THE Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination (SASOD) has lauded the position of President David Granger, who recently expressed his support for freedom of choice by persons in the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community. Last Thursday, on his weekly televised show, “The Public Interest”, the President stated that he is prepared to respect the rights of any adult to indulge in any practice, which is not harmful to others. The view was expressed after veteran journalist Nazima Raghubir questioned the position of the Head of State in relation to same-sex activities in Guyana.
Guyana at present is the only country in South America where homosexual acts are still illegal. Under the laws of Guyana, homosexual acts carry a possible punishment of life imprisonment.
“SASOD welcomes President Granger’s recognition that ‘respect for human rights should prevail’ on policy and law reform issues related to LGBT issues in Guyana,” the organisation said through its Managing Director Joel Simpson.
However, Simpson noted that while President Granger’s statement is a step in the right direction, it must be pointed that the comments do not put into action the May 2015 Elections Manifesto commitments of his six-party coalition. The promise was geared towards “putting measures in place to ensure that all vulnerable groups… and those marginalised because of sexual orientation are protected and not discriminated against.”
“Insidious Laws”
And according to Simpson, the most basic measure is repealing the “insidious laws,” which criminalise same-sex intimacy and cross-dressing, and perpetuate, institutionally, anti-LGBT discrimination in society.
But despite these encouraging comments made by the Head of State, the SASOD Director pointed to the fact that the issue has not been ventilated at the level of Cabinet, as was revealed by the President, and this translates to there being no timetable for the review of these laws, which criminalise same sex-relations.
“SASOD is very disappointed that a clear commitment of the coalition government has not at least been discussed for implementation in the now more than seven months since the administration has taken office,” Simpson said.
He opined that it would take very simple amendments to repeal these laws criminalising same-sex intimacy and cross-dressing, and these steps are not complicated ones.
To this end, Simpson, on behalf of SASOD, called on the coalition government to demonstrate that it has the political will to take leadership on LGBT issues. “Repealing these archaic laws is the first step towards respect for human rights of LGBT Guyanese,” he said, adding that “our communities want real action in 2016, not mere rhetoric.” (Ravin Singh)