by Laura Galassi
Arcigay and Arcilesbica are calling on the Province to combine financial aid in Uganda with an awareness campaign on gay rights. This includes not only wells, schools, and hospitals, but also an attempt to roll back the current homophobic law, which carries prison sentences of up to 14 years for the mere offense of associating with a person of the same sex.
Of even greater concern to Arcigay—which yesterday invited national president Flavio Romani and Giorgio dell'Amico, the country's immigration representative, to the Provincial Palace—is a bill stalled in the Ugandan parliament for several years that would further criminalize the "crime" of homosexuality, up to and including the death penalty. This legislative initiative also encourages reporting, imposing penalties on family members and acquaintances who fail to "report" same-sex couples.
A veritable "witch hunt," which Arcigay cannot tolerate and which should alert Pacher and his colleagues to the possibility of negotiating with the East African republic. While last week the two associations were extremely heated over the arrival in Trento of James Baba, Uganda's Interior Minister, invited to Trentino by the Association of Volunteer Aid Centers (ACAV), yesterday they preferred dialogue to leafleting and picketing. Baba and Hassan Nginya, the governor of the Koboko district, where ACAV is very active, agreed to sit down face-to-face with a delegation of gay associations.
The two groups' thinking is vast, but the mere fact of sitting at the same table is a small step toward addressing this atrocious human rights violation. The minister linked the issue of gay persecution to cultural and religious factors, but assured that the "Kill the Gays Bill," the law that provides for the death penalty, was the initiative of a single parliamentarian. "This is not the time for the government to discuss this bill; there are more important things to do for Uganda," said James Baba. "Sexual orientation is a private matter for us, not a political issue. The promotion of homosexuality is our responsibility," the minister added.
The substantial disinterest in the African delegation's issue hasn't allayed the concerns of the newly elected president of Arcigay Trentino, Paolo Zanella, and lawyer Alexander Schuster. "For us, ending up in prison for loving someone is unacceptable, and we're not satisfied with the Ugandan government simply freezing the existing situation, where, in fact, there's already a terrible system of sanctions against gay people.".
The meeting was mediated by Pierluigi Floretta, ACAV director in Uganda. "It takes time for things to change in Africa, at least two generations. We respond to emergencies, creating the conditions for the protection of all human rights. It's hard to ask for more than that.".
