Trend in Africa?

Burundi also tending to be 'purpose driven'? I lifted this from here.

PRESIDENT CLAIMS HONOUR FOR FIGHTING HOMOSEXUALITY




Last Updated: November 27, 2009



By Jerina Messie (BTM French Reporter)



BURUNDI – 27 November 2009: Burundian President Pierre Nkurunziza, has stirred controversy by stating that one of the reasons he received the Assisi Pax Prize, awarded each year to people who are promoting peace in the world, was because of his success in fighting homosexuality in the country.



Nkurunziza made this statement on 18 November in a radio and televised speech shortly after his return from Italy where the International Assisi Pax Association, a Catholic, peace promoting organisation, granted him the award.



“We received this prize because we have improved our Penal Code, in particular by saying no, to conditions that are against the values of the country such as people who have sex with same sex partners. We are proud to have fought those practices”, he said.



Outraged human rights defenders in that country said the president’s speech will further jeopardize living conditions of lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people.



“Clearly this statement will strengthen discrimination against our community in the media. The population and police forces will keep on insulting, arresting and extorting money from homosexuals”, Georges Kanuma, a Burundian human rights defender said.



According to Theophile Habonimana, another human rights defender in Burundi, Nkurunziza’s statement was “simply uncalled for.”



“This intervention is quite misplaced because the government has committed to international laws that protect human rights”, Habonimana said.



However these human rights defenders have sworn that neither the president nor the anti homosexuality law will stop them from fighting for the rights of LGBTI people in Burundi.



“I don’t think that the president can succeed in fighting homosexuality, he cannot defeat my willpower to fight for my rights and the rights of the LGBTI community in general”, Habonimana said.



Kanuma also insisted, “The president cannot succeed in fighting homosexuality and in any case no one can do it in the world. It amounts to condemning our brothers, sisters, neighbors and parents. As citizens who have a sexual orientation naturally different, we are determined to fight for our rights.”



In his unpopular statement Nkurunziza pointed out that the award was also a result of having abolished death penalty in Burundi.



Burundi officially passed the law criminalising homosexuality in April this year when the National Assembly went against the Senate’s rejection of the Bill.



Outlawing homosexuality was largely condemned by the international community and key donor countries.

Burundian Homosexuals Suffer Under New Anti-Gay Law

By Alan Boswell

Nairobi

03 August 2009

Homosexuals in Burundi say that their lives have been marked with increased discrimination and fear following the East African country's move to ban homosexual practices. Burundi officially passed the law criminalizing homosexuality in April this year.

The interviews conducted by the advocacy group Human Rights Watch documents the difficulties of being a gay or lesbian in Burundi, including instances of sexual violence, family rejection, police intimidation, and now the daily possibility of imprisonment.

Yves, an HIV-positive gay man who lives in Bujumbura, says that finding work has been a serious challenge for him since the law was passed. He also worries that the new law will discourage those in the gay community from seeking HIV testing and treatment for fear of scrutinization.

Another self-identified gay man from Bujumbura, Théophile, says that he was beginning to see increased tolerance among his friends and family before the issue became politicized. He describes the law as a "step backward."

Burundi received sharp rebukes from much of the international community following the passage of the law. Key donor countries Belgium and The Netherlands have been critical of the move.

Much of the region has laws which criminalize gay relations, but for Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania, these laws were largely remnants of the colonial British rule. Burundi's actions received special attention from human rights organizations because under its Belgian colonization, no law existed against gay behavior.

The new law first passed the National Assembly in November 2008. Amid international pressure, the country's Senate overwhelmingly rejected the criminalization provision.

The Burundi National Assembly, though, refused to accept the Senate's rejection, and the law became final in April.

The action by the Burundi government to formally outlaw homosexual activity came as a small group of gays and lesbians began to bring the issue into the public spotlight and attempt to create national discussions about what had always before been a sensitive subject.

Encouraged by some of the recent gains seen globally by gay activists, the Association for Respect and Rights for Homosexuals was formed five years ago in Bujumbura to mainly serve as a support group for gays and lesbians

Since 2007, though the group began to do radio interviews and more actively make its case for increased homosexual rights to the public.

