“My advice to the Government of Jamaica is that they need to take up a stance if they cherish the culture of Jamaica. They need to stand on their own and protect the dignity of the people of Jamaica by not yielding to the pressure of the Western world,” David Lagen, the Member of Parliament for Agago Agago County in northern Uganda, stated passionately in an interview with the
Jamaica Observer last Thursday.
Lagen was in Jamaica for the launch of a series of books by journalist-turned-missionary Donna Hussey Stewart. He said the Jamaican Government should take a definitive stance against the Western world when fighting against issues related to laws that promote homosexuality and “any principle that goes against the kingdom of God”.
Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Act, signed into law last year May, states that anyone convicted of homosexuality can face up to life imprisonment, while a person found guilty of “aggravated homosexuality” can be subjected to the death penalty.
The draconian law stipulates capital punishment for ‘serial offenders’ and transmission of a terminal illness like HIV/AIDS through gay sex. It also prescribes a 20-year sentence for ‘promoting’ homosexuality. On Thursday, when the
Sunday Observer asked Lagen about the possibilities of Jamaica suffering similar financial consequences if it took the same stance as Uganda, he said that the Caribbean country must find ways to decrease dependency on foreign funding.
“Jamaica can cooperate in other aspects of life but the Western world must respect the dignity and the culture of the Jamaicans. Jamaica has to find ways to generate the money because the country cannot just depend on the World Bank,” he argued.
“If outside funding stops, what are you going to do?” he asked.
“In Uganda it was not easy, but we made this sacrifice to protect the people,” he said.
He encouraged the Jamaican Government to develop plans that will help the country generate its own money and become less dependent on funding from the larger countries.
Lagen claimed that prior to enacting the Bill Uganda faced many challenges, one of which, he said, was foreign individuals introducing homosexuality into schools, which negatively affected the behavior of students.
“Children were given money and they were being bribed to practice homosexuality. Families were getting into problems. Parents were seeing strange behavior in their children and some of the parents committed suicide because of these strange behaviors. It was really a big mess and a big problem,” he said.
“So, as a country that believes in God and wanted to protect the dignity and the culture of our people, Parliament came up with the Bill,” Lagen told the
Sunday Observer.
He said that when the Bill was first presented to President Museveni the United Nations (UN), European Union and World Bank threatened to remove funding if he signed it. He also alleged that Government members were offered bribes to oppose the Bill.
“In a parliamentary meeting I had with the president I remember that day I took the microphone and passionately spoke. I said, ‘Mr President, you have fought so many wars in this country without the help of the UN and European Union. We have seen peace prevail in this country. Why do you want to become a coward today not to sign the Bill at the expense of our children, our mothers, and our local people?’ ” Lagen told the
Sunday Observer.
He said that since the Bill was passed there has been more sanity in the country and he urged Jamaicans to use Uganda as an example to understand that the country can survive without neglecting its moral principles. LAWANG LUTEDERO AGAGO COUNTY
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