The Greene County Democrat

Tag: President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda

  • Newswire : U. S. evangelical group promotes anti-gay agenda across Africa

    Demonstrator holds photo of murdered LGBT activist Edwin alias Chiloba

     

    June 12, 2023 (GIN) – An American evangelical lobby group has been coaching high-ranking African politicians and religious and civic leaders to oppose comprehensive sex education (CSE) across the continent.
     
    According to open Democracy, an independent news website, African ambassadors to the U.N. have gone to the Arizona home of Sharon Slater and her husband, Greg Slater, to learn how best to block LGBT rights and sex ed and how to negotiate at the U.N.
     
    The Slaters are the heads of Family Watch International, a Christian conservative organization described by civil rights activists as a “hate group.”
     
    Zambia’s ambassador to the African Union, Emmanuel Mwamba, confirmed to open Democracy that he attended two diplomat training sessions hosted by FWI in the US and, earlier this year, he gave one of the program’s keynote speeches.
     
    Zambia is among the African countries with the lowest levels of acceptance for  people, alongside Uganda, The Gambia and Senegal, according to one survey by Afrobarometer. 
     
    Now, however, after negative publicity worldwide, FWI has been trying to convince President Yoweri Museveni to soften the new law he signed that imposes the death penalty for “aggravated homosexuality” and carries a 20 year sentence for “promoting homosexuality.”
     
    “We are disappointed that the president signed the harsh bill into law,” said FWI director Lynn Allred. “We believe there are individuals who will not be able to obtain help to align their sexual behavior with their personal values.”
     
    The Archbishop of Canterbury also took the Ugandan church to task its support for the harsh law enacted last month.
     
    Justin Welby said there was no justification for supporting the legislation, in a move that highlights deep divisions within the global Anglican church on LGBTQ+ issues.
     
    In a statement, Welby said: “I am deeply aware of the history of colonial rule in Uganda, so heroically resisted by its people. But this is not about imposing western values on our Ugandan Anglican sisters and brothers. It is about reminding them of the commitments we have made as Anglicans to treat every person with the care and respect they deserve as children of God.
     
    “Within the Anglican community we continue to disagree over matters of sexuality, but there is no justification for any province of the Anglican communion to support such laws… There is nothing un-African about being gay. Museveni’s bigotry will cost lives.” 

    w/pix of murdered LGBT activist Edwin alias Chiloba
     


     

  • Newswire: Biden’s new message to Africa clears way for Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala to head World Trade Organization

    Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

    Feb. 8, 2021 (GIN) – At a virtual meeting this past weekend with members of the African Union Summit 2021, President Joe Biden shared his vision for more trade and investment opportunities while advancing peace and security.
     “The United States stands ready now to be your partner in solidarity, support and mutual respect,” Biden said in a video address, his first speech to an international forum as U.S. president.
     He described a future “committed to investing in our democratic institutions and promoting the human rights of all people, women and girls, LGBTQ individuals, people with disabilities, and people of every ethnic background, religion and heritage.”
     The message was warmly welcomed by Chairperson of the African Union Commission Moussa Faki Mahamat. The African Union looks forward to “resetting the strategic AU-USA partnership,” he said.
     Biden’s tone was a major departure from that of the previous administration, which framed its Africa policy within the context of U.S. competition with China or as a theater for fighting violent extremism.
     On his first day in office, Biden repealed the Trump administration’s ban on travelers from Muslim-majority and African countries, including Libya, Somalia, Eritrea, Nigeria, Sudan and Tanzania.
     “Just the very fact that Biden did it [addressed the African Union] changes the tone immeasurably from the previous administration,” said Michael Shurkin, a senior political scientist focusing on Africa at the RAND Corporation told the Voice of America.
     “By focusing on Africa for Africa’s sake, Africans for Africans’ sake, that’s actually a far more effective way to compete with the Chinese,” he added
     In January 2018, President Donald Trump was criticized for allegedly using a derogatory term in describing African nations.
     Last week, Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken spoke with Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. He expressed his grave concern about the humanitarian crisis in the Tigray region and urged immediate, full, and unhindered humanitarian access to prevent further loss of life.
     The State Department is also reportedly considering action against President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda, a staunch U.S. military ally who recently won his sixth term through a bloody election.
     In other news, the Biden administration has ended the deadlock over the next head of the World Trade Organization by expressing its “strong support” for Nigeria’s ex-finance minister.
    Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala was frontrunner for the role until the Trump administration last October said it wanted South Korea’s Yoo Myung-hee.  Ms Yoo has now withdrawn her candidacy. If confirmed, Dr Okonjo-Iweala would be the first woman and the first African to lead the WTO.