But the group's limited public exposure seems to have created an intense political backlash, at least for the short term.

According to Human Rights Watch researchers, Burundi President Pierre Nkurunziza personally led the charge to get the law passed. Following the Senate's rejection of the clause, his ruling party organized an anti-gay march in Bujumbura, bussing in protesters from rural areas. His office then reportedly phoned legislators individually to lobby for the April passage.

Some observers partly attributed the president's activism on the issue as a move to weaken political rivals within his own party who had made public statements seen as more liberal on the gay rights issue.

Boris Dittrich, head of homosexual rights advocacy at Human Rights Watch, which actively worked against the law's passage, says that his group has not given up its efforts to have the criminalization rescinded.

"After the next elections, there might be the possibility that new politicians will see that criminalization of homosexual conduct is a violation of human rights and it doesn't lead to anything productive. So we will continue trying to persuade politicians in Burundi to change course," Dittrich said.

The group says that it hopes that the international backlash Burundi received for its action will pressure the government to quietly seek to modify the law after the 2010 elections.

Human Rights Group researchers told VOA that, like similar trends seen in elsewhere in the world, there is a growing tolerance among the country's youth for gays and lesbians, while older generations are much more likely to consider it a taboo.

The progress that homosexuals have seen in the country towards acceptance, though, is mostly limited to its capital city, Bujumbura. The vast majority of Burundians live in rural areas.

Many of the those interviewed by the organization shared similar stories of banishment by family members if their sexual identity was discovered.

Seventy-seven countries in the world have laws against homosexuality, many of them in Africa.

Burundi: Interesting take on what is happening there

For the past month or so, this tiny country long forgotten by most of the world has been in the spotlight for the one thing people may have never suspected ” a mirage-legislature rising up against both the president and the allies ” the missionary churches dotted throughout the country.

There are few things as unpopular in Africa as homosexuality. It is seen as a particularly virulent and sinister strain of the West’s unwelcome foray around here. To be gay is to be evil, criminal, and un-African. You can lose your family, livelihood, and sometimes your life.

There just happens to be no law against it in Burundi. It hadn’t made much of a difference until one was proposed by the president and defeated by his senate. It was a blow to the president, and a temporary confidence-booster for people who live in secrecy and fear.

An article in an amendment to the national penal code that would have made homosexual acts punishable by up to two years in prison was pulled out by the Senate on February 24. It was a shock to the system in Burundi, where legislatures more often than not are rubber stamps of the head of state. President Pierre Nkurunziza took it as a slap in the face.

The president’s power is weakening, said Pancrace Cimpaye, chairman of the opposition party and member of senate. We must take advantage.

 

Burundians are deeply religious. The church and the Word of God are transcendent. That includes President Nkurunziza, who attends the local Church on the Rock in Bujumbura. Though founded in Texas, much of the Church on the Rock operates abroad, in places like Burundi, Third World states where fates and livelihood still hinge on the mercies of nature. From Rwanda to Brazil to the Philippines, these modern-day missionaries have found converts and a powerful voice.

So, in the past weeks, the government, together with this and other churches, has gone on an all-out campaign to reverse the Senate’s decision.

Just the other day, roughly 15,000 people marched in protests led by factions of the government against the senate’s decision.

If we love our country, if we love our culture, we must ban this practice that will draw only misfortune, said the chairman of Burundi’s ruling party, Jeremie Ngendakumana. The protests were organised using radio advertisements and cellphone text messaging.

This was a huge manipulation of the people, said Mr Cimpaye. It was demagogic.

The albinos wanted a protest last week because they are being killed. They wanted to have a demonstration, but the government refused, saying it would take away from the working day, said an anonymous NGO worker in Bujumbura. But when 15,000 march against gays on a working day, it’s okay.

Being albino may be one of the unluckiest things in this part of the world, where people are hunted for their skins, sought for magical protection by bush-doctors. To be one of Burundi’s approximately 400 gays isn’t much better.

