The Independent: Dumb Letter Of The Day

Apart from the fact this could be a counter-productive gesture, and Museveni would just say 'Bring it on!', this could prove difficult as the UK does not currently give the Ugandan government any aid.

“We ended all budget support payments to the Ugandan government last year. The UK strongly opposes all discrimination on any grounds and Justine Greening has been clear that governments receiving UK aid need to meet a specific set of principles, including human rights.”

Department of International Development statement, quoted in Pink News.

Direct aid was suspended due to fraud and misuse of funds in late 2012, not because of The Gays, btw. 

Looks like the 'debate' about gay rights in Uganda could be as ill-informed as the one about Russia.

PS Would cutting aid to Uganda achieve anything? Gaz Morris, Vada magazine.

@dex_mon I don't support aid cuts , unlike you I don't wanna create new victims
— Dr. Frank Mugisha (@frankmugisha) February 25, 2014

Dr Frank Mugisha is director of Sexual Minorities Uganda.

And as with Russia, it seems that the last people some in the West will listen to are LGBT Ugandans themselves...

UK Aid & Gay Rights: Mad World

A statement is issued by Kaleidoscope Trust - the new UK-based "international organisation to support gay men and lesbians around the world."
They had a meeting yesterday with the Secretary of State For International Development, Andrew Mitchell MP;
"Mr Mitchell said the government did not want changes to British UK aid policy to have any damaging effect on LGBT communities in recipent countries and promised to examine closely the the impact of ministerial comments. He said the government's position had been wrongly reported as a threat to cut aid or to single out LGBT rights as a condition for aid. Aid levels would not be cut but could be switched in response to human rights violations."
Peter Tatchell also attended the meeting.
An email from Peter this morning is headed;
'UK won't cut aid over LGBTI rights abuses'
His email includes a link to a statement presented to Andrew Mitchell "signed by over 100 African social justice activists, criticising the UK's reported new aid policy..."
The statement says;
"It was widely reported, earlier this month, that the British Government has threatened to cut aid to governments of “countries that persecute homosexuals” unless they stop punishing people in same-sex relationships. These threats follow similar decisions that have been taken by a number of other donor countries against countries such as Uganda and Malawi. While the intention may well be to protect the rights of LGBTI people on the continent, the decision to cut aid disregards the role of the LGBTI and broader social justice movement on the continent and creates the real risk of a serious backlash against LGBTI people..."
Peter Tatchell also reports that at yesterdays meeting Andrew Mitchell "explained his government's aid policy had been 'misrepresented by some media'.
"Contrary to media reports, Mr Mitchell confirmed that this aid conditionality was never primarily based on a recipient government's respect for LGBTI rights. Human rights adherence is one of the four pillars of UK aid conditionality and LGBTI rights is just one dimension of respect for human rights, he said."
Good to hear.
But why oh why didn't anyone check this story at the time and point out it was a distortion of government policy?
Oh hang on... Fagburn did.
It was hardly breaking Watergate - all I did was phone the Department for International Development and check.
Took ten minutes.
Did anyone else point out that the supposed story 'We'll cut your aid if you persecute gays, Britain warns African nations' was an invention of The Daily Mail?
It's days like this I feel like giving up...

Ann Widdecombe: FFS!

Dear Ann,

You know if I was giving a big speech in London I would have bothered to check if what I'm talking about is true, and not just some homophobic crap made up by The Daily Mail.
Just a thought.

Fagburn

x

Daily Mail: Telling Lies For A Living Part 7,559

The Mail has been getting very excited about this story;
'We'll cut your aid if you persecute gays, Britain warns African nations'.
They're so excited they ran it for a second time today;
Foreign aid for countries with anti-gay rights records to be slashed, pledges Cameron
Intriguingly no other national newspaper has run anything on this*.
Why?
Cause the Mail has invented this "story".
Just like they did with their fiction about a "Pre-watershed TV Gay kiss ban".
I've spoken to the Department for International Development - and "there is no new initiative".
The department's spokesperson said - diplomatically - the Mail's story was "slightly exaggerated".
After Cameron's "gay marriage" speech last week the Mail contacted the DfID and asked if they had a policy on giving aid to countries with anti-gay laws.
Almost as if they were desperately trying to find any story about his newfound gay-mania.
They don't - not specifically, anyway.
David Cameron has not said or "pledged" anything.
And to imply gay rights have somehow been singled out is unbelievably mendacious.
The DfID released a general statement earlier this year;
"We only provide aid directly to governments when we are satisfied that they share our commitments to: reduce poverty; respect human rights and other international obligations; improve public financial management; promote good governance and transparency, and fight corruption."
But that's just a reiteration of a long-standing policy anyway.
In response the DfID put together a statement for the Mail mentioning three cases where there were concerns about countries' gay rights records (Ghana, Malawi, Uganda) amongst other things [Email me if you want a copy].
In typical Hall Of Mirrors fashion the Mail has now begun commenting on a story which - whilst not strictly untrue - they have concocted.
An editorial in yesterday's Mail On Sunday said;

"The Conservatives, still struggling to prove that they are no longer the nasty party, have saddled themselves with huge commitments to untrustworthy and spendthrift regimes.
"But now it emerges that officials are starting to reduce aid to governments that are hostile to their gay citizens.
"Given that such hostility is very common indeed in the Third World, this rule could provide an ingenious way out of several commitments we can no longer afford, and which are doing little good."

Well yes, but they're talking about a story that's not really true.
In today's Daily Mail their ghastly inhouse homophobe Melanie Phillips wades in
And with a loopiness that is breath-taking even by her own standards Phillips complains that gay rights have been singled out, over other human rights concerns.
But the DFiD didn't do this - the Mail did.
Melanie Phillips of all people should know that if you read something in the Daily Mail it's probably bollocks.

* Both Pink News and Pink Paper have run the story today - typically without bothering to check it. Your gay press at work. Brilliant!