[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 23]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 31993]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




           EVEN MORE GROUPS RALLY TO SUPPORT H. CON. RES. 330

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. TOM LANTOS

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, November 25, 2003

  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, H. Con. Res. 330, the International Human 
Rights Equality Act, addresses one of the most underreported areas of 
human rights violations, the persecution of an individual solely on the 
basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.
  At our recent press conference, Martin Ornelas-Quintero, Executive 
Director, of the National Latina/o Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and 
Transgender Organization, eloquently highlighted the global prevalence 
of these violations. I ask that his statement be included at this point 
in the Congressional Record.

 Statement by Martn Ornelas-Quintero, Executive Director, The National 
   Latina/o Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Organization (LLEGO)

       Good morning. I want to thank Congressman Lantos and 
     resolution co-sponsor Congressman Shays for their work, and 
     also all the human rights organizations here today that stand 
     together in support of this important resolution. My name is 
     Martin Ornelas-Quintero, executive director of LLEGO, the 
     National Latina/o Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender 
     organization. I would like to read an excerpt from a letter 
     sent by LLEGO to the honorable Richard Maduro, president of 
     Honduras in September of this year
       In the city of San Pedro Sula, the lesbian, gay, bisexual, 
     transgender and transsexual community is confronting 
     persecution, harassment, mistreatment and humiliation because 
     of this attempt to defend the human rights of other LGBTT 
     community members. Specifically, we wanted to bring attention 
     to the case of La China.
       La China, born as Elkyn Suarez--along with the LGBTT 
     community members, demands that the police of San Pedro Sula 
     begin to conduct more exhaustive investigations into the 
     deaths of members of the LGBTT community so that these 
     murders do not go unpunished, as they have in the past.
       Ms. Suarez was a witness to the murder of David Yanez and 
     has served as a witness for the state during the prosecution 
     case. Under international scrutiny, Elkyn has maintained her 
     composure and courage to confront representatives of the 
     police force who, instead of protecting the citizens of San 
     Pedro Sula, have violated their promise to protect the law 
     and have become criminals themselves. -We are aware that the 
     Honduran government has measures at their disposal to protect 
     witnesses in criminal cases. We in the international 
     community want to make sure these measures are available for 
     all inhabitants of Honduras with regard to their sexual 
     orientation or gender identity.
       We make a call to the community to support and bring 
     attention to this case and the need for the Honduran 
     government to protect all of its citizens. We are aware that 
     in the case of La China Suarez, the police offered its 
     protection for a limited time and have withdrawn it. Given 
     the threatening conditions the LGBTT community of San Pedro 
     Sula lives in every day, we want to emphasize the necessity 
     for this protection to continue until all the individuals 
     related to the case are found and judged. Our greatest 
     concern at the moment is the life of Ms. Suarez, and we would 
     appreciate support and assistance in facilitating her 
     protection'' (Letter to Honorable Licenciado Ricardo Maduro, 
     Presidente de la Republica, y la Honorable Aguas Ocana 
     Navarro, Primera Dama de Honduras, dated September 15, 2003).
       Ms. Suarez, a Honduran transgender woman, witnessed the 
     murder of another transgender woman by two police officers. 
     After testifying against the men, Ms. Suarez was reluctantly 
     given witness protection. Unfortunately, Ms. Suarez, who was 
     unemployed at the time, had to find money not only for her 
     own food and shelter needs, but had to feed and provide 
     lodging for her ``protectors.'' The two police officer, 
     although accused and charged, ``miraculously'' slipped out of 
     police custody. Also, ``miraculously,'' witness protection 
     services for Ms. Suarez were curtailed. Finding her life in 
     danger, she fled--with the help of Amnesty International and 
     LLEGO--to Guatemala. There, the paramilitary tried to kill 
     her. Again, with assistance from Amnesty and LLEGO, she fled 
     to the Netherlands, where she today waits to be granted 
     asylum. This is just one example of the dangers LGBTT people 
     face everyday all over the world. We cannot sit idly while 
     our brothers and sisters are being harassed, tortured and 
     murdered often for simply being who they are. This is why we 
     applaud and wholeheartedly endorse the resolution introduced 
     today by Congressman Tom Lantos and Congressman Christopher 
     Shays.''

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