 

We have so many children who have been rejected by their family because of being gay or lesbian, and many of them are forced to work as sex slaves to make money, says George Kanuma, co-ordinator for ARDHO, Burundi’s only gay advocacy group. This law would make it all the worse for them.

But a fighting spirit remains. Use my name, says Kanuma. To see it in the newspapers is protection for us. That’s exactly where those names have been. Since the protests, homosexuality has been on the tip of tongues of the country.

Parliament, which received the amended legislation from the senate, swiftly put the article criminalising homosexuality back into place.

Churches and non-governmental organisation have held press conferences, radio shows, and television programmes on the issue.

It is political propaganda ahead of the 2010 elections, says Christian Rumu, vice-president of Burundi’s gay association.

In the National Assembly, a heated debated rages on, with opposition leaders calling for a national referendum on the issue. According to the constitution, if the two sides cannot come to agreement, it will be parliament that makes the decision. Few here believe the president will allow the law to pass without criminalising homosexuality.

As the story makes larger waves around both the region and world, the government’s forces are clamping down on journalists. Although one newspaper editor was released recently, two more journalists were arrested.

We are in danger, and must work in secret, says a stringer in Burundi for the international press. The government does not want reporting on the homosexuality. We are supposed to write only good things.

Burundi: Closets Open in Eastern Africa

Picked this article from here. Facts and things about how we are viewed by our country mates. I ignored the editorialised introduction setting the tone- and went in for the meat. No, I am not from Burundi, but what happened there interested me.

gug

Ndoli Fred 4 March 2009

In mid February this year, the Senate of Burundi rejected a proposed amendment to the new draft of the criminal code that would have criminalised homosexual conduct for the first time.

 

Human rights groups had brought demands on the government, wrote to this African nation's President and the Senate pointing out that the provision would violate the African Charter on Human and People's Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which Burundi is a signatory.

 

The new criminal code was drafted over a period of nearly two years, with the assistance of Burundian and international legal experts, after elections in 2005 restored the country's democratic system and required the revision of legal texts.

 

However, in October 2008, at the end of the discussion on the bill, the Human Rights and Justice Commission in the National Assembly inserted a provision criminalising "anyone who engages in sexual relations with a person of the same sex."

 

The provision would have been the first law criminalising gays and lesbians in the country's history. The National Assembly approved the bill at the end of November 2008 with little debate.

 

In early February this year, the Senate Justice Commission completed a series of amendments to the National Assembly version, but it did not amend the provision on homosexuality.

 

The 'same sex' relations debate is one that is not likely to end soon. In this part of the world, like all other topics that evolve around sexual relations, many shy away from discussing it. A few, however, are not shy to voice their stand on the matter.

 

Pastor Emmanuel Ntayomba of Remera says this was an unbelievable decision by the senate.

 

"This is really bad and illegal, actually the bible puts it clearly in Romans chapter 1:26, 'because of this God gave them to shameful lust, even women exchange their natural relationships for unnatural relationship and men also abandoned their natural relationship with women inflamed with lust with one another'.

 

He further wonders why people would involve themselves in such acts, 'a man was made for a woman and not fellow man' the states.

 

Jean Paul Tuyisenge from Nyamirambo believes this is a sign that the world is coming to an end.

 

"For sure lets us be sincere, why would a fellow man marry a fellow man?" Tuyisenge asks.

 

"I sometimes feel like this 'religion' is for whites not us because they are the same people who claim to have brought Christianity in Africa and at the same time they are now the ones promoting such things. I don't blame the senate from Burundi but the troublemakers are the whites because this is common there" he said.

 

Immy Mbanda says, "I wish some of these people in the senate would have some religious feelings in them. Their rejection is like supporting and encouraging the act in the country something, which is against our African culture. I believe the Burundian culture is not different from our culture. Accepting homosexuality in Burundi is like accepting it in our country. I think that and suggest that the people in the senate should think twice and protect our culture and then African heritage," Mbanda said

What happened in Burundi- according to IGLHRC

It was something special. In recent months, the push has been towards greater homophobia. Especially in legislature. Not less. And this is interesting.

