Gay Repression in Africa "Gay Couple sent to prison"
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Please read the article below, This is just in case we forget that there are many gay brothers who still live with this sort of repression and bigoted hatred. If your country is a donor country to Malawi the I urge you to write to your foreign affairs department or civil liberties organization and complain that your taxes are being given to support such an oppressive and homophobic regime. If we all stand together we can help these guys to be freed and to help give them many others back their human dignity
Wheres their human rights in Africa?This is the BBC link if you want to see the photo and read the article for your self;
hxxp://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/10130240.stm
Malawi gay couple sentenced to 14 years in jail
Page last updated at 8:51 GMT, Thursday, 20 May 2010 9:51 UKA judge in Malawi has sentenced a gay couple to 14 years in prison with hard labour after they were convicted of gross indecency and unnatural acts.
The judge said he wanted to "protect" the public. Steven Monjeza, 26, and Tiwonge Chimbalanga, 20, have been in jail since their arrest in December 2009 after holding an engagement ceremony.Their arrest sparked international condemnation and a debate about homosexuality in the country.
'Prisoners of conscience'"I will give you a scaring sentence so that the public be protected from people like you, so that we are not tempted to emulate this horrendous example," said Judge Nyakwawa Usiwa-Usiwa in the commercial capital, Blantyre.
Defence lawyer Mauya Msuku had argued for a lighter sentence, pointing out that the pair's actions had not victimised anyone. "Unlike in a rape case, there was no complainant or victim in this case," he said after the pair were convicted on Tuesday."Here are two consenting adults doing their thing in private. Nobody will be threatened or offended if they are released into society."
Michelle Kagari, deputy Africa director of Amnesty International, called the sentence "an outrage", reports the AP news agency.
She described the pair as "prisoners of conscience" and said Amnesty would continue to campaign for them to be freed.
Malawi is a conservative society where same-sex liaisons are frowned upon.
The judge said same-sex relations were "un-Malawian".
But UK gay rights campaigner Peter Tatchell pointed out that the laws under which the pair were convicted were introduced during British colonial rule.
"These laws are a foreign imposition. They are not African," he said,
The men had denied the charges and their lawyers said their constitutional rights had been violated.
But the Centre for the Development of People (Cedep) and the Centre for Human Rights and Rehabilitation (CHRR) have been urging authorities to relax the country's stance on homosexuals.
The BBC's Raphael Tenthani in Blantyre says the government has come under pressure from Western donors over the issue.
For a poor country, 40% of whose development budget depends on donors, such concerns must be taken seriously, he adds.
*Aaliass edit: Disabled external live link, being against forum rules
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This being a Human Rights violation,all Western Donors should cease all funding immediately.
I can't imagine these two will have a very long stay in prison. They will not live long if this kind of hatred of the Homosexual Lifestyle is the rule in Malawi.
It is clearly obvious that this crowd is happy to see these two men being made an example for the rest of Malawi. The crowd appears to be having fun watching these men being paraded thru town in an open truck. This is not JUSTICE this is State Sanctioned INJUSTICE!!
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Human rights campaigners attack Malawi gay couple conviction
Men could face up to 14 years in prison with hard labour in 'devastating blow for human rights in Africa
Steven Monjeza (l) and Tiwonge Chimbalanga in court in Blantyre, Malawi, earlier this year.
A couple in Malawi were today found guilty of gay sex, a crime under laws dating from the colonial era, in a judgment that campaigners warn could set back human rights across Africa.
Steven Monjeza, 26, and 20-year-old Tiwonge Chimbalanga were convicted of unnatural acts and gross indecency, prompting anger and condemnation from activists in Malawi and around the world. The couple, who will learn their sentence on Thursday, could be jailed for up to 14 years with hard labour.
Monjeza and Chimbalanga became Malawi's first same-sex couple to commit publicly to marriage at a symbolic ceremony last December. They were arrested two days later and detained in harsh conditions. Homosexuality in Malawi is outlawed and remains deeply taboo.
