International LGBT News

[Steven E. Webster]

Friends,

I don't know if we have a thread like this--but I want to keep before us the international nature of the LGBT movement. I have a particular interest in Africa. Here's a story about South Africa, but it gets into what is going on in the rest of the continent:

http://www.sundayherald.com/internat...546316.0.0.php

Steven Webster

[BenL]

From Walking In Integrity:

http://walkingwithintegrity.blogspot...in-uganda.html

Persecution in Uganda
An officer of Integrity Uganda forward the following article to me with this preface...
We have been busy with this case and we need your prayers things do not backfire against us. Some misquotings appeared in the papers recently reporting about the same and Bishop [Christopher] was mentioned . We need your prayers as the government is out on our necks that we promised to kill the minister for ethics collaborating with UK and USA allies. At a television live show it was emphasized that Integrity are the ringleaders into this. We are rather firm waiting for the ruling. God bless.

By Katherine Roubos and Val Kalende (Daily Monitor)
July 27, 2007: Two years ago, a government official broke into a home, seized property and detained one of the occupants without a warrant. The case seems clear, but will the plaintiff's homosexuality affect the verdict? The ruling, due next month in Uganda's Constitutional court, could set a precedent for sub-Saharan Africa's reportedly conservative masses.

Two Ugandan lesbians are suing the government for trespassing, theft of property, illegal arrest, and inhuman and degrading treatment. The case has been in court since December 2006 and a verdict is expected when the court session resumes in August.

Source: http://www.monitor.co.ug/news/news07274.php

[BenL]

The following is in reaction to a press conference by Uganda's gay group SMUG, in which they asked the public to stop discriminating against GLBT people. I couldn't get to the original without logging in, and I didn't want to register. The reaction is the "same old, same old," but in Uganda it take a lot of courage to speak publicly.

http://www.newvision.co.ug/D/8/13/581922

Religious leaders rap homosexuals
Friday, 17th August, 2007 E-mail article Print article

By Steven Candia
and Alfred Wasike

FAITH groups yesterday condemned the homosexuals’ move to demand for acceptance while the Government and the Police moved with caution. On Thursday, homosexuals had a press conference where they complained about discrimination.

Sheik Yahaya Lukwago, an executive member of the Uganda Muslims Supreme Council, accused the group of polluting the public.

“In the Sharia law, they deserve to be killed. Allah created us for reproduction. Prophet Mohammed wrote in the Quran that homosexuals should be killed,” Lukwago said.

Archbishop Dr. John Wani, of the Seventh Day Adventists (SDA) Church said it was for such unnatural behaviour that God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.

The Rev. Aaron Mwesigye, the Provincial Secretary of the Church of Uganda, said the practice was against the scriptures. “God’s design and intention is for humanity to express itself only in male and female relationship and for procreation. We condemn homosexuality.

Our position is to seek out lost sheep.”
A senior Catholic cleric yesterday condemned homosexuality saying it “‘goes against the grain of the scriptures.’ “Procreation is the main purpose humanity was created. How would procreation take place if homosexuality is exalted,” he asked.

Ethics minister James Nsaba Buturo termed Thursday’s press conference as “a challenge against the law and unacceptable”, dubbing it “a game aimed at softening public opinion.”

However, he conceded that the matter was complex, adding that the Government would issue a statement on the matter “at an appropriate time.”

The press conference, largely perceived as pointer of the vice taking root in the community, forced Buturo to hastily convene a meeting with the Minister of Internal Affairs, seeking his opinion on how to deal with the matter.

Buturo also blamed the Police for not doing its work. “I wish the Police would do its work,” he said.

But the Inspector General of Police, Maj. Gen. Kale Kayihura, yesterday said the matter was complex and needed to be approached cautiously.

“This practice has been around and is a problem, which needs a multi-pronged approach, including stakeholders to combat,’ he said, adding: “But we are studying the matter.”

[BenL]

I copied the text of this article from another list I belong to. It is from the same newspaper. I don't know the URL.

