Where are western leaders???
This is just horrible....
A COURT in Malawi yesterday convicted a gay couple of gross indecency and unnatural acts in a case that has highlighted the persecution of homosexuals in Africa and drawn international condemnation.
Steven Monjeza, 26, and Tiwonge Chimbalanga, 20, who will be sentenced tomorrow, face at least a decade behind bars. They were arrested in December after testing Malawi's anti-gay laws with a public "engagement ceremony" before a wedding planned for this year.
The action outraged authorities in the deeply conservative country, one of the poorest in Africa. The men have been in prison ever since, despite an international campaign for their release and reports of maltreatment.
Judge Nyakwawa Usiwa-Usiwa, sitting in the old colonial capital of Blantyre, convicted both men of engaging in gay sex, which he said was "against the order of nature". The couple's lawyer argued that their actions had not victimised anyone.
"Unlike in a rape case, there was no complainant or victim in this case," he said. "Here are two consenting adults doing their thing in private. Nobody will be threatened or offended if they are released into society."
That argument fell on deaf ears in a country in which gays are now in hiding. Large crowds have jeered and pilloried the men on each occasion that they have been brought to court. At a previous court appearance Mr Chimbalanga, who was sick with malaria, was forced to return to the court room to mop up his vomit.
posted by GayandRight @ 7:06 PM
4 Comments:
Fred,
Two people knowingly and publicly defy the law of the land in which they reside and are subsequently arrested and prosecuted for that. That is not horrible, it is what it is.
If your beef is that the law is unjust/wrong/etc and expect western leaders to denounce that you may be waiting a while as the US is busy apologizing to China for a state law that declares that illegals are illegal and the rest of the world is in a "Omygawd I can't believe they just did that" mode.
And, even darker. Since Islamists take an even harder line than Christians regarding homosexuality and given that western leaders, including the press, seem to be fearful of 'offending' said group I fear that despite the legitimacy of your concern no western leader is going to 'offend' that group.
Gerry
If there is a law that restricts you from breathing air you will knowingly and publicly defy that law.
Guest4096
The law would be suicidal for those passing it UNLESS they made it specific to me - which may be your point but not one that I think valid in situ - and you need to wrestle with whether or not you consider independent states sovereign or not. If you do then it is what it is. If you do not then you must necessarily identify which states get to tell what other states whether they can breathe or not - and how as well as how often, etc.
Bottom line, your argument while appearing clever is merely rhetorically 'cute' which means it lacks substance.
Western leaders are busy orgazing a boycott of Israel...
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