Ugandan Officials Raid U.S. Affiliated HIV Research Facility

[DonViejo]

Source: BuzzFeed

The raid comes as a team is visiting Uganda from the US to review aid in response to the Anti-Homosexuality Act.

posted on April 3, 2014 at 4:44pm EDT

J. Lester Feder
BuzzFeed Staff

Miriam Berger
BuzzFeed Staff

Ugandan officials raided an HIV vaccine research facility in Kampala on Wednesday run by the US Military and Makerere University, a spokeswoman for the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research confirmed to BuzzFeed.

At least one employee of the Makerere Walter Reed Project was detained, said spokeswoman Debra Youric, but it is not known whether this person was a Ugandan and U.S. citizen. Many other details remain unconfirmed, including what branch of law enforcement raided the facility and what materials may have been seized.

Following the raid, Ugandan activist Pepe Julian Onziema tweeted the facility was shut down for “conducting ‘illegal homosexual research’.”




Read more: http://www.buzzfeed.com/lesterfeder/ugandan-officials-raid-us-affiliated-hiv-research-facility

[Jesus Malverde]

1. US military AIDS research in africa....

BioFem and Dr. Larry Ford.

[weissmam]

2. This is Scott Lively fault

chuck that terrorist in jail

[atreides1]

7. I don't want him in jail

In jail he still gets to spew his hatred...and someone just like him will pick up the torch and continue his hateful work!

[Bluenorthwest]

11. To an extent, but Uganda largest religion is Catholic, 42% and another 40% is Anglican

Clergy of both Churches have supported this law and Francis the Pope has not objected to it with so much as a Tweet after spending years telling his followers to go to war against gay rights. All of the religious leaders are to blame, not just one. Deal with it.

[theHandpuppet]

16. Yep.

http://ncronline.org/blogs/grace-margins/uganda-opportunity-pope-francis-act-his-words

[pnwmom]

17. The Catholic Bishops issued a statement opposing the law in 2009.

The newly passed version hasn't been released yet, so the Bishops are waiting to see what it says.

[theHandpuppet]

19. No more excuses

http://ncronline.org/blogs/grace-margins/uganda-opportunity-pope-francis-act-his-words
National Catholic Reporter
by Jamie Manson Apr. 2, 2014
In Uganda, an opportunity for Pope Francis to act on his words

(excerpt)
The Ugandan Catholic hierarchy opposed the original 2009 draft of the bill because it proposed the death penalty for some same-sex acts. But once that provision was removed, they did not condemn it.

Last we heard from Ugandan bishops on March 4, they were reserving judgment on the law, claiming they needed time for an "educated study of it, so we can make an educated judgment," said Msgr. John Baptist Kauta, secretary-general of the Uganda Episcopal Conference.

Members of the Ugandan hierarchy continued to be tight-lipped about their position on the new legislation. That was until Monday, when, at a "thanksgiving" celebration for the new law held in Kampala, their actions spoke louder than words.

International media outlets reported that the thanksgiving rally and ceremony was organized by a nonspecific "coalition of religious leaders." But a photo in one of Uganda's major newspapers revealed that Archbishop Cyprian Kizito Lwanga of Kampala not only attended the thanksgiving celebration, he was part of a contingent of five clergymen (including a Muslim sheikh, a Pentecostal bishop and an Anglican bishop) who gave Museveni an engraved plaque to congratulate him for signing the bill.... MORE

[Bluenorthwest]

20. Incorrect. The Bishops have had the text of the law since March 4

and have yet to comment. I'm tired of the posting of falsehoods in defense of evil. "Msgr. Kauta, who spoke to Catholic News Service by phone March 5, more than week after the controversial bill became law, said the bishops had just finished a retreat and had only gotten an official text of the new law the previous day.

"I hope you appreciate the position of the Episcopal Conference. We got (the text) yesterday at 4 o'clock. That is God's honest truth. We are studying the text, and will give our opinion," he said.

