See also: » 04.03.2010 - Mercenary activities focus at Addis Ababa meeting » 22.12.2009 - Five sentenced to death and 33 to life » 17.12.2009 - Sweden minister speaks on freedom of expression in Ethiopia » 08.12.2009 - RSF condemns closure of newspaper in Ethiopia » 24.07.2009 - CPJ worried on new anti-terror legislation » 08.07.2009 - Amnesty International warns Ethiopia on new anti terrorism law » 09.06.2009 - 32 alleged coup plotters charged in Ethiopia » 26.05.2009 - Alleged coup plotters denied bail Houlihan's coupons

Finn autentiske matoppskrifter fra hele verden på Verdensmat.no: Gazpacho Børek Kartoffelsalat Taboulé Gulasj Albóndigas Cevapi Rougaille Japrak sarma Zwiebelbrot Klopse Giouvetsi Paella Pljeskavica Pica pau Pulpo a la gallega Flammkuchen Langosj Tapenade Chatsjapuri Pasulj Lassi Kartoffelpuffer Tortilla Raznjici Knödel Lentejas Bœuf bourguignon Korianderchutney Brenneslesuppe Proia Sæbsi kavurma Sardinske calamares

Autentiske matoppskrifter fra hele verden finner du på Verdensmat.no: Réunion Portugal Aserbajdsjan Serbia Tyskland Seychellene Bosnia Spania Libanon Belgia India Kroatia Hellas Italia Ungarn Komorene Georgia Mauritius Østerrike Romania Frankrike

Two straight boys holding hands at the Lake Langano beach in Ethiopia

© Ebel/GNU/afrol News

afrol News, 25 March - It is already a crime being homosexual in Ethiopia, but parliament is now making sure the anti-gay laws will be applied in practical life. No pardoning of gays will be allowed in future, but activist fear this only is a signal of further repression being prepared.

It is the Ethiopian council of ministers that has adopted a change to the country's "Pardon and Amnesty law", which will assure that homosexuality, along with terrorism and a few other serious crimes, will become a criminal assault that can no longer be pardoned.

The Ethiopian penal code already defines sexual relations between persons of the same sex as a serious criminal offence. Article 629 of the penal code foresees that sexual minorities are punished hard. Violation of the Ethiopian gay and lesbian sex ban will lead to a minimum incarceration of one year, while it can give up to 15 years of imprisonment. The paragraph is no longer "silent" and is being applied by Ethiopian courts.

At the same time, there is a tradition for pardoning and amnesties in Ethiopia. Imprisoned citizens, including convicted homosexuals, may be pardoned if they have demonstrated a "sincere repentance" for their crimes, in addition to good conduct. This pardoning must be approved of by the Ethiopian president, who organises a mass pardoning at least once a year.

With the new law reform, persons convicted for having had sex with a person of the same sex will be excluded from this possibility of pardoning or amnesties. This will put sexual offences, committed in private by consenting adults, on line with the most serious crimes existing in Ethiopia, like murder and terrorism.

Activists are frustrated
This fact is outraging the largest organisation in the country, fight for the rights of sexual minorities, Rainbow Ethiopia, which demands the government must skip the already approved law reform.

"By excluding those convicted of homosexuality from being able to seek a pardon may not on the face of it seem as terrible as, say, laws in other African states like Nigeria and Uganda. However, by excluding homosexuals from the ability to seek a pardon, the so-called crime of homosexuality is put on the same footing as offences like rape, human trafficking, terrorism, corruption and smuggling," the organisation says in a statement today.

This could develop into a "concerning precedent", human rights campaigners suggest. Likening homosexuality with terrorism could be "a sign of groundwork being laid on which further anti-gay legislation might be built," Rainbow Ethiopia fears.

A spokesperson for Rainbow Ethiopia, who could not be ide

No mo pardon for homosexuals: A new law limits Ethiopia's president Mulatu Teshome

© Antalya Government/afrol News

ntified for fear of his family's safety, holds that "Ethiopia has already very harsh anti-LGBT laws ... The situation, however, is getting worse as it seems the government is trying to its emulate Nigeria's and Uganda's anti-gay laws."

There are signs this is about to happen. Ethiopian authorities have already signalled that more measures against sexual minorities and "gay-bashing rhetoric" are on the way, in preparation to "the run up to the election next year," the spokesman further warns.

According to local media reports, the Addis Ababa Youth Forum, a group linked to the ruling party in Ethiopia, in collaboration with an Ethiopian Orthodox Church association, is planning a mass anti-gay demonstration in the capital against what they called the "sodomite violence that is being committed against minors." The mass demonstration is reportedly backed by several government institutions, according to the organiser.

Ethiopia following Uganda?
The politicising of homosexuality in Ethiopia seems to follow the footsteps of developments in Uganda. Also in Ethiopia, extremist evangelical groups such as United for Life are allowed to spread their hate speech against homosexuals unfiltered through local media. Politicians now have discovered the populist value of the issue, increasingly focusing on the minority to gain popular support.

In Uganda, president Yoweri Museveni in February, after months of pondering and doubts, signed into law a bill that now gives lifelong imprisonment for homosexuals in the country, whilst criminalising those not reporting gays to the police. With this, Museveni accepted a "milder" law than the original proposal from 2009, that would have given homosexuals the death penalty.

The Ugandan anti-gay law has created much debate all over East Africa during the last months. Homosexuality is a societal taboo in the entire region, and the argument that this is an "un-African practice" is propagated by politicians and gaining ground. The threat of aid cuts from Western nations seems to have fuelled the debate and the notion that homosexuality is a "Western cultural phenomenon".

On the other hand, economic and diplomatic pressure has contributed in stopping extreme anti-gay legislation or anti-gay practices in several countries i Eastern and Southern Africa, including Malawi, Namibia and Kenya.

By staff writer

© afrol News

Tweet

Printable version

On the Afrol News front page now

Rwanda

Rwanda succeeds including citizens in formal financial sector afrol News - It is called "financial inclusion", and it is a key government policy in Rwanda. The goal is that, by 2020, 90 percent of the population is to have and actively use bank accounts. And in only four years, financial inclusion has doubled in Rwanda. Read more

Famine warning: "South Sudan is imploding" afrol News - The UN's humanitarian agencies now warn about a devastating famine in Sudan and especially in South Sudan, where the situation is said to be "imploding". Relief officials are appealing to donors to urgently fund life-saving activities in the two countries. Read more

Guinea

Panic in West Africa after Ebola outbreak in Guinea afrol News - Fear is spreading all over West Africa after the health ministry in Guinea confirmed the first Ebola outbreak in this part of Africa. According to official numbers, at least 86 are infected and 59 are dead as a result of this very contagious disease. Read more

Ethiopia

Ethiopia tightens its already strict anti-gay laws afrol News - It is already a crime being homosexual in Ethiopia, but parliament is now making sure the anti-gay laws will be applied in practical life. No pardoning of gays will be allowed in future, but activist fear this only is a signal of further repression being prepared. Read more

Ethiopia

Ethiopia plans Africa's biggest dam afrol News / Africa Renewal - Ethiopia's ambitious plan to build a US$ 4.2 billion dam in the Benishangul-Gumuz region, 40 km from its border with Sudan, is expected to provide 6,000 megawatts of electricity, enough for its population plus some excess it can sell to neighbouring countries. Read more