Why the British PM can wield a big 'homosexuality' stick (Observer) ...... smoke in the room buggery vs homosexuality confusion

The threat by British Prime Minister David Cameron to withhold aid from governments that fail to reform legislation banning homosexuality highlights the importance of a position we advanced in this space exactly a week ago.The point we made was that Caribbean countries need to get our economies to the point where we will need little or no borrowing.We had put forward the argument against the background of a vicious strategy being employed by the Taiwanese Government to collect a US$28-million judgement against Grenada for non-payment of loans received from Taiwan's Export-Import Bank in the 1990s.Essentially, what the Taiwanese have done is to have their lawyers file papers in the United States compelling cruise lines and airlines to hand over any money they owe Grenada in fees or other payments. 


It's not that Grenada is unwilling to honour its obligation. 


The Caricom nation has made a proposal to renegotiate the loan as its economy is still feeling the effects of the devastation brought on by Hurricane Ivan in 2004 and a drop in tourism after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States.The Taiwanese, however, are not prepared to enter into any debt rescheduling arrangement because the Grenadians made the 'error' of severing diplomatic ties with Taiwan in favour of rival China. 


 So, now, Grenada faces the indignity of having its port fees seized -- a move that would further depress its economy — simply because it upset a benefactor.In the case of the threat issued by Prime Minister Cameron over the weekend, the British are in no way being as iniquitous as the Taiwanese. After all, the aid they are pledging to slash is their own money and they are at liberty to do with it as they please."Britain," Mr Cameron is reported as saying, "is one of the premier aid givers in the world. We want to see countries that receive our aid adhering to proper human rights." 


But while the British leader's statement is directed more at African states that have strong anti-gay legislation, his policy essentially applies to all Commonwealth countries, including Jamaica, where, due to religious and/or cultural beliefs, homosexuality is not accepted.Of course, he conceded that the countries targeted could not change immediately. That, we hold, should be the general position of the international community and the homosexual lobby. For it is unreasonable to expect that societies with prejudices rooted in a culture that, in most instances is a legacy of British Empire laws, will, overnight, accept a lifestyle that runs counter to those laws.Where the homosexual lobby and their supporters have erred is in trying to force their lifestyle on societies that regard it as wrong and ungodly. 


 And while we do not support laws that persecute people because of their sexual preferences, we hold firmly to the belief that threats, like that issued by Prime Minister Cameron, would not have seen the light of day had those countries that now gleefully accept monetary aid put their economies in order. 

ENDS

Smoke is in the room and it is choking us and everyone else so much so that we all are saying and believing foolishness and the hype or wrench thrown in the mix whenever this debate comes up. HOMOSEXUALITY IS NOT ILLEGAL IN JAMAICA, sorry but I had to scream it and that is precisely why the debate is clouded, the beginning of this article/editorial just turns me as I have heard everywhere else including supposedly knowledgeable journalists and lawyers saying it is. What is illegal is the act of buggery or sodomy and even that is debatable as well as sodomy infers a kind of predatory tinge to it or forced sexual advances from a same sexed perpetrator as was deemed in the 1500s when this law came to be under Henry VIII.  As for the supposed imposition I was made to understand the  veiled threat from the UK PM was directed towards more caustic states in Africa to which some have responded in kind claiming being dictated to. I had hinted to the issue of imposition by foreign bodies in a previous post when the story first broke on GLBTQJA Wordpress seen below:


.........But what will that do though in the long run if most states and including Jamaica outside of the region mentioned in the article have a strong beliefs or perception that homosexuality is an import and that actions such as this are forcing the hand of countries with “christian principles” and “high moral values” to capitulate to the powerful gay lobby from first world nations yet The Prime Minister David Cameron is not gay but could be viewed as a puppet in the scheme of this with the pressure coming and positions from the European Union side of things and other bodies such as the United Nations on sexual orientation.Is forcing countries to comply the way to go?Or hitting them economically?I don’t think so, certainly other diplomatic methods can be employed but what about the notion that anti gay forces in the United States are in effect exporting homophobia and funding anti gay and religious fanaticism especially in parts of Africa in recent times. What does Mr. Cameron et al have to say or do about that?, these powerful backers behind such moves are said to be numerous and are some of the biggest companies and individuals allegedly. 


Will the UK also criticize those backers and demand they stop this kind of clandestine support or be made to stop? Can or will the UK Prime Minister stand up to the police man of the world and call it for what it is? Are we going to solve the issue of tolerance this way folks? I don’t think so, the hitting of the economic prosperity of these non compliant states as it were may only serve to bring more harm to the voices and populations on the ground who are made to pay the price as involuntary martyrs for this kind of pressure.While I can understand the need for rights and recognition to be extended to the common man this incessant push to seemingly impose it on the rest of the problematic states is unjustified for now, I say more dialogue bearing in mind also other countries who may have similar anti gay positions and laws with dire societal consequences are watching this and may feel justified in tacitly supporting homophobic acts even more so whilst becoming hardlined on budging from their no ease on buggery positions. We saw the recent comments but the Antiguan and Barbudan Attorney General on the law there on the strength of a legal challenge mounted by a group in Belize named UNIBAMThis debate has no end soon so let us see. 