He said he expected the bishops to come up with a response to the new law by as early as March 8 and that it would incorporate "all their opinions."
http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/1400931.htm

Read this, and please correct your dishonest post:
Members of the Ugandan hierarchy continued to be tight-lipped about their position on the new legislation. That was until Monday, when, at a "thanksgiving" celebration for the new law held in Kampala, their actions spoke louder than words.

International media outlets reported that the thanksgiving rally and ceremony was organized by a nonspecific "coalition of religious leaders." But a photo in one of Uganda's major newspapers revealed that Archbishop Cyprian Kizito Lwanga of Kampala not only attended the thanksgiving celebration, he was part of a contingent of five clergymen (including a Muslim sheikh, a Pentecostal bishop and an Anglican bishop) who gave Museveni an engraved plaque to congratulate him for signing the bill.

A YouTube video also shows Lwanga offering prayers at the ceremony for those "led astray in this vice of homosexuality."
http://ncronline.org/blogs/grace-margins/uganda-opportunity-pope-francis-act-his-words

[ck4829]

3. Illegal homosexual research? Um... What?

Homosexuals with test tubes making gay chemicals?

[Chef Eric]

4. I think it's reminiscent of the "Jewish science" label...

that the Nazis put on Einstein's work.

[icymist]

5. Are these people that stupid? Oh, wait a minute... They are!

[rpannier]

8. How about giving them neither

especially no trade

[meanit]

6. Everywhere Conservatives go,

they leave behind a trail of hatred, violence, inequality, war, despair and poverty.

[AAO]

9. It seems so obvious to us - what's the matter with these other freaks?

[meanit]

13. Frightened, impressionable people,

perhaps uneducated and dirt poor most likely, living in a country torn by wars. Very third world, so to speak.

Vermin like Lively thrive in places like Uganda, taking advantage of the situation to further their insane agenda.

[Blue_Tires]

28. Just a lack of information, education, and perspective that we all take for granted...

Along with the age-old "Everything I know about _____, I learned from the local priest", which has been going on since the middle ages...And history has continually shown that the opinions and attitudes of this group are very easy to shape...

Also the GLBT people can make for a very convenient political scapegoat for everything that's wrong in the nation -- And the more public outrage the government can focus on GLBT, the less public attention gets paid to government corruption and theft...

[okaawhatever]

10. How very sad. nt

[William769]

12. These people are sub-human.

[Marrah_G]

14. Fucking morons

Seriously- such fucking morons. The scientists are trying to save fucking lives and all those stupid shitheads can do is fantasize about gay sex.

[blkmusclmachine]

15. Here is your Church-State Government, right before your eyes. US Evangelicals want to import this to

the States. Africa is just their proving grounds.

[Sunlei]

18. Those USA Evangelicals should be ashamed at what their visits did to this 3rd world country!!

[Bluenorthwest]

21. It is not just them. Please learn and act accordingly, lives are at stake.

An estimated 44 percent of Uganda is Catholic, which suggests that the Roman Catholic hierarchy holds significant influence over the beliefs of the people and the development of public policy. By offering public praise of Museveni's signing of this law, Lwanga has given his blessing to legislation that violates the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which teaches that homosexual orientation is not a choice and that gays and lesbians should not be subjected to violence or social discrimination.

The situation in Uganda mirrors recent developments in Nigeria where, in January, President Goodluck Jonathan enacted a law that mandated 14 years in jail for anyone entering a same-sex union and a 10-year sentence for "a person or group of persons who ... supports the registration, operation and sustenance of gay clubs, societies, organizations, processions or meetings."

Though the law ignited a steep rise in attacks on LGBT people in the country, Nigerian Catholic bishops applauded Jonathan's "courageous" decision and called his law "a clear indication of the ability of our great country to stand shoulders high in the protection of our Nigerian and African most valued cultures of the institution of marriage."
http://ncronline.org/blogs/grace-margins/uganda-opportunity-pope-francis-act-his-words

[Sunlei]

25. 'mainstream churches' there agreed /w the other 'christians' & helped boost hate laws

Sure it's a very complicated long term issue and many people paid with their lives.

