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Uganda Update: loving the Big Oil, locking up the press, and killing the gays

by CanuckJacq

It’s true… I actually have a life that has nothing to do with Uganda, the UK Equality Bill, the Irish Blasphemy Law or indeed Iris Robinson.

As such, I’m going to cheat a little and submit an update post to cover the billion or so stories coming out of the busy country called Uganda.

Most recently: CNOOC have gone into partnership with Tullow Oil, who have had their offer approved by the Ugandan government, who previously favored Italy’s Eni for the deal.

Also the government have said they will make the details of the Production Sharing Agreements (PSAs) available to government ministers, but a court in Kampala has rejected a bid by two Daily Monitor journalists to have the details made public. As these agreements have already been leaked and analysed, it will be interesting to see what government ministers make of them.

One of those two journalists has also been arrested on charges of Criminal Libel. He has been released on bail and it could be quite some time before he faces any kind of proceedings as the law of Criminal Libel is currently being reviewed by the Supreme Court. AFP reports that several journalists at the same paper face charges.

The Anti-Homosexuality Bill appears to have the support of a full 83% of Ugandans, according to a television poll. They do, however, support it on the basis of claims being made that outside money donated to gay Ugandan organisations is being spent recruiting children. There seems to be little belief, even among Ugandan liberals that this claim is simply false. In this blog post, the blogger, Julius Barigaba,  argues that while it is wrong of homosexuals to recruit, it is equally wrong for heterosexuals and religious people to recruit children.

US President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton pressed the matter while attending The Family-sponsored National Prayer Breakfast. Over the last couple of weeks there was a flutter of drama over whether or not the sponsor of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill, MP David Bahati, would attend. He did not. There were questions as to whether Obama should attend an event sponsored by the secretive religious group.

This week, Moses, a gay man from Uganda, spoke to a news conference about his experiences as a gay man in Uganda. He wore a paper bag over his head because the proposed legislation in Uganda would mean that as a Ugandan citizen, coming out anywhere in the world would be an extriditable offense (would the US really comply?) and then he could be charged, incarcerated and even executed in Uganda. This hateful legislation means freeom nowhere for Ugandans.

I’m not the first person to seriously wonder, without taking the importance out of the anti-gay bill — it is reprehensible and will hurt gay Ugandans regardless of its purpose — whether it is simply a convenient and populist smokescreen, to keep the public afraid and upset about homosexuals and far less likely to press their government on the shady details of their oil contracts, and other corruption concerns ahead of the 2011 elections.

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• The Family and Uganda’s “Anti-Homosexuality Bill” (jeffsharlet.blogspot.com)
• Things to do in Uganda when you’re gay (lezgetreal.com)
• HRC Proposes Alternative To National Prayer Breakfast (lezgetreal.com)