Gay Group Tries Again At Book Fair

Despite a government crackdown last year on homosexuality, organizers of Zimbabwe’s annual book fair said Monday that a gay rights group would be allowed to exhibit.

President Robert Mugabe forced the Gay and Lesbian Association’s exhibit out of the fair last year, and responded to an international outcry by calling homosexuals “lower than dogs and pigs.”

The government did not immediately respond to Monday’s announcement that the organizers of the Zimbabwe International Book Fair had decided to give the gay group space in this year’s five-day fair, which begins July 30.

Homosexuality is illegal in Zimbabwe.