An anti-gay Islamic programme broadcast on Auckland's Triangle Television has angered members of the gay community who see it as threatening New Zealand's atmosphere of tolerance and freedom. In a paid programme broadcast last night and repeated this afternoon a Muslim cleric is said to have blamed the existence of HIV on gay men “and the filthy things they do to each other.” One viewer who says he will make a formal complaint, Doug Clayton, says gay people must not ignore this type of public comment. “We have to defend the freedom that has been difficult for us to achieve... if we are not careful we will lose it,” he says. Triangle TV boss and gay man Jim Blackman says he saw part of the programme and it contained “nothing new, I've heard all that before, it was just one person's opinion.” He says the programme provider has been warned before to be careful of the programme's content. “I can see the complainant's side of things and personally I don't like it either,” says Blackman, who has already received “several” complaints. He expects that the station will wait to see if any formal complaints are received before reviewing the broadcast and considering possible action. Triangle TV is an Auckland regional television station with a broad programming format - which originally developed out of an attempt to create a new gay TV programme.
Credit: GayNZ.com News Staff
First published: Monday, 29th September 2003 - 12:00pm