***
In its infinite wisdom the
Ugandan parliament has removed the death penalty for “aggravated homosexuality”
in the “watered down” version of its antigay legislation. Ugandan gays should
be rejoicing at the prospect of merely facing jail (possibly a life sentence)
rather than being put to death for being gay. (There really should be a sarcasm
font.) Articles from the BBC and International Business Times:
^^^
Uganda ‘set to
pass anti-gay law’
Nov.
13, 2012
Uganda will pass a
new law against homosexuality by the end of 2012 as a “Christmas
gift” to its advocates, the speaker of parliament has said.
The AP news agency quoted
Rebecca Kadaga as saying that Ugandans were “demanding” the law.
Homosexual acts are already
illegal in Uganda,
but the bill which is before parliament proposes tougher sentences for people
convicted.
Foreign donors have
threatened to cut aid if gay rights are not respected.
The bill, tabled by MP David Bahati,
proposes jail terms for homosexual acts, including a life sentence in certain
circumstances.
It prohibits the “promotion” of gay
rights and calls for the punishment of anyone who “funds or sponsors
homosexuality” or “abets homosexuality”.
[emphasis added]
But a clause which calls for
the death penalty against people found guilty of “aggravated homosexuality” –
defined as when one of the participants is a minor, HIV-positive, disabled or a
“serial offender” – is to be dropped, Mr Bahati has said.
Diplomatic spat
The bill was strongly
condemned last year by Western leaders, including US President Barack I who described
it as “odious”.
International donors have
threatened to cut off aid to Uganda
if the country does not do more to protect the rights of gay people.
Ms Kadaga said she hoped the
bill, first tabled in 2009 and now before a parliamentary committee, would be
passed by the end of the year, Reuters news agency reports.
“Ugandans want that law as a Christmas gift. They have asked for it and we’ll
give them that gift,” Ms Kadaga is quoted as saying.
Last month, Ms Kadaga was
involved in a row with Canada’s
Foreign Minister John Baird over gay rights at a meeting of the
Inter-Parliamentary Union in Quebec.
When Mr Bairn warned Uganda not to trample on people’s human rights,
Ms Kadaga replied: “If homosexuality is a value for the people of Canada they should not seek to force Uganda to
embrace it. We are not a colony or a protectorate of Canada.”
She received a rapturous
welcome from several hundred anti-gay activists, including religious leaders,
at Uganda’s Entebbe airport when she returned from her
trip.
In June, Uganda’s
Minister for Ethics and Integrity Simon Lokodo said 38 non-governmental rganizations
which he accused of promoting homosexuality would be banned.
Clare Byarugaba, the
co-ordinator of Uganda’s
Civil Society Coalition on Human Rights and Constitutional Law, said the group
would challenge the law in the constitutional court, Reuters reports.
“The international community
supports us and we also believe in the constitution of our country which
protects the rights and freedoms of everyone,” she is quoted as saying.
Correspondents say many
Ugandans are deeply conservative, and say homosexuality is against their religious
and cultural beliefs.
^^^
Uganda Revives
‘Kill The Gays’ Bill With Revisions
The speaker has been trying
to get the Anti-Homosexuality bill passed since 2009, when it was introduced by
David Bahati, a backbench lawmaker in President Yoweri Museveni’s ruling
National Resistance Movement party.
The measure was called
“odious” by U.S. President Barack I, and criticized by most of Europe. European countries threatened to withhold foreign
aid from Uganda
if the bill that at first called for the death sentence for “aggravated
homosexuality” was passed.
The first draft never made it
to the debating floor, but now Kadaga has revived an amended bill.
“They said I should stop the
debate on the Anti-Homosexuality Bill, but I assured them there is no way I can
block a private member’s bill,” The Daily Monitor quoted Kadaga saying when spoke to religious
leaders and journalists at Entebbe
International Airport
at the end of October.
“I will not accept to be
intimidated or directed by any government in the world on matters of
homosexuality,” she said.
“I was surprised when
colleagues came and thanked me, saying that’s what they have always wanted to
say but they had never gotten the courage to. That when it came to me that I
had spoken for the whole of Africa, for the
Arab world and Asians,” Kadaga said.
The death sentence clause has
been taken out, along one with forcing Ugandans to report homosexuals to
authorities in the “watered-own” second draft, Bahati told Reuters.
When asked about
pro-gay-rights countries denying Ugandans entry visas and aid, Kadaga responded
they could keep their money and visas.
The new bill prohibits the
“promotion” of gay rights and punish anyone who “funds or sponsors
homosexuality” or “abets homosexuality.”
The rise of the evangelical church in Uganda, with
American church funding, is partly responsible for the anti-gay movement in the
country.
“Would you accept that a thief should be
licensed, that a prostitute should be licensed? There is no difference between
a thief, a robber, a prostitute and a homosexual,” said Pastor Joseph Serwadda,
a supporter of the “Kill the Gays” Bill.
[emphasis added]
***
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