"Malawi stops enforcing antigay laws" by Raphael Tenthani |
Associated Press, November 09, 2012
BLANTYRE, Malawi — Going against a trend in Africa, Malawi’s
government is moving to suspend laws against homosexuality and has
ordered police not to arrest people for same-sex acts until the antigay
laws are reviewed by Parliament.
Human Rights Watch called the decision courageous and said it should inspire other countries that criminalize homosexuality....
In May, President Joyce Banda announced that she wants to repeal
Malawi’s laws against homosexual acts. Traditionalists and religious
leaders condemned her, saying she was trying to please Western donor
nations.
Also see: Clinton on the Continent
Kasambara said the suspension of arrests was ordered because ‘‘if we
continue arresting and prosecuting people based on the said laws and
later such laws are found to be unconstitutional it would be an
embarrassment to government.’’
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