Delivering judgment in Blantyre today, magistrate Nyakwawa Usiwa-Usiwa found the couple guilty of buggery – which he described as "against the order of nature". He added: "The state proved the case beyond reasonable doubt."
Police prosecutor Barbra Mchenga asked the magistrate to mete out a harsh punishment because the couple had left a "scar on morality" in Malawi. "They showed no remorse, they showed no regret of their action," Mchenga said. "They seemed to have been proud of their action."
Mauya Msuku, a lawyer for the couple, appealed for mercy. "As first offenders, they should not be given custodial sentence. This was a technical offence and the defence is convinced the convicts have already paid for the offence." An acquittal would have been likely to cause outrage in the socially conservative and impoverished country. But the guilty verdict provoked no less anger from activists and human rights groups.
Gift Trapence, director of the Centre for the Development of People, said: "I am not convinced of the conviction. Human rights have been trodden upon."
Undule Mwakasungura, head of the Centre for Human Rights and Rehabilitation, said the conviction showed Malawi was not "accommodating on issues of human rights". "We have been let down. Homosexuality is both a human rights and public health issue. Gays need to find a strategy to challenge … for a policy and legal framework that would allow them to operate as a minority group in Malawi."
Richard Brigden, a legal consultant with the Southern African Litigation Centre, said the conviction was a "major tragedy for all Malawians who will now not be able to fight for human rights". The judgment would make it difficult for people to fight for the rights of minority groups such as gays, he added. "The trial does not afford people protection and freedoms."
Brigden said Malawi's estimated 10,000 homosexuals would be unable to seek help to tackle HIV/Aids because they were unrecognised and would continue to live in fear.
Church leaders in Malawi have backed the government, saying homosexuality is "sinful" and the west should not use its financial power to force Malawi to accept homosexuality. Malawi relies on donors for 40% of its development budget.
Gay sex remains illegal in 37 countries in Africa and is widely vilified. There are fears that the Malawi judgment could set a precedent for other governments eager to crack down on increasingly assertive liberation movements.
Mark Bromley, of the Council for Global Equality, said: "The verdict is shocking and represents a devastating blow for human rights in the region. Fortunately the US government is joining many other governments and human rights organisations in speaking out against this injustice."
Peter Tatchell of the rights group Outrage! disputed the court's finding that the men had engaged in sexual intercourse. "This is an outrageous verdict," the veteran British campaigner said. "While Steven and Tiwonge freely confirmed their love for each other, there was no credible evidence that they had committed any illegal homosexual acts."
He added: "I appeal to governments worldwide, especially the South African government, to condemn this harsh, bigoted judgment and to urge its reversal."
IMHO ~ These men are an exceptional example of what we all should aspire to become…... Brave courageous Gay Men willing to speak out and pursue personal happiness regardless of the Laws or Moral implications associated.
Today I have 2 new HEROES and I pray they do not become Martyrs but remain a living example for change in Malawian Laws.
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The saddest part in this is IF you were to suggest that nations not give aid to countries like this, then you would be labelled a racist. This is especially true of the ultra liberal crowd.
I have been labelled a racist and homophobe because I criticized the Obama administration's 2 defences of DoMA where they said that gay relationships are no better than incest, bestiality and pedophilia. That I criticized Obama made me a racist, that I criticized Obama who apparently has done so much for the gay community, made me a homophobe.
You can't win for losing.
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UPDATE FROM THE UK
Exclusive: International development minister Alan Duncan promises 'urgent representations' to MalawiBy Jessica Geen • London May 20, 2010 - 17:05
British International development minister Alan Duncan has warned against cutting aid money to Malawi but says the government will make "urgent representations" to the county over the 14-year jail term handed to two gay men.
Writing for PinkNews.co.uk, Mr Duncan, who was the first Tory MP to come out, said the conviction of Tiwonge Chimbalanga and Steven Monjeza was "shocking and disturbing" and violated Malawi's own laws on human rights.
