The government says it has intercepted minutes of a recent meeting that discussed wide-ranging strategies on how to promote the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in Uganda.

These strategies include how to raise funds and recruit ‘friendly’ journalists into the cause of fighting for homosexual rights in Uganda. Some sources have told The Observer that security operatives infiltrated gay groups and managed to get a document containing minutes of the meeting.

Read it closely. It mentions promoting “the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people,” and also how to recruit friendly journalists. The article goes on to state:

This strategy involves “mapping out friendly journalists, as well as hostile and ignorant ones” with the objective of “identifying trainable journalists to become allies and objective reporters on sexual minority and gender identity issues”.

The plan is to raise a list of “40 journalists of a mixture of friendly, hostile and ignorant”. The strategy, whose aim is “gaining acceptance for the sexual minority groups”, with a time frame of June 2012 to June 2013, lists among its activities, workshops, talk-shows, barazas and parliamentary advocacy programmes for legislators.

And…

There is also a well laid-out plan to lobby the national, regional and international community to pile pressure on the Uganda government to abandon the Anti-Homosexuality bill and any other laws hostile to homosexuals.

OK – so they are trying to identify journalists who might give them positive coverage, and also identify hostile journalists so that they can educate them. They also want to gain acceptance for homosexuals within the larger Ugandan society so that they don’t have to worry about being killed.

Is it me, or does this sound like the strategies undertaken by ANY advocacy group, no matter what their issue? I don’t see in here any reference to a strategy of recruiting young people to become gay.

I want to be very explicit about the fact that a document outlining tactics to protect the human rights of homosexuals is NOT the same as a document outlining recruiting tactics to turn children gay. It is very important to fight this idea at every turn, as the “protect your children” line is the emotional trigger that Uganda is using to get public support for the anti-gay legislation.

Lokodo, the Ethics and Integrity Minister, re-emphasized the fact that he doesn’t see gay rights as human rights because homosexuality is illegal. If he had lived in the United States under the Jim Crow laws, would he have felt ok about them because having rights as a black person was illegal? What about the fact that, as a black man, he could not have chosen to marry a white or Asian woman if he wanted to because it was illegal until recently in many US states? Would he have been ok with that? After all, marrying the person of his choosing would have been illegal. Therefore, according to him, not a civil or human rights issue.

The Ugandan government is threatening to revoke the charters of 38 NGOs that have been involved in promoting gay rights. That is the power of a dictatorial government, and one of the reasons it is difficult to advocate for human rights in Uganda. In this case, it is easy for the government to do it, because homophobia is rampant and they won’t get a push-back from their own citizens – only from western governments. However, it is the same abuse of power that leads to people like the opposition leader Besigye ending up in prison.

-Mark D. Jordahl

Related articles

• Anti-Gay Police Raid in Uganda(wildugandablog.com)

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In this video, Prince Charles highlights how little has been accomplished since the Rio Earth Summit 20 years ago, and also how important it is for the world to take action NOW to address such issues as climate change and biodiversity loss.

This is an important message for the whole world to hear:

You can also see the video at the TreeViver blog: http://blog.treeviver.com/2012/06/22/prince-charles-talks-climate-and-environment/

-Mark D. Jordahl

As reported on the LGBTQ Nation blog yesterday, Ugandan police raided a gay rights meeting and apprehended over a dozen people, claiming they were “propogating gay issues in Uganda.”

In a comment on the article, a man named Ruben Luyombo says “please stay in your western world, africa does not intertain you pervert and money seeking wannabe’s.” This is even after President Museveni himself publicly admitted that homosexuality is not a western import (I’m sure it was after reading my post: Homosexuality In Uganda Isn’t a European Import – Christianity Is).

Where does “money seeking wannabes” come from? Hmmm…I think I’d like to become rich. Why don’t I convert to homosexuality and, just to make it more exciting, I’ll do it in a country where I can be killed for it.

I have argued in the past that gay rights are civil rights, and when the slow tide of history turns, the anti-gay Ugandan majority will realize that they are on the wrong side of this issue.

-Mark D. Jordahl

Read More:

Homosexuality in Uganda Isn’t a European Import – Christianity Is

Gay Porn in Church

Gay Rights in Uganda

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, Entebbe, July 2003 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Ten African countries – including the East African bloc of Kenya, Tanazania and Rwanda – signed an agreement to take the environment into account when developing national economies and corporate practices. Uganda is conspicuously absent from this agreement, dubbed the Gaborone Declaration.

An article on Mongabay talks about the intentions of the pact:

The Gaborone Declaration declares that “the historical pattern of natural resources exploitation has failed to promote sustained growth, environmental integrity and improved social capital.” Noting that the Africa’s people and economy are imperiled by ecosystem destruction , the leaders pledge to protect ecosystems and biodiversity from “overuse and degradation.”

To do so, they commit to adding natural capital into “national accounting and corporate planning.” In addition, the ten countries pledged to transition major sectors (agriculture, fisheries, forestry, and mining) towards sustainable practices and to restore degraded ecosystems.

Perhaps President Museveni of Uganda is afraid it will put too many (ie. any) restrictions on extracting the oil he is still hoping will begin flowing into a refinery in the next few years.

Uganda actually has some of the strongest environmental laws of any country in Africa. Unfortunately, their enforcement is weak. With Rio+20 upon us, you would think Museveni would sign the agreement just to be able to hold his head high and then ignore the commitment later.

-Mark D. Jordahl

Read more: http://news.mongabay.com/2012/0611-hance-gaborone.html#ixzz1xtL3y100

“Britain, America and the European Union are now caught red-handed and cannot claim not to be aware of the plot (of annexing eastern Congo to Rwanda and Uganda, encouraged by the Sudanese experience) that is being weaved by Rwanda and Uganda in the eastern DRC.”

It wouldn’t surprise me, although I am hesitatant to believe such a strong accusation that is made without references in a heavily-footnoted article.

What I do know for sure is that Rwanda and Uganda have been meddling in resource-rich Eastern Congo for decades. The instability in that region gives the leaders of both countries plenty of excuses to send their militaries across the border under the guise of “regional security and stability.”

The article goes on to make well-supported arguments that Rwanda’s national army has close ties to rebel groups in Eastern DRC.

Anybody know anything about this?

-Mark D. Jordahl

I took this shot on my most recent trip up there last week. It’s the last thing I remember from the hike:

Go Chimps!

Mark D. Jordahl – Kampala