AND HE DON'T MEAN FROM SMOKING POT
Reuters
Sat, December 30, 2023
78th UNGA General Debate at UN HQ in New York
BUJUMBURA (Reuters) - Burundi's President Evariste Ndayishimiye has called on citizens to stone gay people, escalating a crackdown on sexual minorities in a country where LGBT people already face social ostracism and jail terms of up to two years if convicted of same-sex offences.
"If you want to attract a curse to the country, accept homosexuality," Ndayishimiye said in a question and answer session with journalists and the public held in Burundi's east on Friday.
"I even think that these people, if we find them in Burundi, it is better to lead them to a stadium and stone them. And that cannot be a sin," he said, describing homosexuality as imported from the West.
His comments were the latest show of widening intolerance of LGBT people in the region.
Uganda passed a law in May that carries the death sentence for certain categories of same-sex offences and lengthy jail sentences for others - a move that was widely condemned by Western governments and human rights activists.
The United States has imposed a range of sanctions including travel restrictions and removing Uganda from a tariff-free trade deal. The World Bank also suspended all future loans to the east African country in protest.
Some lawmakers in Kenya, South Sudan and Tanzania are pushing for similarly tough anti-gay laws in their countries.
The politicians in these countries see their efforts as buttressing African values and sovereignty against what they view as Western pressure on the issue.
(Reporting by Clement Manirabarusha; Editing by Elias Biryabarema and Frances Kerry)
More on LGBT issues in Africa:
Inside Kenya's discreet church welcoming gay pastors
'How a dance posted to TikTok nearly cost me my life'
Will Kenya be the latest country to pass anti-gay law?
Lured into a trap and blackmailed for being gay
Gay Ugandan asks 'Where will I go?' as secret shelters under threat
Reuters
Sat, December 30, 2023
78th UNGA General Debate at UN HQ in New York
BUJUMBURA (Reuters) - Burundi's President Evariste Ndayishimiye has called on citizens to stone gay people, escalating a crackdown on sexual minorities in a country where LGBT people already face social ostracism and jail terms of up to two years if convicted of same-sex offences.
"If you want to attract a curse to the country, accept homosexuality," Ndayishimiye said in a question and answer session with journalists and the public held in Burundi's east on Friday.
"I even think that these people, if we find them in Burundi, it is better to lead them to a stadium and stone them. And that cannot be a sin," he said, describing homosexuality as imported from the West.
His comments were the latest show of widening intolerance of LGBT people in the region.
Uganda passed a law in May that carries the death sentence for certain categories of same-sex offences and lengthy jail sentences for others - a move that was widely condemned by Western governments and human rights activists.
The United States has imposed a range of sanctions including travel restrictions and removing Uganda from a tariff-free trade deal. The World Bank also suspended all future loans to the east African country in protest.
Some lawmakers in Kenya, South Sudan and Tanzania are pushing for similarly tough anti-gay laws in their countries.
The politicians in these countries see their efforts as buttressing African values and sovereignty against what they view as Western pressure on the issue.
(Reporting by Clement Manirabarusha; Editing by Elias Biryabarema and Frances Kerry)
Burundi's President Ndayishimiye hits out over gay rights and aid
Samba Cyuzuzo - BBC Great Lakes, AFRICA
Fri, December 29, 2023
President Ndayishimiye, a fervent Catholic, had been asked about LGBT rights at a press conference
Burundi's President Évariste Ndayishimiye has said that homosexuals in his country "should be stoned".
Responding to a reporter's question, Mr Ndayishimiye, a fervent Catholic, said powerful nations "should keep" their aid if it comes with an obligation to give rights to homosexuals.
Some African leaders have in the past accused donor countries of trying to impose their values on the continent.
Homosexual sex is illegal in Burundi, punishable by up to two years in jail.
In an interview with the BBC last month, Ghanaian Catholic Cardinal Peter Turkson said homosexuality should not be a criminal offence and people should be helped to understand the issue better.