The couple were jailed for 14 years with hard labour today, almost five months after they were arrested for holding a traditional wedding ceremony.
Mr Duncan said using aid money as a "political weapon" would only create more victims in one of the poorest countries in the world.
He wrote: "Around 40 per cent of [Malawi's] people live on less than 34 pence a day. They face a challenge just to survive and we have a moral obligation to help them in their daily battle against hunger, disease and despair.
"Our aid program is worth almost £80 million this year and it is aimed directly at helping those most in need.
"We cannot make them victims along with Mr Chimbalanga and Mr Monjeza."
Instead, he said, the British government and its international partners would make "urgent representations" to the Malawian government to review its laws on homosexuality.
Exact details of the contact between Britain and Malawi have not been released, but it is understood that the British ambassador to the country and the Department for International Development head of office in Malawi have spoken to Malawian officials today.
The nature of such talks is likely to be discreet and informal, due to the political sensitivity around colonialism.
But Malawi is expected to come under international pressure for the sentence and PinkNews.co.uk understands it will be raised in future budget support discussions.
Mr Monjeza and Mr Chimbalanga pleaded not guilty to offences of unnatural acts and gross indecency but were convicted earlier this week.
After being arrested in December, their case received worldwide media attention. Today, they were handed the maximum sentence for gay sex – 14 years with hard labour. In sentencing, they would told the harsh punishment would act as a deterrent to others.
Gay rights campaigner Peter Tatchell, who has been raising awareness of their plight, described the 14-year sentence as "brutal", while Amnesty International called it "an outrage".
The men's lawyers confirmed they would appeal the sentence. -
The church must not be complicit in gay persecution in Africa
Anglican influence must be brought to bear to end this vile practice
~ Editorial ~
Homosexuality is not a sin or a crime. There is no caveat or quibble that should be added. The repression of gay men and women by legal means and public intimidation is an offence against the basic principles of a free and just society. Where it exists, which it does to varying degrees in many countries around the world, it must be confronted and defeated.
The case last week of two gay men sentenced to 14 years' hard labour in Malawi is a stark reminder of how urgent the task is. The judge said it was a "scaring sentence, so that the public will be protected". The country's president has described homosexuality as "evil and bad before the eyes of God".
In five countries around the world – Iran, Mauritania, Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Yemen – the death penalty can be applied to gays and lesbians. They can be prosecuted for the fact of their sexual orientation in 76 countries, 38 of them in Africa.
There are also countless jurisdictions where homophobic attacks are tolerated by police. Britain hardly has an impeccable record on that front. But the UK has undergone a cultural revolution with regard to gay rights in the last decade: the repeal of Section 28, which banned teaching about homosexuality in schools; an equalised age of consent; civil partnerships and the prohibition of discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation.
Britain is also not without influence in countries where persecution is institutionalised. A particular obligation falls on the Anglican church, which counts in its communion clergymen who preach venom and hatred. The Anglican bishop of Uyo in Nigeria, Isaac Orama, has described homosexuals as "inhuman, insane, satanic and not fit to live".
The Anglican hierarchy in Britain has avoided speaking out too frankly on this matter to avoid a schism, but the church's quiet diplomacy has done nothing to help the victims of homophobic repression. Increasingly, it looks like complicity.
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1st thing comes to mind after reading this …. evacuate them the a country that does accept them.
continue with the donor's aid money on the condition that they migrate the LGBTs out of the place that hates them.
either that or tolerate their existence.personally i find the verdict distasteful and ridiculous .... as is the practice of intolerance.
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It's a very tough call. Africa is a sinkhole when it comes to internal affairs, and as heartless as it may sound, America needs to get it's own shit together on the subject before we should involve ourselves with anymore international issues than we already have. Hopefully as more nations move towards a sense of genuine tolerance, rather than forced political correctness, these sorts of issues will be weeded out by example.
PC: cause god forbid I fail to see what the hell Obama has done of value.
