In an interview last week with Mexican newspaper La Jornada, Fidel Castro accepted responsibility for Cuba’s persecution of gays and lesbians decades ago.
From 1959, when the previous government was overthrown in an armed rebellion, until the 1970s, gays were branded counterrevolutionaries and forced into labor camps. [Bay Windows]
“Those were moments of great injustice,” Castro told La Jornada. “A great injustice! …If anyone is responsible, I am.”
Castro’s remarks come at a time when Cuban attitudes towards gays and lesbians are changing.
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Homosexuality was decriminalized in the 1990s. Cuba offers transsexuals free sex change operations and is on the verge of recognizing same-sex unions. Recently, many cities on the island participated in a campaign called “Homosexuality is not a danger, homophobia is.” [Beyond Chron]
Castro, who acknowledges that some of his best and oldest friends are gay, says that now “personally, I don’t have that type of prejudice.”