 

Burundi: Senate Upholds Human Rights Principles

 

In an overwhelmingly positive vote for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in the Central African nation of Burundi, the country's Senate has rejected a provision that would have criminalized consensual same-sex activity. Legislation to revise the Penal Code was introduced in the Burundian Senate in November 2009 after having first been passed the National Assembly. The revision had a number of key advances for human rights, including the abolition of the death penalty, and the rendering of torture and genocide as crimes against humanity punishable under Burundian law. However, the revision also included a penalty of up to 2 years in jail for “anyone who has sexual intercourse with a person of his/her own sex.”1

 

The provision criminalizing consensual same-sex activity survived various revisions to the overall Code and was included in the final version of the bill that was submitted to the Burundian Senate on February 6, 2009. On February 17, 2009, however, 36 out of 43 Senators voted to strike it from the bill.

 

Burundian parliamentarians received appeals from throughout the world to reconsider the legislation. Civic leaders in Burundi and internationally argued that the provision would violate basic commitments to privacy and non-discrimination that are part of international human rights treaties and the Burundian constitution. Opponents also argued that a new sodomy law would accelerate the spread of HIV, by preventing men who have sex with men (MSM) and other sexual minorities from accessing HIV prevention, treatment and care. Burundi is one of few countries in Africa receiving funds from the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM) to expand their HIV intervention to include men who have sex with men (MSM).

 

After the National Assembly passed the provision criminalizing consensual same-sex activity, the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) and the Association pour le Respect et les Droits des Homosexuels (ARDHO) issued an appeal to the entire membership of Burundi's Senate asking them to vote against the legislation. IGLHRC also worked with international and inter-governmental organizations to ensure that there would be a general condemnation of the proposed legislation. IGLHRC wrote to President Nkurunziza, asking him to veto the legislation if it reached his desk, and launched a petition against the bill that was widely signed by participants at the International AIDS and STI conference in Africa (ICASA).

 

The bill to revise the penal code now returns to the National Assembly. Both chambers are required to form a commission to reconcile competing versions of the bill before it is sent to the president for promulgation. Any reconciliation could, potentially, reinstate the provision criminalizing same-sex conduct.

 

Whatever the outcome, the fact that the majority of senators voted against the provision shows a growing recognition that all citizens are entitled to the full enjoyment of human rights irrespective of their sexual orientation.

 

In recent years governments in several African countries, including Nigeria, Zimbabwe and Uganda, have threatened to strengthen their laws against homosexuality. Burundi itself added an amendment to its constitution to criminalize same-sex marriage in 2005.

 

1- French translation for “quiconque fait des relations sexuelles avec la personne de même sexe est puni d'une servitude pénale de trios mois à deux ans et d'une amende de cinquante mille francs à cent mille francs ou d'une de ces peines seulement”.

Good news from Burundi

 

Burundi rejects proposal to criminalise homosexual relations

By Staff Writer, PinkNews.co.uk • February 17, 2009 - 18:16

Gay sex remains legal in Burundi

 

The Senate of Burundi today rejected a proposed amendment to the new draft of the criminal code that would have criminalised homosexual conduct for the first time.

 

Human rights groups had brought pressure on the government and highlighted the issue internationally.

 

Activists wrote to the African nation's President and the Senate pointing out that the provision would violate the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which Burundi is a party.

 

The new criminal code was drafted over a period of nearly two years, with the assistance of Burundian and international legal experts, after elections in 2005 restored a democratic system in Burundi and required the revision of legal texts.

 

However, in October 2008, at the end of the discussion on the bill, the Human Rights and Justice Commission in the National Assembly inserted a provision criminalising "anyone who engages in sexual relations with a person of the same sex."

 

The provision would have been the first law criminalising gays and lesbians in the country’s history.

 

The bill was approved by the National Assembly on November 22nd with little debate.

 

On February 6th the Senate Justice Commission completed a series of amendments to the National Assembly version, but it did not amend the provision on homosexuality.

