Don’t extend hand of friendship to Prez. Mahama – LGBTs warn Scotland

The opposition MSPs claimed President Mahama’s presence in their house undermined the safety of the Scottish parliament for members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community.

Ghana currently remains an unsafe place for LGBTs to carry out their activities.

To tackle Ghana’s stiff laws and punishments on gays and lesbians, the MSPs have gone as far as teaming up with human rights campaigners to call on the Scottish government to brazen out the issue of abuses on lesbian and gay citizens in Ghana.

To register their displeasure, Labour members in the house sat on their hands when President Mahama was introduced in the chamber.

Homosexuality doesn’t explicitly feature in Ghana’s laws; however the country’s law, frowns on “unnatural carnal knowledge”, which it defines as penile penetration of any other part of the body except the vagina.

Shortly after the unfortunate incident, Ghana’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, H.E Ambassador Victor Emmanuel Smith candidly confessed on Kasapa FM, an Accra based radio station that he is unable to state what Ghana’s position is on the issue of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights.

“I don’t know what Ghana’s stand on the issue is, I remember when the British tried to link issues of gay rights to aid, President Mills was quite emphatic about our opposition to gay practices.

Prof. Mills handed over to President John Mahama and I think that we share the same sentiments”.

Presiding Officer of the Scottish parliament, Tricia Marwick, received notice from the Scottish Greens, including their co-convenor Patrick Harvie, a known gay, cautioning her about extending the “hand of friendship” to President Mahama.

They said: “We believe that the Scottish parliament should be a place where everyone can feel safe.

Yet the invitation to President John Dramani Mahama to address MSPs can only undermine this, given his full support for the horrific discriminatory laws towards the LGBT community in his country.”

Amnesty International also waded in the matter calling on Ghana to give up the torture and ill-treatment meted out to LGBT by the police and intelligence services.

Amnesty International’s programme director for Amnesty International in Scotland, Naomi McAuliffe, said her organisation received regular reports that LGBT people faced police harassment, while repressive attitudes towards LGBT Ghanaians meant they were vulnerable to discrimination and physical attacks.

“We understand opposition leaders and MSPs choosing not to meet President Mahama during his visit to the Scottish parliament as Ghana’s human rights record has serious failings.

However, we are not calling for a boycott of the visit as we view this as an opportunity to raise our concerns about LGBTI discrimination, violence against women and girls, and the use of torture. Nicola Sturgeon’s commitment to raising ‘values of humanity, equality and tolerance’ is welcome and we look forward to hearing about any positive interventions”, Naomi McAuliffe said.

President Mahama was later awarded an honorary degree from the University of Aberdeen.