The radio
station that I tune into every morning features news from the BBC. One morning
last week, I caught just a fragment of one BBC broadcast. The part that I heard
intrigued me, so I went to the internet to learn more. I first wanted to see
what kind of spin the major US news outlets were putting on the story. I was
somewhat surprised that I could find no mention
of the BBC story at all.
What I had
heard on the BBC broadcast that intrigued me was the voice of a Ugandan
government spokesman, speaking in English, saying:
“There was a
time when the international community believed slave trade and slavery was
cool, that colonialism was cool, that coups against African governments was
cool.” He then called for respect for Ugandan sovereignty.
The man
spoke with a polite tone of voice. It was not the shrill, dramatic voice of
outrage that one hears so frequently these days. I think that’s why I wanted to
find out what was going on.
What had
happened was that Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni, on 24 February 2014, had signed
a bill criminalizing homosexuality. He had signed this bill despite
international criticism and threats to cut financial aid. (Barack Obama and
John Kerry were among those who condemned the law.)
“Harsh” is an accurate description for the law: [As
reported in “The Independent” (UK)] Those found guilty of “homosexuality” may
be sentenced to 14 years in jail. Life imprisonment will be the maximum penalty
for “aggravated homosexuality,” defined as repeated gay sex between consenting
adults as well as same-sex acts involving a minor, a disabled person or where
one partner is infected with HIV. The original draft called for the death
penalty for some homosexual acts, but this was removed from the legislation
following an international outcry.
In “The
Independent,” President Museveni was quoted as saying: The law was needed to
stop what he described as the West's “social imperialism” promoting
homosexuality in Africa. Museveni accused “arrogant and careless Western groups”
of trying to recruit Ugandan children into homosexuality. Many of our
homosexuals are mercenaries, heterosexuals who become homosexuals because of
money. These are prostitutes for money,” he claimed.
What?
Promoting
homosexuality?
Recruiting children?
Was
this outlandish hyperbole, or was there some element of truth?
To try to
get a grip on this story, I spent some time reading Ugandan history and the
history of the AIDS epidemic in Africa. The two histories seem inextricably connected,
and, the law appears to be a response to the AIDS problem as well as the issue
of morality. Those in favor of the law see it as a solution to the ongoing AIDS
epidemic. Those against the law see it as a violation of human rights— comparing it to Nazi Germany’s treatment of the Jews in World War II.
“We Africans never seek to impose our view on
others. If only they could let us alone,” President Museveni said, speaking of
Western pressure not to sign the bill. “We have been disappointed for a long
time by the conduct of the West. There is now an attempt at social
imperialism.”
The financial squeeze is
now on, as several countries have withdrawn aid. The World Bank, ironically, is
rethinking a loan that was intended to increase health services to combat AIDS
in Uganda.
As I studied
the Ugandan situation, I reflected on the increasing momentum of the gay rights
movement here in the US. The showdown in
the courts over gay rights versus the First Amendment right of free exercise
of religion, as many are well aware, is currently under way. If we have not done so before, very soon each
of us will necessarily end up having to draw a “line in the sand” or declare on
which side of that line we stand.
I wonder, will
money be an influence or deciding factor in our choice?
