Watch: Gay rights activists disrupt Rebecca Buttigieg speech
'We cannot truly celebrate Pride while one of us is left behind, vulnerable, and alone,' says MGRM
Activists from the Malta Gay Rights Movement (MGRM) disrupted a speech by equality junior minister Rebecca Buttigieg on Thursday morning, protesting the recent detention of one of their members.
The activists held up placards with slogans including 'Celebrating Pride while queer people are in detention' and 'No Pride for some of us without liberation for all of us'.
In a statement, the group said it organised the protest “in solidarity with our client and community member, Angoua Abdu, who was apprehended last week and is currently being held in Safi detention centre”.
A spokesperson for the group told Times of Malta that Abdu was detained following a rejected asylum application, which he was attempting to appeal on the basis of his sexual orientation, adding that Abdu was active in MGRM activism.
The spokesperson described Abdu’s detention, taking place amid Pride celebrations and the opening of the Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, Gender Expression and Sex Characteristics Unit (SOGIGESC) conference, as “shameful”.
It is understood that Buttigieg spoke to activists following the action on Thursday morning.
MGRM said that as a member of the LGBTIQ community, Abdu’s detention “places him at severe risk of bullying, harassment, homophobia, and violence”.
“Pride is a time to celebrate resilience, equality, and visibility, but we cannot truly celebrate while one of us is left behind, vulnerable, and alone”, the group said.
“We raise our banners today to say clearly: No one is free until all of us are free", the statement read.
“We call for Abdu’s safety, dignity, and release, and for an end to practices that endanger members of the LGBTIQ community. Solidarity means action. Pride means justice. We will not stand by silently.”