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LequteMan
Guest
President Barack Obama has claimed that an anti-gay bill is a step backwards for Ugandans and warned Uganda’s President Yoweri Musuveni that enacting the law "will complicate relations with the US."
Under the proposed legislation, those convicted of homosexual acts could face life imprisonment and not reporting homosexual acts or people is a crime.
Promotion of homosexuality – even talking about it without condemning it – would also be punishable by a prison sentence.
Uganda already has legislation banning gay sex between men, but the proposed law sharply tightens restrictions – and covers lesbians for the first time.
The US is one of Uganda’s largest foreign aid donors, and in 2011 a small number of American troops were sent to help the Ugandan military fight the rebel Lord’s Resistance Army.
But President Obama, who once referred to the proposed law as “odious”, says this relationship will become more complicated if it is approved, describing it as an affront, and a danger to Uganda’s gay community.
America’s National Security Adviser, Susan Rice, said on Twitter that she spoke at length with the Ugandan President Museveni on Saturday night to urge him not to sign the bill.
President Obama’s statement didn’t limit criticism to Uganda, noting an increase in reports of violence and harassment of homosexuals from Russia to Nigeria.
Under the proposed legislation, those convicted of homosexual acts could face life imprisonment and not reporting homosexual acts or people is a crime.
Promotion of homosexuality – even talking about it without condemning it – would also be punishable by a prison sentence.
Uganda already has legislation banning gay sex between men, but the proposed law sharply tightens restrictions – and covers lesbians for the first time.
The US is one of Uganda’s largest foreign aid donors, and in 2011 a small number of American troops were sent to help the Ugandan military fight the rebel Lord’s Resistance Army.
But President Obama, who once referred to the proposed law as “odious”, says this relationship will become more complicated if it is approved, describing it as an affront, and a danger to Uganda’s gay community.
America’s National Security Adviser, Susan Rice, said on Twitter that she spoke at length with the Ugandan President Museveni on Saturday night to urge him not to sign the bill.
President Obama’s statement didn’t limit criticism to Uganda, noting an increase in reports of violence and harassment of homosexuals from Russia to Nigeria.
