Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2001-04-05-Speech-4-202"
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"en.20010405.10.4-202"2
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"Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, I would like to read you a newspaper report: Today, President X from country Y has called on that country’s regional authorities to point out Jews and black people in their regions so that they can be arrested. According to this President, Jews and black people have to be arrested, gaoled and exiled. End of quote.
You probably wonder which country this report is about, and the timeframe in which it is set. After all, we are only too aware of the historical examples. Replace Jews and blacks by homosexual men and women, and you will realise that I am referring to the very recent statements by the President of Namibia where it appears, not for the first time, that a witch-hunt is being launched. Namibia’s President made his appeal to cleanse his country, as he said, of homosexuals, on 19 March. Despite numerous protests, both from Namibia and elsewhere, he repeated this appeal earlier this week. It is thus not a slip of the tongue but a deliberate campaign.
On previous occasions, the anti-homosexual rhetoric uttered by the Namibian President could be laughed off. It seemed to be a personal hobbyhorse of a frightened man who was desperate to hold on to traditional village life. The President’s statements conjure up an image of a community which seems to be losing the battle against sexual promiscuity. However, the criminalisation of homosexuals, mixed in with a generous portion of xenophobia, and the call on Namibian women to know their place, do nothing to address the problem. On the contrary, exploiting the fear of AIDS in this manner is playing with fire. Straightforward advice and the distribution of condoms would be a better solution.
Namibia’s anti-homosexual campaign forms a threat, not only to the physical well-being of the potential victims, but also to democracy, the rule of law and human rights. Amnesty International has declared that it considers people who are gaoled on the grounds of their sexual preference or for exercising their right to freedom of expression and assembly to be prisoners of conscience. Namibia must be reminded of its international obligations, which signify that human rights apply to everyone and are universal and indivisible. It is crucial, therefore, for the European Union to ask Namibia, in no uncertain terms, to halt this witch-hunt. Let Namibia follow the lead of its neighbour, South Africa, where the rights of homosexuals are explicitly guaranteed in the constitution. Surely, a country which has fought for its own freedom and against racial discrimination and apartheid cannot embrace sexual discrimination and apartheid."@en1
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