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Gay news: British government predicts a 'major diplomatic incident if the Ugandans do not back down'
By: John Howard
David Bahati introduced Anti-Homosexuality Bill
David Bahati introduced Anti-Homosexuality Bill
Anti-Homosexuality Bill Ugandan MP to be banned from UK
The British government intends to ban a Ugandan MP from entering the UK if his Anti-Homosexuality Bill becomes law.
Civil servants in the Foreign Office, the Department for International Development and the Borders Agency are reported to be drawing up plans to block the visa of born-again Christian David Bahati, the MP for Ndorwa West, who introduced the Anti-Homosexuality Bill last year.
It proposes the death penalty for "serial offenders" and those committing so-called "aggravated homosexuality" offences, which include sex with anyone under the age of eighteen, with someone disabled, or while infected with HIV.
It also calls for life imprisonment for homosexual acts between consenting adults, up from the current fourteen years, and the same penalty for those "promoting homosexuality", which is understood to mean failing to inform on gay people or providing them with accommodation.
One senior British government source told the Guardian that the issue could become a "major diplomatic incident if the Ugandans do not back down".
Senior Ugandan politicians, including President Yoweri Museveni, have been seen to distance themselves from the Anti-Homosexuality Bill following the condemnation of the European Parliament and the governments of the US, the UK and France, which have also threatened the withdrawal of aid.
Ugandan government officials have suggested that the bill will not be voted on until 2011, which observers believe may be a stalling tactic to deflect pressure from the present administration prior to the forthcoming general election.
Civil servants in the Foreign Office, the Department for International Development and the Borders Agency are reported to be drawing up plans to block the visa of born-again Christian David Bahati, the MP for Ndorwa West, who introduced the Anti-Homosexuality Bill last year.
It proposes the death penalty for "serial offenders" and those committing so-called "aggravated homosexuality" offences, which include sex with anyone under the age of eighteen, with someone disabled, or while infected with HIV.
It also calls for life imprisonment for homosexual acts between consenting adults, up from the current fourteen years, and the same penalty for those "promoting homosexuality", which is understood to mean failing to inform on gay people or providing them with accommodation.
One senior British government source told the Guardian that the issue could become a "major diplomatic incident if the Ugandans do not back down".
Senior Ugandan politicians, including President Yoweri Museveni, have been seen to distance themselves from the Anti-Homosexuality Bill following the condemnation of the European Parliament and the governments of the US, the UK and France, which have also threatened the withdrawal of aid.
Ugandan government officials have suggested that the bill will not be voted on until 2011, which observers believe may be a stalling tactic to deflect pressure from the present administration prior to the forthcoming general election.
