Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni said that an anti-gay bill tabled in parliament had become a foreign policy issue and stressed the need for more discussions.

East Africa's third largest economy has been under pressure from rights groups and Western nations over a bill authored by lawmaker David Bahati that would impose stringent punishments on homosexuality, including the death penalty.

Museveni Museveni told ruling party members at a conference that his cabinet would meet with Bahati and the parliamentary sub-committee for more talks on the bill. "It's a foreign policy issue, and we must handle it in a way that does not compromise our principles, but also takes into account our foreign policy interests", Museveni said.

During the conference he also stressed that the legislation was introduced by an individual lawmaker and did not necessarily represent the views of the government. "The international community should be informed that the anti-gay bill recently tabled in parliament is a private members bill. It was not brought by the government of Uganda."

Museveni did not say when the cabinet would discuss the bill with Bahati.

Darling of donors

Uganda, long a darling of donors for its stable economy and widespread economic reforms, has faced intense pressure from Western nations over the bill and other criticisms for cracking down on opposition leaders and the media.

"This might be a positive step, but whether the bill passes or not, there's been serious damage done to the lesbian, gay, bi-sexual and transgender community in just presenting this bill," said Maria Burnett, a researcher at Human Rights Watch.

Ethics and Integrity Minister Nsaba Buturo told Reuters in December that a revised law would now probably limit the maximum penalty for offenders to life in prison rather than execution. Under the original proposal "serial offenders", and those who commit "aggravated homosexuality", faced a death sentence.

"Let's measure our actions, discuss it thoroughly and come to a well-informed position," said Museveni.

source: Reuters/Afrik.com

photo: flickr/eenar_6