Uganda: Kampala Homosexuals Speak Out
New Vision (Kampala)
16 August 2007
Alfred Waske
Kampala
In an unprecedented show of boldness, the homosexual community in Uganda yesterday came out and addressed their maiden press conference, complaining about discrimination and demanding acceptance by the public.
"Please, let us live in peace. Stop persecuting us. God created us this way.
We are children of God as well," shouted more than 30 homosexuals led by
Victor Juliet Mukasa, leader of the Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG), their
umbrella organization comprising Freedom & Roam, Spectrum Uganda, Integrity Uganda and Icebreakers Uganda. Some of them wore masks.
The Uganda Penal Code Act criminalizes homosexuality. The law regards
homosexuality as an unnatural offence punishable with life imprisonment.
The Penal Code says any person who has carnal knowledge of another against the order of nature commits the offence.
Mukasa said their community comprises of lesbians (woman and woman), gays (men and men), bisexual (men and women), transgender (born with female genitals but with a male mentality) and intersex (born with more than one sexual organ or hermaphrodite). She abbreviated their community as LGBTI.
Dressed in a dark male blazer, Mukasa said in a female voice: "I am a
transgender. I was born with a vagina but my mentality is different." She
revealed that in order to hide her identity, she had been strapping her
breasts with belts, bandages and other materials.
"In a landmark case, we, Ugandan LGBTI people assembled at the High Court of Uganda two months ago to reinforce our right to privacy, dignity and property. There were no charges against us. We had done nothing wrong," Mukasa said.
She said her group went to court because the Police raided her home in 2005, arrested her guest, stole many documents, dragged them to Kireka Police post and forced her guest to strip naked in order to prove that she was a woman.
"We were treated in a degrading and inhumane way. Many of us have suffered similar injustice. We are here today to proclaim that these human rights violations are completely unacceptable," she protested as the roomful
yelled, "Leave us to live in peace."
They said they were concerned about the spread of HIV/AIDS because medical nstitutions discriminate against them. They urged the Police and LDUs to top harassing their members. "Don't lay a hand on us, we are the homosexual hildren of God. God created us this way and all we ask is let us live in eace."
Another transgender, Brenda Kizza, with a male face and female body shocked he media when she said the Police has tortured her so much that at some point they kicked her teeth out. She opened her mouth to show her fake teeth. "I had to buy these because I lost the originals, courtesy of
policemen," she testified in Luganda. Several others also testified.
Someone in the audience identified himself as Dr. Paul Ssemugooma and
estimated that there are at least 500,000 homosexuals in Uganda. There were human rights defenders like Jessica Nkuuhe, Sarah Mukasa, Beatrice Were and others.

[Steven E. Webster]

Friends,

Here's a link to an article at Talk2Action.com

http://www.talk2action.org/story/2007/8/25/3390/83947

This article contains many other useful links.

One interesting article that the above article links to points out that Uganda used to be a success story in AIDS prevention until the Bush administration pushed the unscientific idea of "abstinence only" on the country with the aid of some of their own home-groan "evangelicals."

The other important piece of information contained in this story is the fact that African LGBT people are actively seeking equality. Again, I feel we need to become more informed and supportive of their struggles. The struggle for human rights and LGBT equality are international struggles that do not know borders. By the same token, our adversaries here in the U.S. also are involved in promoting oppression of LGBT people abroad.

Steven Webster

[Steven E. Webster]

Friends,

Here's the link:

http://www.churchtimes.co.uk/content.asp?id=32744

When the article speaks of North American interests spending "the Almighty Dollar" to win influence with African bishops, I believe they are referring primarily to IRD (Institute on Religion and Democracy)--a right wing Washington think-tank that seeks to destroy mainline denominations like Episcopalians, Methodists and Presbyterians which have been "too liberal" in their social and anti-war emphases. They use the issue of homosexuality as a wedge issue to promote discord and schism.

Steven Webster