Anti-LGBTQ+ Bill: ‘Ghana Is Not Your Puppet’ – Sam George Replies US
Sam George. a lead crusader of Ghana’s anti-LGBTQ+ bill passed by Parliament, has responded to the pressure from the United States and the western world on President Nana Dankwa Akufo-Addo not to assent to the bill.
The bill prohibits the promotion, advocacy and every activity of the LGBTQ+ community.
Offenders will face a minimum jail sentence of 6 months to 5 years.
But the international community and some advocacy groups have condemned the bill, claiming it is an infringement on human rights and a threat to the lives of homosexuals.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk describes the bill as “deeply harmful” arguing “the bill broadens the scope of criminal sanctions against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, transexual and queer people – simply for being who they are – and threatens criminal penalties against perceived allies of LGBTQ+ people”.
Mr. Türk therefore called for “the bill not to become law. I urge the Ghanaian Government to take steps to ensure everyone can live free from violence, stigma and discrimination, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity. Consensual same-sex conduct should never be criminalized”.
US ambassador to Ghana, Virginia Evelyn Palmer also says the bill undermines human rights.
“I am saddened because some of the smartest, most creative, most decent people I know are LGBT. The bill Parliament passed takes away not only their basic human rights but those of all Ghanaians because it undermines their constitutional rights to freedom of speech, freedom of assembly and freedom of the press. It will be bad for public order and public health. If enacted, it will also hurt Ghana’s international reputation and Ghana’s economy”, she wrote on the embassy’s X.
But Sam George in a television interview has asked the American government and the western world to mind their business.
“Ghana is not the 51st State of the United States. Tell the American people, you either do business with us on our terms or you can walk. American businesses that operate in Ghana are not in Ghana because of LGBTQ; they are in Ghana because they make a profit. If you think that because we are protecting our cultural values and saying no to LGBTQ, you wanna lose a 100 million dollars in profit, pack up and go”, Sam George replied.
He continued; “The American economy will not run and the western economies will not run without African raw material…I mean a bank should not be threatening the customer and think I won’t give you a loan if you don’t do what I want. If I don’t come to you for a loan, you turn a profit.”
He rebuked the western control over Ghana and Africa stressing “Africa must begin to accept our rights. We are not puppets and stooges of the West”.
He added; “…it is just a sheer hypocrisy of America and the West; Qatar buys over a billion of military hardware every year from America. The punishment for homosexuality in Qatar is death.”
Watch video below:
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Source: Ghmessenger.com
