylum seeker (madikazemi.blogspot.com)
• In Uganda, trans woman desperately seeks police protection (madikazemi.blogspot.com)
• LGBT in Turkey: not an illness nor a crime (madikazemi.blogspot.com)

Facebook targeted in campaign to respect gender identities

Source: AllOut.org

AllOut.org, a global campaign organization dedicated to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) equality, this week launched a campaign asking Facebook to stop  limiting its users' choice of gender identity to only male or female, while urging the social networking giant to add transgender options to its user profiles. With Google+ now offering its growing membership a third option for gender, AllOut.org is encouraging Facebook, the world’s second most popular website, to keep up with its newest competitor, Google+.

As part of the campaign, five AllOut.org members from around the world explain why Facebooks current sign up choices aren’t fully inclusive or respectful of their gender identity: See www.allout.org/facebook

"The right to an online identity is something that most of us have come to take for granted, yet there are millions of people in every part of the world who are denied the right to be themselves simply because they don’t fit into the “male” or “female” checkboxes,” said Andre Banks of AllOut.org. “The change we’re asking for is easy, and it’s the right thing to do."

In recent years, millions of transgender people around the world have gained increased respect and recognition. Countries such as Nepal, India and Pakistan have even expanded gender options on state documents to officially recognize transgender identities.

“I am proud to say that the highest court of Nepal has recognized the rights of transgender people to identity documents,” said Sunil Pant, the first openly gay member of Nepal’s Parliament.  “Now, it’s time for Facebook, one of the most influential companies in the world, to become a vehicle, not a roadblock to the worldwide recognition of transgender people.”

Facebook's extraordinary global reach, spanning 750 million members and cutting across every country and culture in the world, puts it in a unique position to influence attitudes and promote acceptance.

Read more »

New logo, 3000 followers, 500 likes

LGBT Asylum News has a new logo, designed for us by graphic designer Evan Smith. We love it - and the initial Twitter reaction was great.

We'll be incorporating it into the website proper over the next few days.

At present you can see it on our Twitter account - which this week topped 3000 followers. Also our Facebook page - which this week topped 500 'likes'.

Don't forget, if you like what we do, please consider making a donation!

How 'Global South' lesbians are using the internet

Image via Wikipedia

Source: GenderIT.org

By Esther Nasikye

As personal computers became relatively inexpensive, the Internet has become an ever-increasing part of people’s day-to-day lives. People use the internet to communicate, educate, organise as networks, access information, find jobs - the list is endless. The World Wide Web however, is being progressively devoured by the implementation of national intranets whose content is "approved" by the authorities. In 2009, some sixty countries experienced a form of Web censorship, which is twice as many as in 2008.

Governments have come up with different ways to censor information on the internet including banning and blocking of sites, censorship of material by Internet Service Providers (ISPs), content filtering by key word and so on. During 2008 – 2010, the Association for Progressive Communications (APC) conducted the Exploratory Research on Sexuality and the Internet (EroTICS) to find out how different people are using the internet in relation to their sexuality. The research was conducted in Brazil, India, Lebanon, South Africa and the United States. I talked to the researchers from India and South Africa to find out their experiences and their take on the findings.

This research was special because it was among the first to bring to the fore issues of sexuality and the internet. Manjima Bhattacharjya one of the researchers in India explains that the project was special because, “it was on a theme that was under-researched in India (while doing our literature review we had difficulties in finding enough relevant literature on how women were using the internet)," she said.

“It was with middle class women in urban India - especially young women who are on the whole under-represented in feminist research in India; and it was a cross country project - which meant that the theme was in many ways universal," she adds.

With the research being conducted in five different countries on separate continents, the research gives a sense of how cultural differences make such a difference to the ways in which the internet plays out in peoples' lives, but also how universal the need for free expression and access to information is.

Interesting stories from the research 

Read more »

Facebook threat to LGBT activist and support groups

Image via CrunchBase

By Paul Canning

As the LGBT community worldwide increasing moves online, many small groups in the 'Global South' have moved onto Facebook - some going there to develop a 'group' instead of developing a website, as they may have previously done.

Some 'old-style' Facebook groups are now being 'archived' (deleted) by Facebook. We have seen increasing reports that only some of them are being given the opportunity to 'upgrade' to the 'new format' (LGBT Asylum News was with our earlier page). This means that unless groups manually transfer the information, they will lose all their members, info, member discussions etc that have been accumulated over time. Facebook does not have a mechanism for administrators of Groups to easily save such information, they have to laboriously cut'n'paste it. Numerous industry watchers have commented that Facebook appears to make such changes quite often and posts on industry watcher blogs have attracted comments from people running support websites such as those for medical conditions who are angry and confused about the changes.

Many 'friends' of LGBT Asylum News including Zurich Pride, EveryOne Group, Stand Up for Gay Rights in Bermuda, LGBT Bahrain, International Gender and Sexuality Alliance, Belgian group Pas de chanteur homophobe/ Geen homofobe zanger/ @ Dour!, Icebreakers - Uganda, Noizy Image, Cambridge UK's Pink Festival and SOS: Support Iraqi LGBT are being archived without the upgrade option. But other groups, such as Friends of Freedom and Roam Uganda, The Dover Detainee Visitor Group and the Peter Tatchell Foundation have had the offer to upgrade.

Concerns over the process has led the US-based Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) to back a new Save Our Facebook Groups Petition. It claims that "Facebook [has refused] to communicate the criteria for upgrade." The Facebook information page on the change says that the criteria is "enough recent activity" but this doesn't appear to relate to the list of groups we have collected who have and haven't had the upgrade option.

The petition says that there are a series of problems with the change to a new form for groups pages and:

"We do not believe Facebook has fully considered the consequences of this strategy, especially for members of Support groups... we the undersigned respectfully ask that old groups be given the option to remain fully functional in their original 'old' group format, while retaining all members, with no interruption in their service, and for old groups to be restored to Facebook's search list feature."

Senthorun Raj of Sydney's Gay & Lesbian Rights Lobby comments that another Facebook format - fan pages - "seem more effective at getting people engaged." He has had the lack of upgrade with a group he runs Men and Feminism and had to manually reinvite members and recreate information and discussion.

Facebook has recently been accused of censoring some pages for political reasons and of removing gay content.

HT: Andrew Morgan