But his views are at odds with many conservative Christians on the continent. More than 30 African countries outlaw homosexual sex.
Talking to journalists at a press conference, President Ndayishimiye used a Bible reference to say that God was opposed to homosexuality adding that it was no longer an issue in Burundi.
He had been asked about alleged pressure from Western countries for LGBT rights to be respected.
"For me, I think that if we find these people in Burundi they should be taken to stadiums and be stoned, and doing so would not be a crime," he said.
Mr Ndayishimiye suggested that homosexuality was like "choosing between Satan and God".
"If you want to choose Satan now go and live in those countries [in the West] and I think those who strive to go there want to acquire those habits, they should remain there and never bring them to us," the president added.
In a rare court case in August, seven people were sentenced to between one and two years in prison after they were found guilty of engaging in homosexual acts - a charge they denied.
Homosexual sex is also illegal in many other countries in the region, including in Uganda, which in May tightened its law further to include a possible death penalty for what is described as "aggravated homosexuality". This includes having gay sex with someone below the age of 18 or where someone is infected with a life-long illness such as HIV.
The fresh measures led the World Bank to halt new loans to Uganda and the US to pull Uganda out of a preferential trade agreement and impose visa restrictions on key officials.
Ugandan rights groups are currently challenging the law in the courts.
Ghanaian MPs are also considering a bill that would make identifying as LGBT punishable with a three-year prison sentence. People who campaign for LGBT rights could also face up to 10 years in jail.
Fri, December 29, 2023
President Ndayishimiye, a fervent Catholic, had been asked about LGBT rights at a press conference
Burundi's President Évariste Ndayishimiye has said that homosexuals in his country "should be stoned".
Responding to a reporter's question, Mr Ndayishimiye, a fervent Catholic, said powerful nations "should keep" their aid if it comes with an obligation to give rights to homosexuals.
Some African leaders have in the past accused donor countries of trying to impose their values on the continent.
Homosexual sex is illegal in Burundi, punishable by up to two years in jail.
In an interview with the BBC last month, Ghanaian Catholic Cardinal Peter Turkson said homosexuality should not be a criminal offence and people should be helped to understand the issue better.
But his views are at odds with many conservative Christians on the continent. More than 30 African countries outlaw homosexual sex.
Talking to journalists at a press conference, President Ndayishimiye used a Bible reference to say that God was opposed to homosexuality adding that it was no longer an issue in Burundi.
He had been asked about alleged pressure from Western countries for LGBT rights to be respected.
"For me, I think that if we find these people in Burundi they should be taken to stadiums and be stoned, and doing so would not be a crime," he said.
Mr Ndayishimiye suggested that homosexuality was like "choosing between Satan and God".
"If you want to choose Satan now go and live in those countries [in the West] and I think those who strive to go there want to acquire those habits, they should remain there and never bring them to us," the president added.
In a rare court case in August, seven people were sentenced to between one and two years in prison after they were found guilty of engaging in homosexual acts - a charge they denied.
Homosexual sex is also illegal in many other countries in the region, including in Uganda, which in May tightened its law further to include a possible death penalty for what is described as "aggravated homosexuality". This includes having gay sex with someone below the age of 18 or where someone is infected with a life-long illness such as HIV.
The fresh measures led the World Bank to halt new loans to Uganda and the US to pull Uganda out of a preferential trade agreement and impose visa restrictions on key officials.
Ugandan rights groups are currently challenging the law in the courts.
Ghanaian MPs are also considering a bill that would make identifying as LGBT punishable with a three-year prison sentence. People who campaign for LGBT rights could also face up to 10 years in jail.
More on LGBT issues in Africa:
Inside Kenya's discreet church welcoming gay pastors
'How a dance posted to TikTok nearly cost me my life'
Will Kenya be the latest country to pass anti-gay law?
Lured into a trap and blackmailed for being gay
Gay Ugandan asks 'Where will I go?' as secret shelters under threat
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