Uganda: new kind of cold war or lurching toward fascism?

Get ready to hear a lot more about the Uganda Parliament proposal declaring war on homosexuality.  As reported in the Guardian today,  "(a) law proposed by the Ugandan parliament which would introduce the death penalty by hanging for  "aggravated homosexuality".

Alright.  Full stop.  What?

The report continues:  "(t)he suggested legislation would apply to sex between gay men or lesbian women in which one person has HIV. The bill also proposes the introduction of a three-year prison sentence for anyone who knows of the existence of a gay man or lesbian woman and fails to inform authorities in Uganda within 24 hours."

Yes, that's right.  Totalitarian reporting to the state security apparatus or you will go to prison for three years.

Oh, and it provides a life prison sentence for gay sex, and the death penalty for HIV positive people engaging in homosexual sex.

Of course the bill was introduced by a back bencher.  But here's what a member of Uganda President Yoweri Museveni's cabinet had to say:   "(U)ganda's ethics and integrity minister, James Nsaba Buturo, welcomed the proposal, saying that he regards the bill "with joy" because it will "provide leadership around the world".

That's right.  Leadership.  Which makes it sound as if he is fighting the culture wars by self-appointed proxy. 

An Anglican (Church of Uganda) Bishop, Christopher Ssenyonjo was kicked out of the church three years ago for merely stating that gay people in Uganda were "marginalized" and "misunderstood"  -  and since then he has been vilified with false accusations of just about anything you could imagine. Ssenyonjo, who is straight, is continuously portrayed in Uganda as a follower of Satan, who practices necrophilia, on and on.

Mainstream media like to portray this as hatred exported from the religious right in America.  While a few hate groups masquerading as Christian missionaries have had a forum in Uganda, nothing like that can explain the enormous anti-gay stigma which exists from one end of the country to the other (and throughout Africa, to be frank).  You can't blame the religious right for this.  Sorry, I know those "hate America" stories are so easy, but they do absolutely nothing for the cause of justice, or to help those that are oppressed.  Time to grow up.

Uganda dictator Yoweri Museveni knows this makes good politics for his entrenched regime.  Museveni is where responsibility lies  -  he and his ministerial sycophants like James Buturo bear responsibility for the politics of hate.  Call it what it is:  fascist hate.  And correctly attribute it to the only person who would allow such a proposal to see the light of day:  Uganda President Yoweri Museveni.

Yoweri Museveni, the man who could have gracefully announced his retirement in 2004 and taken a place among the elite pantheon of African leaders like Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu (okay, that's not much of a pantheon, let's admit it).  But instead he rigs the vote suspending the constitution thereby repealing term limits - and after-wards renews his former Marxist-Leninist rhetorical style and jails, puts on trial and (finally, after inordinate international pressure) releases his existential opponents (including those from independent media and also opposition political parties) - and now kicks in with HIV-AIDS pandemic inspired hysteria against gays with a bit of East German communist police state flair. All the while making himself (and his family) multi-millionaires via crime and corruption against those who would endeavor to actually lift Africa out of poverty.

Yowi baby, do I have that right?