Uganda Homosexuals Ordered Arrested
Associated Press, September 29, 1999
KAMPALA, Uganda — President Yoweri Museveni has
ordered the arrests of homosexuals in Uganda, saying U.N. human rights
conventions do not necessarily apply to Africa, a newspaper reported.
Homosexuality is illegal in Uganda and carries a maximum punishment of life
imprisonment.
"I have told the Criminal Investigation Department to look for
homosexuals, lock them up and charge them," Tuesday’s edition of the
government-owned New Vision newspaper quoted him as saying.
Two recent and highly publicized gay marriages in Uganda appeared to prompt
Museveni’s remarks during a speech Monday to regional legislators meeting in
the capital.
"Even the Holy Bible spells it out clearly that God created Adam and
Eve as wife and husband, but not men to marry fellow men" the newspaper
quoted Museveni as saying.
The Ugandan leader criticized the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,
saying it had not been drawn up with the participation of African countries
and therefore was "not universal to Africa."
The declaration, while not explicitly mentioning homosexuality, is widely
viewed as enshrining the rights of gays and lesbians.
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