The particular tranche of aid that maybe affected is a bilateral one known as general support,the aid was vital as it was used to rehabilitation programs for deportees who are helped to rejoin society, training and support. National Security Minister Dwight Nelson said on a radio interview that if aid was cut Jamaica could not afford to run such a program at this time.

Why is Jamaica Forum for Lesbians Allsexuals and Gays, JFLAG so silent?


In response to that an answer from one of the Programs personnel dismissed the question as if it is not important, the exact words in a forum were:


"Truth is, if you read what Cameron said you realise it has no bearing on us. Do we even get budgetary support from Britain? Cutting aid is standard practice, it is nothing new. Why are we getting so fussed up about it? If my memory serves me correct, US withdrew money to an organ of the UN last week because of its work in China. The person who has the power of the purse use it to their benefit and it is a very old practice. There really isn't that much of a story in this. Activists are using the opportunity to respond to requests from the media to speak on the issue"



Aloofness as per usual, so much for that, I guess the negative perceptions that we are trying to homosexualize Jamaica, bugger our children and white foreigners imposing their beliefs on us are of no importance to the J coupled with the fallouts in the form of homophobic and lesbophobic violence that usually comes with when homosexuality hits the mainstream news?


Peace and tolerance 


H


also see more comments on these posts from other rights activists:


Jamaica should refuse British aid – Families Against State Terrorism convener ………………

CVM TV's Live @ 7 on the UK AID Withdrawal threat & responses .......

Caricom adopts ambitious targets to defeat HIV/AIDS pandemic

UNITED NATIONS (CMC) — As the three-day extraordinary United Nations' Summit on HIV/AIDS concluded here on Friday, the Caribbean Community (Caricom) has joined the global community in adopting ambitious new targets aimed at ridding the world of a pandemic that has claimed more than 30 million lives since it was first reported three decades ago.

The UN's High-Level Meeting on HIV/AIDS this week brought together 3,000 participants, including 30 heads of state and government, along with senior officials, representatives of international organisations, civil society and people living with HIV, to chart a path for the future of the AIDS response.

The declaration, adopted by the UN General Assembly, including Caricom states, contains "clear, measurable" targets, geared towards halving sexual transmission of HIV by 2015, reducing HIV transmission among people who inject drugs by 50 per cent by 2015, and ensuring that by 2015 no child will be born with HIV.

The targets are also aimed at increasing universal access to antiretroviral therapy, getting 15 million people onto life-saving treatment by 2015, and halving tuberculosis deaths in people living with HIV by 50 per cent by 2015.

"These bold new targets set by world leaders will accelerate our push to reduce the transmission of HIV," said General Assembly President Joseph Deiss.

"The challenge that now remains is to implement these commitments; and, here, leadership and mutual accountability are crucial."

Member-states also pledged to close the global resource gap for AIDS and work towards increasing funding to between US$22 billion and US$24 billion per year by 2015.

Addressing the High Level Summit, on behalf of Caricom, St Kitts and Nevis' Prime Minister Dr Denzil Douglas, who is also Caricom's lead head for human resource development, health and HIV/AIDS, said, in 10 years, collective action and an increasing level of shared responsibility have given hope that "better must come" to people living with HIV and AIDS.

"Through the dedicated work of natural and behavioural scientists, philanthropists and NGOs (non-governmental organisations), as well as the leadership at the national and global level, great strides have been made," said Dr Douglas, who also chairman of the Pan-Caribbean Partnership against HIV and AIDS (PANCAPP).

"Scientific research has produced medicines, in particular the generics, to aid care and treatment. The application of behaviour change, through social marketing interventions, has contributed, in no small measure, to arresting the spread of HIV, reducing the number of deaths, from HIV and AIDS and increasing awareness of prevention policies," he added.

In so doing, Dr Douglas said there is the growing realisation of the need for inclusiveness, aimed at the eradication of HIV-related stigma and at enabling equitable access to HIV-related information and services, especially for the most at risk populations.

The St Kitts and Nevis' prime minister said the membership of Caricom and PANCAP has always played a "very active role" in this global process for an accelerated approach to HIV, stating that it is no doubt in the region's self-interest to find solutions, since it still remains second only to sub-Saharan Africa in prevalence rate.

Nevertheless, he said the Caribbean holds out the prospect of being among the first group of countries in the world to achieve universal access.

He said the UNAIDS score card on universal access 2010 demonstrates that "much progress has been made in the Caribbean".

