Iraqi government ministers collude with the killers of gays and the US and UK condemned for refusing asylum to gay Iraqis.

The leader of the gay rights group Iraqi LGBT, Ali Hili, received a standing ovation from 250 delegates when he addressed the Faith, Homophobia and Human Rights conference in London on Saturday 17 February 2007.

Mr Hili, a gay refugee from Iraq, is also Middle East Affairs spokesperson for the UK-based LGBT human rights group, OutRage!. He told the conference that some ministers in the US and UK-backed Iraqi government were colluding with death squads responsible for the 'sexual cleansing' of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT)
Iraqis:

Iraqi LGBTs are at daily risk of execution by the Shia death squads of the Badr and Sadr militias.

Members of these militias have infiltrated the Iraqi police and are abusing their police authority to pursue a plan to eliminate all homosexuals in Iraq.

This is happening with the collusion of key ministers in the Iraqi government.

The Badr and Sadr militias are the armed wings of the two main Shia parties that control the government of Iraq.

These governing parties, particularly the Supreme Council of Islamic Revolution in Iraq - are complicit in the widespread execution of Iraqi LGBTs.

What is happening today in Iraq is one of the most organised and systematic sexual cleansings in the history of the world, Mr Hili told the conference.

Referring to the abduction by death squads, and presumed murder, of five members of Iraqi LGBT in Baghdad last November, Mr Hili said:

For the previous few months these activists had been documenting the killing of lesbians and gays, and relaying details of homophobic executions to our office in London. I have no doubt that they were targeted ? not just because they were gay, but also to stop them exposing to the outside world the anti-gay pogrom that is happening in Iraq today,? he said.

Condemning the refusal of the British and US governments to grant asylum to many refugees from the homophobic and sectarian violence in Iraq, Mr Hili
added:

The West, which caused much the current chaos in Iraq, should be giving refuge to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Iraqis. Right now, the US and Britain are turning down asylum claims by Iraqi LGBTs,? he said.

The full text of Mr Hili's speech follows below.

The Faith, Homophobia and Human Rights conference had the support of
52 sponsors, including the Home Office, religious organisations (gay and straight), trade unions, LGBT groups, secular campaigners and ethnic minority agencies.

Speaking after the conference, Mr Hili said:

The aim of the conference was to build a progressive alliance between people of faith and the queer community, and to oppose the rise of religious fundamentalism ? in particular, the bid by some faith groups to seek exemption from equality laws protecting LGBTs.