 

Human Rights Watch had claimed that a number of Senators told them they were personally opposed to the provision, but were wavering under pressure from certain political figures and religious groups

Burundi urged not to criminalise same-sex acts

By Staff Writer, PinkNews.co.uk • February 16, 2009 - 14:58

 

The Senate of Burundi is to vote on a new draft of the criminal code this week that would criminalise homosexual conduct for the first time.

 

Human rights activists have written to the African nation's President and the Senate pointing out that the provision would violate the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which Burundi is a party.

 

"We are deeply discouraged that the Senate is on the verge of passing a provision that violates basic human rights," said Scott Long, director of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Rights Programme at Human Rights Watch.

 

"Senators should not yield to pressure to enshrine injustice into law."

 

The new criminal code was drafted over a period of nearly two years, with the assistance of Burundian and international legal experts, after elections in 2005 restored a democratic system in Burundi and required the revision of legal texts.

 

However, in October 2008, at the end of the discussion on the bill, the Human Rights and Justice Commission in the National Assembly inserted a provision criminalising "anyone who engages in sexual relations with a person of the same sex."

 

The provision would be the first law criminalising gays and lesbians in the country’s history.

 

The bill was approved by the National Assembly on November 22nd with little debate.

 

On February 6th the Senate Justice Commission completed a series of amendments to the National Assembly version, but it did not amend the provision on homosexuality.

 

Human Rights Watch claim that a number of Senators told them they were personally opposed to the provision, but were wavering under pressure from certain political figures and religious groups.

 

If the Senate passes the law, the president can challenge it by demanding a second reading or submitting it to the Constitutional Court for evaluation.

 

"The enforcement of a prohibition of homosexual conduct is likely to undermine attempts to combat the spread of HIV/AIDS," according to HRW.

 

"Persons stigmatised for their sexual conduct may shun treatment for fear of being identified as homosexual.

 

"Civil society groups that educate gay men about HIV fear they will find it more difficult to carry on their work.

 

"Self-identified gay Burundians interviewed by Human Rights Watch expressed fears that gays would be more likely to be beaten and mistreated by police or ordinary citizens if the code provision is passed.

 

"The president of the National Assembly's Human Rights Commission, Fidele Mbunde, a proponent of the amendment, told Human Rights Watch that he did not intend for arrests to be made under the law, but for it to "send a message" about Burundian values."

 

Perfect Christianity.

Begs the question, perfection according to who? But I love the wording of this article title, from which I picked (tongue in cheek) the blog title.

The article itself.. “Africa may be the future of 'seamless garment' Catholicism.” That article reminisces on how the virtues of ‘real’ Christianity (Catholicism) are taking hold in Africa. As opposed to the lawless Americas and decadent Europe. The paraphrasing is mine…

Christian fundamentalist ideals.

‘Real’ as opposed to ‘fake’ whether it is ‘real America’ or ‘real Christianity’…

But I note that in Burundi, a small Central African country, homosexuality was not criminal. That is, until now. Apparently, a bill has passed the lower house, and will soon pass the upper house and be signed by the president, criminalizing homosexual activity.

--
“On the other hand, the new penal code also criminalizes homosexuality for the first time, making same-sex acts punishable by anywhere from three months to two years in prison and a substantial fine. The law comes atop already-existing legislation in Burundi banning gay marriage, even though analysts say no serious advocacy for such arrangements exists in the country.
--
“While the new penal code still has to be adopted by the senate and signed into law by the president, local analysts say the 90-0 parliamentary vote suggests that it’s likely to be adopted in its present form.”

--

Sweeping aside my prejudices, I wonder whether it is not just a fact that the homophobia agenda is just too strong in our countries. As the article notes, us gay Africans are too low ranked for us to even fight effectively for our right to have sex. For goodness’ sake we are so closeted many of our people don’t believe we are real. But our countries are banning same sex marriages, and going ahead to make sure that, if caught, we are punished. Why?

If there is no gay lobby in Burundi, why have there been efforts to come down strongly against gay Burundians? From forbidding them marriage to criminalizing the behavior.
Something is going on beneath the surface.


GayUganda