KAMPALA: The Ugandan government has not been shy about their opposition to gay rights and LGBT organizations working in the country. On February 14, the government's raid on a peaceful gathering of LGBT workers has sparked the furor of international and local rights organizations. Making matters worse, the Ugandan Minister for Ethics and Integrity Simon Lokodo shut down a training held by Freedom and Roam Uganda (FARUG) at an Entebbe hotel. Lokodo claimed that the group's activities were against “tradition,” closed the workshop, and dispersed the 35 participants. No laws in Uganda permit the shutting down of peaceful meetings, including of LGBT people. Aaron, who was present at the closing, told Bikyamasr.com that the “there was a lot of name-calling and anger from the officials who demanded an end to our ‘illegal' activities that are ‘against God'.” Uganda has been pressuring LGBT activists for months, closing meetings, arresting individuals and has pass legislation that criminalizes homosexuality in the country. “It's illegal for a Ugandan government minister to shut down a human rights meeting just because he doesn't like the subject matter,” said Maria Burnett, Uganda researcher at Human Rights Watch. “This is just the latest step in a general decline in civil liberties in Uganda, where those who express divergent viewpoints are increasingly silenced – in clear violation of the law.” According to reports from Aaron and other eyewitnesses, Lokodo, accompanied by his police escort, appeared at the gathering in the hotel and declared it illegal after inspecting workshop materials. Participants told Human Right Watch that Lokodo “threatened to arrest organizer Kasha Jacqueline Nabagasera, a prominent LGBT rights activist and winner of the 2011 Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders, after she challenged the minister's order to disband the meeting. Nabagasera fled the hotel and is currently in a safe location.” The raid comes a week after Ugandan member of parliament David Bahati reintroduced the Anti-Homosexuality Bill. The bill would criminalize the legitimate work of national and international activists and organizations working for the defense and promotion of human rights in Uganda by criminalizing the “promotion of homosexuality.” Critics have raised concerns that such provisions would be used as a pretext for clamping down on organizations that support basic human rights for LGBT people. The LGBT community in Uganda has said they face massive persecution for their lifestyle, but hope that pressure from international organizations can help push their message of inclusion forward. “We have long simply lived in silence and we would like to see attitudes change for the better because we are not dangerous and are not any different than other Ugandans,” said Aaron, who was using a pseudonym for protection. BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/mPOUA Tags: LGBT, Minister, rights, Uganda Section: Culture, East Africa, Human Rights, Latest News
