SOURCE: http://www.go-jamaica.com/cartoon/
'What Jamaica wants' - Church, gays divided on PM's BBC interview
published: Wednesday May 21, 2008Prime Minister Bruce Golding's firm stance against homosexuality in Jamaica on an international talk show has drawn both support and sharp criticism from within the nation and the diaspora.
CLICK TO WATCH BRUCE GOLDING ON THE BBC'S HARDTALK!
OR VISIT THE BBC site for the full spirited interview, article summary and videos:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/hardtalk/7410382.stm
Yesterday, president of the Jamaican Diaspora Foundation in Canada, Phillip Mascoll, argued that while same-sex marriages were allowed in Canada, buggery remained a crime in Jamaica and the law should be obeyed.
"The prime minister, being a politician, has to do what the people want him to do," Mascoll said.
Golding, who was responding to questions posed by Stephen Sackur on the BBC talk show Hardtalk, said he would not be pressured by outsiders to recognise homosexual rights.
"We're going to have to determine that for ourselves and we're going to have to determine to what extent those values will adapt over time to change; change in perception, change in understanding, as to how people live," he said.
Golding also declared he would not allow homosexuals to form part of his Cabinet.
Jamaica has been facing increasing pressure from international lobby groups to repeal its buggery laws and give more support for rights of homosexuals.
Local clergyman Errol Rattray, of the Errol Rattray Evangelistic Association, was also supportive of Golding's stance.
"If you have your lifestyle, you live your lifestyle, and it's not anybody's business but your own," said Clarke. "Nobody needs to put a sanction on it - right or wrong."
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