Santiago, Ribuan warga Chili meramaikan prosesi pemakaman seorang pria gay yang tewas dianiaya oleh kelompok neo-Nazi. Kematian tragis pria bernama Daniel Zamudio tersebut menimbulkan kemarahan publik Chili.
Warga juga memadati jalan-jalan yang dilalui kendaraan-kendaraan yang bertolak dari rumah Daniel Zamudio di San Bernardo, sebelah selatan Santiago menuju pemakaman di Santiago. Warga mengibarkan saputangan berwarna putih juga melemparkan bunga-bunga dan bertepuk tangan.
“Akan ada waktu untuk keadilan namun saat ini, saya hanya meminta penghormatan dan saya berterima kasih pada Anda semua atas sikap dan air mata yang ditumpahkan untuk saudara saya,” kata Diego Zamudio, saudara laki-laki Daniel saat prosesi kremasi seperti dilansir News.com.au, Sabtu (31/3/2012).
Daniel disiksa dan dipukuli hingga tewas pada 3 Maret lalu. Foto-foto yang dirilis keluarga pria berumur 24 tahun itu menunjukkan, para penyerang memukuli kepala Daniel, menyundutnya dengan rokok dan menorehkan simbol Nazi dan slogan-slogan di tubuhnya. Pria yang terang-terangan mengaku gay itu tewas akibat luka-lukanya pada Selasa, 27 Maret lalu atau 25 hari kemudian.
Empat tersangka telah ditangkap dalam kasus ini. Mereka diyakini sebagai anggota kelompok neo-Nazi yang berumur 19 tahun hingga 25 tahun. Namun keempatnya membantah telah menyerang Daniel. Mereka juga membantah sebagai anggota neo-Nazi.
Chili geger dengan serangan tersebut. Peristiwa mengerikan itu terjadi seiring pantangan atas homoseksualitas perlahan-lahan berkurang di negara Katolik dan konservatif itu.
Tahun lalu, Presiden Chili Sebastian Pinera mengusulkan RUU keluarga yang akan memungkinkan adanya pernikahan sipil bagi pasangan sesama jenis. Namun anggota parlemen belum mengeluarkan putusan soal tersebut.
sumber berita : http://news.detik.com
foto : http://globalvoicesonline.orgThousands of Chileans have joined the funeral procession a gay man tortured and beaten to death by presumed neo-Nazis amid growing national outrage over the attack.
On Friday people crowded the streets around cars that travelled for three hours between Daniel Zamudio’s home in San Bernardo south of the capital and the main cemetery in Santiago, waving white handkerchiefs, throwing flowers and clapping.
“There will be time for justice but for now, I am only asking for respect, and I thank all of you for each gesture, each tear shed, for my brother,” Diego Zamudio said before a private cremation.
Daniel Zamudio, 24, was beaten on March 3 during a six-hour ordeal. Pictures released by his family show the attackers beat the openly gay man in the head, burned him with cigarettes and carved Nazi symbols and slogans on his body. He died from his injuries 25 days later.
The four suspects who have been arrested in the case are thought to belong to a neo-Nazi group. Aged 19 to 25, they deny allegations of attacking Zamudio and of being neo-Nazis.
Chile is reeling from the attack as the taboo over homosexuality gradually dissipates in the highly Catholic and conservative country.
Last year President Sebastian Pinera proposed a family bill that would allow civil unions for homosexual couples, but MPs have yet to vote on it.
Zamudio’s death has, however, renewed calls for more ambitious legislation, including a non-discrimination law proposed in parliament seven years ago.
The law would penalise anyone who discriminates against other people based on their race, sexual orientation or religious denomination.
The senate approved the bill in November but it awaits action in the house of representatives, where right-wing MPs have expressed concern it is a first step toward same-sex marriage, which is banned in the proposed legislation.
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has urged Chile to create a law to more easily punish hate crimes based on sexual discrimination.
“What we want is equality before the law, and Daniel is an example of the need and possibility to change things,” said Rolando Jimenez, president of Chile’s Homosexual Liberation and Integration Movement.
The independent human rights arm of the Organisation of American States has urged the government to launch a “serious” investigation into the beating death.
source : http://www.smh.com.au
