XPost: ba.politics, dc.media, soc.penpals   
   XPost: alt.burningman   
   From: dthomas@zazzle.com   
      
   LONDON — Brushing aside Western threats and outrage, President   
   Yoweri Museveni of Uganda significantly strengthened Africa’s   
   antigay movement on Monday, signing into law a bill imposing   
   harsh sentences for homosexual acts, including life imprisonment   
   in some cases, according to government officials.   
      
   The move came weeks after Mr. Museveni’s Nigerian counterpart,   
   Goodluck Jonathan, took similar steps in his own country,   
   threatening offenders with 14-year prison terms. The Ugandan law   
   seemed even tougher, threatening life terms on charges including   
   “aggravated homosexuality,” meaning homosexual acts with a   
   minor, a disabled person or someone infected with H.I.V.   
      
   Africans “never seek to impose our view on others; if only they   
   could let us alone,” Mr. Museveni said, alluding to Western   
   pressure to reject the bill.   
      
   He signed the legislation at his official residence at Entebbe,   
   near the capital, Kampala, in front of government officials,   
   journalists and a team of Ugandan scientists who had said they   
   found no genetic basis for homosexuality — a conclusion that Mr.   
   Museveni cited in support of the new law.   
      
   While Western gay-rights campaigners have accused American   
   evangelical Christian groups of promoting antigay sentiment in   
   Uganda, Mr. Museveni accused “arrogant and careless Western   
   groups” of seeking to draw Ugandan children into homosexuality.   
      
   The Ugandan government spokesman, Ofwono Opondo, said Mr.   
   Museveni wanted to sign the bill “with the full witness of the   
   international media to demonstrate Uganda’s independence in the   
   face of Western pressure and provocation.” Mr. Opondo announced   
   on Twitter that Mr. Museveni had signed the bill, which drew   
   condemnation from rights groups and Ugandan activists.   
      
   “I’m very disappointed about the law today,” said Pepe Julian   
   Onziema, program director at Sexual Minorities Uganda. Because   
   of the provision banning the promotion of homosexuality, he said   
   that it “affects every Ugandan,” including health workers,   
   friends and other human-rights activists.   
      
   The country’s Parliament approved the law in December, saying it   
   was aimed “at strengthening the nation’s capacity to deal with   
   emerging internal and external threats to the traditional   
   heterosexual family.”   
      
   Later that month, Mr. Museveni wrote to Parliament saying that   
   lawmakers had made procedural errors in passing the bill and   
   that an in-depth study was needed before it could be taken up   
   again. Mr. Museveni said at the time that he would seek further   
   expert opinions.   
      
   But this month, Mr. Museveni shifted position and said he would   
   sign the bill, apparently bowing to strong conservative opinion   
   among Ugandans. Gay-rights activists in Uganda have vowed to   
   oppose the legislation, which could jeopardize hundreds of   
   millions of dollars in crucial Western development aid.   
      
   According to Amnesty International, homosexuality is illegal in   
   38 of 54 African countries, but Western opposition to such   
   measures is frequently criticized as akin to imperialism.   
      
   “This is a tragic day for Uganda and for all who care about the   
   cause of human rights,” Secretary of State John Kerry said   
   Monday in a statement. “Ultimately, the only answer is repeal of   
   this law.”   
      
   Mr. Kerry said that the law would have an adverse effect on   
   public health initiatives, including those related to H.I.V.   
      
   He added that the law was “not just morally wrong; it   
   complicates a valued relationship.”   
      
   “Now that this law has been enacted, we are beginning an   
   internal review of our relationship with the government of   
   Uganda,” including assistance programs, he continued.   
      
   The United States is one of Uganda’s biggest aid donors.   
   Additionally, Mr. Museveni is an important ally in the West’s   
   efforts to curb Islamic militancy in Somalia, where Uganda has   
   played a central role in an African Union peacekeeping force.   
      
   There were concerns about the likely effect of the law.   
   “Disapproval of homosexuality by some can never justify   
   violating the fundamental human rights of others,” Navi Pillay,   
   the top United Nations human rights official, said in a   
   statement in Geneva.   
      
   “This law will institutionalize discrimination and is likely to   
   encourage harassment and violence against individuals on the   
   basis of their sexual orientation. It is formulated so broadly   
   that it may lead to abuse of power and accusations against   
   anyone, not just L.G.B.T. people,” she said, referring to   
   lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.   
      
   Her views were echoed by the British foreign secretary, William   
   Hague, who said in London that the new law “will increase   
   persecution and discrimination of Ugandans, as well as damage   
   Uganda’s reputation internationally.”   
      
   In Nigeria, Mr. Jonathan’s approval of the similar legislation   
   there inspired mob violence against gays in areas including the   
   capital, Abuja.   
      
   As the signing in Uganda approached on Monday, retired   
   Archbishop Desmond M. Tutu of South Africa, a strong voice in   
   the struggle against apartheid, said in a statement: “We must be   
   entirely clear about this: The history of people is littered   
   with attempts to legislate against love or marriage across   
   class, caste and race. But there is no scientific basis or   
   genetic rationale for love.”   
      
   Archbishop Tutu, who said Mr. Museveni had assured him that the   
   bill would not be signed, declared: “There is no scientific   
   justification for prejudice and discrimination, ever. And nor is   
   there any moral justification. Nazi Germany and apartheid South   
   Africa, among others, attest to these facts.”   
      
   The Ugandan law was first proposed in 2009, when a provision,   
   since dropped, proposed the death sentence for homosexual   
   activity in some cases.   
      
   Since then, “There’s been an increase in violence toward   
   people,” Mr. Onziema said. “We’ve seen our friends leave the   
   country. We’ve seen people attempt to commit suicide. We’ve seen   
   communities attempt what we call mob attacks.   
      
   “Now that it has become law we just expect that to increase.”   
      
   http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/25/world/africa/ugandan-president-   
   to-sign-antigay-law.html   
      
       
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)