Dr Douglas said over the 10-year period, since the first United Nations General Assembly Special Session on HIV/AIDS, the prevalence rate in the region has stabilised at one per cent overall, with significant variations among respective countries.

He said new HIV infections have declined by 14 per cent, and AIDS-related deaths from HIV and AIDS have also declined by 43 per cent.

Dr Douglas said efforts to reduce stigma and discrimination have intensified, with programmes targeting the formal education sector, the youth, the workplace, and faith-based organisations, among others.

He said engagement of regional universities, other regional institutions, NGOs and the media has also "provided the impetus to the accelerated approach to HIV and AIDS".

But he cautioned that while there is "much to celebrate", the warning signals in the Caribbean still prevail, disclosing that an estimated 17,000 persons became newly infected with HIV in 2009.

He said there are indications that transmission rates among key populations, such as men who have sex with men, are increasing.

In addition, he said unprotected sex between men and women, especially sex work, is believed to be the main mode of HIV transmission, making the Caribbean the only region, besides sub-Saharan Africa, where women and girls outnumber men and boys among people living with HIV.

In 2009, Dr Douglas said, an estimated 53 per cent of people with HIV were female, stating that high infection levels have been found among female sex workers, including four per cent in the Dominican Republic, nine per cent in Jamaica, and 27 per cent in Guyana.

"We, in the Caribbean, have come to recognise that while progress has been made, the gains will be fragile unless innovative and bold steps are taken toward an HIV-free generation," he said.

Caricom ministers and representatives, who also addressed the summit, aligned themselves with Caricom's statement, stating that that their respective countries are doing everything in their power in addressing the deadly disease.

Barbados' Minister for Family, Culture and Sport Stephen Lashley said the achievements and progress of its National AIDS Programme continue to get "necessary support at the highest level".

Lashley said following a successful World Bank "First Project", Barbados has started the execution of the "Second Project", with "a systematic focus" on universal access to care, treatment and support by "reducing new infections, eliminating stigma and discrimination, and significantly reducing AIDS related deaths."

He said there are 18 government ministries, with over half having a "functioning" HIV core group, and that each ministry has an annual action plan for HIV.

"So we have been putting in place the measures and frameworks necessary for achieving the goals set at the beginning of the second World Bank project," he said.

In addition, he said efforts are aimed at increasing the percentage of sex-workers who report the use of condoms with their most recent client.

Jamaica said it has made "noteworthy" progress in addressing the HIV/AIDS pandemic, with Health Minister Rudyard Spencer telling the global body that there was an 18 per cent decline in the number of persons who reported with advanced HIV and AIDS cases in 2009 compared to the previous year.

He said AIDS deaths have also declined significantly, moving from 665 in 2004 to 378 in 2009.

Paediatric AIDS deaths also declined by 19 per cent, moving from 32 cases in 2008 to 26 cases in 2009.

Spencer said the expansion of HIV testing in the public sector has resulted in coverage for about 84 per cent of pregnant women and 98 per cent of babies delivered in the public sector.

But despite these advances, he said Jamaica faces "challenges relating to inadequate human resources to effectively scale up testing, treatment and support services.

"The tight fiscal space, which is not unique to Jamaica, undermines the government's commitment to advance in any significant way effective HIV and AIDS strategies," Spencer warned.

"The country will need the continued consistent support of the donor community not just to maintain the gains that we have made but to make great leaps forward in the achievement of various international targets relating to HIV and AIDS," he added.

For its part, Guyana said it has seen "significant progress" in combating HIV/AIDS, which was first diagnosed in the country in 1987.

UN Ambassador George Talbot said resource allocation to the health sector, especially for HIV and AIDS, has been "scaled up," resulting in significant decline in HIV/AIDS infection rates and deaths, while access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support has increased.

In addition, Talbot said Guyana has seen "substantial decreases" in mother-to-child transmission of HIV. He said female sex workers and men having sex with men, among the most vulnerable groups, have decreased in prevalence.

He said the Bharrat Jagdeo administration is "committed to enhancing programmes for access to prevention, treatment, care and support."

Overall, he said Guyana's advances could be attributed to "political commitment at the highest level," as seen in its Presidential Commission, as well as dedication to a multi-sectoral approach and the forging of partnerships, including at the regional and international levels.

Haiti called for political will to support what it described as the "cross-cutting" global response to HIV-AIDS.

Director-General for public health and population, Gabriel Thimothé, said the disease is still a "generalised epidemic," with a 2.2 per cent prevalence rate.

He said that since HIV disproportionately affects women, mother-to-child transmissions are on the rise.

Thimothé said the recent earthquake and cholera outbreak in the impoverished, French-speaking Caribbean country has exacerbated the country's woes and "makes it more difficult to fight the epidemic".

Nevertheless, he said the government is "taking comprehensive steps to combat the disease".