Nobel peace prize winner defends law criminalising homosexuality in Liberia

[Big Don]

[h=1]Nobel peace prize winner defends law criminalising homosexuality in Liberia[/h] Exclusive: In joint interview, Tony Blair refuses to comment on Liberian president's remarks supporting anti-gay laws

• Tamasin Ford and Bonnie Allen in Monrovia
  
• guardian.co.uk, Monday 19 March 2012 08.36 EDT EXCERPT

The Nobel peace prize winner and president of Liberia, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, has defended a law that criminalises homosexual acts, saying: "We like ourselves just the way we are."
In a joint interview with Tony Blair, who was left looking visibly uncomfortable by her remarks, Sirleaf told the Guardian: "We've got certain traditional values in our society that we would like to preserve."
Liberian legislation classes "voluntary sodomy" as a misdemeanour punishable by up to one year in prison, but two new bills have been proposed that would target homosexuality with much tougher sentences.
Blair, on a visit to Liberia in his capacity as the founder of the Africa Governance Initiative (AGI), a charity that aims to strengthen African governments, refused to comment on Sirleaf's remarks.
When asked whether good governance and human rights went hand in hand, the British former prime minister said: "I'm not giving you an answer on it."
"One of the advantages of doing what I do now is I can choose the issues I get into and the issues I don't. For us, the priorities are around power, roads, jobs delivery," he said.
Over his 10 years as prime minister, Blair became a champion for the legal equality of gay people, pushing through laws on civil partnerships, lifting a ban on gay people in the armed forces and lowering the age of consent for gay people to 16.
A Catholic convert, he called on the pope to rethink his "entrenched" views and offer equal rights to gay people. But gay rights, he said, were not something he was prepared to get involved in as an adviser to African leaders.
END EXCERPT
Remember, it is wrong to criticize other cultures...

 

[Tez3]

We don't call him 'bLiar' here for nothing you know. As it's the Guardian, defender of Blair and his cronies the article is as expected somewhat misleading in that Blair didn't 'push through' laws etc. single handedly, the Prime Minister doesn't have that power. The laws were enacted by the Government. The laws were part of the Labour party's policies when elected so they had to push them through or be accused of reneged on their election promises. the laws, such as the Civil Partnership one were introduced by the Labour Party and supported by the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats... Parliament in fact so was passed. Getting the credit for these I suppose is one of the perks of being Prime Minister, however he certainly shouldn't be given the credit for 'pushing' the Bills through, they were supported by all sides so didn't need much of a push.

The AGI is just a jobs for the boys organisation, lots of hot air and empty words. It doesn't have the power to do anything other than give Blair Air Miles and a chance to preen in public.

 

[Big Don]

We don't call him 'bLiar' here for nothing you know. As it's the Guardian, defender of Blair and his cronies the article is as expected somewhat misleading in that Blair didn't 'push through' laws etc. single handedly, the Prime Minister doesn't have that power. The laws were enacted by the Government. The laws were part of the Labour party's policies when elected so they had to push them through or be accused of reneged on their election promises. the laws, such as the Civil Partnership one were introduced by the Labour Party and supported by the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats... Parliament in fact so was passed. Getting the credit for these I suppose is one of the perks of being Prime Minister, however he certainly shouldn't be given the credit for 'pushing' the Bills through, they were supported by all sides so didn't need much of a push.

The AGI is just a jobs for the boys organisation, lots of hot air and empty words. It doesn't have the power to do anything other than give Blair Air Miles and a chance to preen in public.

You do understand, don't you, that the article wasn't about Blair...

 

[Tez3]

You do understand, don't you, that the article wasn't about Blair...

Funnily enough yes I did however as the Guardian was reporting things that were false and would lead people to believe something that wasn't true I thought I'd put that right.

 

[granfire]

So what is the story anyhow?
That in Liberia most people don't want sodomy happen (in other people's bedrooms)

Or that Blair didn't say nothing about it.

Or that the Nobel Peace Price winner said the law was ok...


Another bit of confusing journalism....oh well.

next.