Updated
Box Turtle Bulletin reports Uganda’s Official Media Centre Publishes Article Suggesting Anti-Homosexuality Act Not Needed.
Columnist Obed K. Katureebe wrote an opinion piece in which he suggests that the Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Act may not be needed. While Katureebe does not hold a governmental position, the fact that this piece appears on the government’s official Media Centre web site might be significant. The Media Centre acts as a “centralized location where all official government correspondence and information can be easily accessed.”
Here’s the full text of the media centre article: Homosexuality: we can still avoid foreign bad press.
Update That article has been removed from relocated in the website. However you can still read it over here.
Box Turtle Bulletin also reports Vatican Statement about Uganda’s proposed legislation.
Today the Vatican representative read a statement to a United Nations panel on anti-gay violence. Although the Holy See did not reference Uganda by name, it does address in a general sense its response to the Ugandan Kill Gays bill. The timing suggests that this statement is driven by the publicity surrounding the bill…
And, Warren Throckmorton has this: Rick Warren issues statement to Uganda regarding Anti-Homosexuality Bill 2009. Among the points Rick Warren makes is this one:
Posted by Simon Sarmiento on Thursday, 10 December 2009 at 11:48pm GMT | TrackBack5. What did you do when you heard about the proposed Ugandan law?
I wrote to the most influential leader I knew in that country, the Anglican Archbishop of Uganda, and shared my opposition and concern. He wrote me back, saying that he, too, was opposed to the death penalty for homosexuals. There are thousands of evil laws enacted around the world that kill people (For instance, last year, 146,000 Christians around the world were killed because of their faith.). In this case, I knew the Archbishop in Uganda, so I did what I could, but my influence in that nation has been greatly exaggerated by the media.
Why does this make me think of the Bucket woman into Appearances?
Posted by: Göran Koch-Swahne on Friday, 11 December 2009 at 5:06am GMT"..Which is why I call on the government to avoid the bad press. Since homosexuality is already criminalised in Uganda, one wonder(s) whether parliament is utilising its time optimally by focussing on homosexualty when the majority of our people are suffering from hunger, lack of access to water and disease and collapsing infrastructure." - Obed K. Katureebe -
Such a very measured statement form this news columnist on the official Uganda Government web-site. However, the 'bad press' that the Ugandan Government is getting from around the Anglican Communion is, sadly, quite sparse - apart from the Provinces of Canada and TEC in the USA. The Church of Uganda has still not been petitioned by the Mother Church of England to support the withdrawal of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill still before the Ugandan Parliament. Silence is DEADLY -especially for LGBT persons in Uganda and their families and friends. God help them, because the Church seems unable to.
At least, this report acknowledges that there are other issues in Uganda crying out for attention - like Government corruption, poverty. starvation and lack of clean water, not to menyion AIDS and other serious human rights abuses.
Posted by: Father Ron Smith on Friday, 11 December 2009 at 7:36am GMT"In this case, I knew the Archbishop in Uganda, so I did what I could, but my influence in that nation has been greatly exaggerated by the media."
That's some fancy back-pedaling.
I still await statements from Minns, Dunkin' and that gang.
Oh, and from The Family.
And from he whom I shall not name in Advent.