"laws are remnants of British colonialism designed to punish what colonial authorities deemed "unnatural sex" among local Ugandan people"

From 5 to 8 March 2009, a workshop took place in Kampala, the capital of Uganda, that featured three American evangelical Christians: Scott Lively, an author who has written several books opposing homosexuality; Caleb Lee Brundidge, a self-professed former gay man who conducts sessions to heal homosexuality; and Don Schmierer, a board member of Exodus International, an organisation devoted to promoting "freedom from homosexuality through the power of Jesus Christ"

The above persons helped draft, expand and promote the new 'hate laws.'

IMO they are 'religious' terrorists.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uganda_Anti-Homosexuality_Act,_2014

[nyabingi]

22. I don't think it's very becoming of DU posters...

...to call Ugandans "stupid" (with an accompanying pic) and "subhuman" (shades of Ted Nugent?). We can disagree with their homophobia without bordering on racist speech to criticize what we don't like. That said, the US, particularly Christian radicals, have been eagerly assaulting Africans with their anti-gay rhetoric and this is all part of America's continued assault on Africa as a whole (including Obama's massive expansion of AFRICOM activities and support of Rwandan and Ugandan aggression towards the DRC). I would have thought that Obama, having a father born on the African continent, would be more attuned to the sinister way the US has always dealt with Africans but Obama is all about business as usual.

[Bluenorthwest]

23. Obama has both spoken out against this law and taken action to express

our disapproval for the laws. On the other hand, Pope Francis has not said a word while his Bishops throw huge rallies in celebration of these laws, Uganda is 42% Catholic and another 40% is Anglican. This game of placing all blame on US evangelicals is absurd in the face of the statistical reality of Uganda.

[nyabingi]

24. I'd like to see him do more...

...than just "speak out" against Museveni and Kagame (two US favorites) and show American disapproval in a more substantive manner. The Catholic church is going to need a lot more from the Pope to pull it into the 21st century. The African leaders who are adopting these extreme anti-homosexual laws are simply doing what all politicians do when the rest of their agenda is failing: Distract everyone with social issues.

[Sunlei]

26. He did not just 'speak out' about the discrimination, human rights and attacks against people.

[Bluenorthwest]

27. You don't even know what the US and other countries have done, so your

opinion is not very informed. Of course we should do more but your claim was 'business as usual' and that has not been the case. That is simply you indulging in blather to make a point unrelated to the issue at hand. You excuse the locals responsible as 'simply doing what all politicians do'. Seriously? But it is Obama's fault because his father was born in Kenya? You dismiss the silence of Francis and the complicity of his Bishops. RCC is supporting this law, Bishops holding rallies of celebration for the laws, and you minimize that, while being critical of the one party you mention who has actually spoken against the law and taken punitive actions because of it. Ugandan officials are currently badmouthing Obama for taking a stand, and I will not dismiss that for the sake of some agenda you are working.
I find your rhetoric to be exploitative of human suffering. Just so you know.

[nyabingi]

29. How do you know...

...what I know about this topic, Bluenorthwest? Obama has drastically expanded the operations of the Bush-generated "AFRICOM" on the continent and is using excuses such as Kony to order more military personnel into the country (see http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/2014/03/23/aa468ca6-b2d0-11e3-8020-b2d790b3c9e1_print.html).

I wasn't "excusing" the locals either because they are ultimately responsible for what happens in their country, and my point about Obama's father was to say I'd foolishly believed his policies towards Africa would be less sinister because of it. Nor am I dismissing the role of the Catholic church - everyone knows their whole ideology is outdated and antiquated on many issues, so where do you gather that I'm dismissing them?

Tell me what concrete actions, besides condemning the anti-homosexual laws verbally, has Obama taken against Uganda? Maybe I've missed something and I will happily say you're right if you can show me something. I understand you desire to defend Obama across-the-board, and Obama certainly went further than a Bush or Romney would have in condemning it, but there are a lot of things going on in Africa that Obama would rather not have known to his broader swath of supporters.