CAIRO: Avaaz, an activist website, has sent out a petition to its subscribers asking them to condemn Uganda's recent revival of the Ugandan Homosexuality Bill. The proposed bill would make acts of homosexuality punishable by death. Uganda is a nation that has roughly half a million homosexuals according to human rights organizations. The current law is not much better than the proposed law, with punishments reaching up to 14 years prison. These archaic laws are remnants of times long past, and evangelical pressure on the community. “Homosexuals are at least 12 times more likely to molest children than heterosexuals” is apparently what the Ugandan politicians and religious leaders were told in 2009 by radical American religious groups, the Avaaz statement reads. A few months ago, international condemnation and threats of aid cuts eventually halted the bill from coming to a vote. The Ugandan MP David Bahati has reopened the issue with the new Parliament. “This is unconstitutional and illegal,” the statement continues. “Enough is enough — Bahati has close ties to both mainstream American Pastors like Rick Warren and extremist religious groups like The Family, which cites many key US politicians as its members. If we pile the pressure on US religious groups to speak out and fully condemn the hate spurred by their actions, we stand a chance of stopping this bill before it's too late.” Avaaz has called Bahati's actions un-Christian and is urging key US pastors to make strong public statements condemning the bill both in Ugandan media as well as international media. Avaaz has also criticized some US pastors such as Rick Warren for aligning themselves with the most outspoken anti-gay pastors and politicians, despite their video campaigns against the bill. What Bahati has done is persuade the Parliament speaker to bring back the bill at its third hearing, which makes it possible for a vote to be held on the bill within hours, a direct violation of the Ugandan constitution. New foreign pressure is being resisted by the far right, as they claim such actions are colonial interference. “Forty one Commonwealth countries ban homosexuality and are poised, waiting to see how the world responds to this illegal Parliamentary proposal. Beating back this hate-filled law has been one of the most incredible successes of our global people-powered movement. But now Ugandans need our help again. Let's join together and kill the bill once and for all and send a clear message across the world that human rights are universal,” Avaaz conclude. BM
