Gambian President Yayah Jammeh threatens to 'slit the throats' of gay people

'The Independent'

The president of Gambia has threatened to "slit the throats" of gay people living in the country, in a speech about the nation's youth.

President Yahya Jammeh, who seized power in a military coup in 1994, made the chilling threat apparently in response to Western leaders who have criticised the nation's regressive attitude to homosexuality.

The dictator made the comments during a nationwide agricultural tour, the latest in a long line of shockingly anti-gay comments.

According to VICE News, in a speech to townspeople in Farafeni, Jammeh said: If you do it [in Gambia] I will slit your throat. If you are a man and want to marry another man in this country and we catch you, no one will ever set eyes on you again, and no white person can do anything about it."

In December last year, the European Union cut millions of euros of funding to Gambia over the country's terrible human rights record. The mainly Muslim country is now mostly supported by aid from Middle Eastern countries.

In February 2014, Jammeh called gay people "vermins", vowing to fight them "the same way we are fighting malaria-causing mosquitoes, if not more aggressively."

He has also claimed he can cure HIV and AIDS with natural herb remedies, and has said that he allowed "too much expression" before introducing draconian attacks on the freedom of the press in 2005.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/gambian-president-yayah-jammeh-threatens-to-slit-the-throats-of-gay-people-10244938.html

What a charming man.

All I can say is, I'm glad the West isn't supporting this tyrannical dictator... much.

Reply 1

username1504459

17

He's an arse... Apparently my grandmother was invited to his daughter's christening or something
They was a coup to overthrow him earlier this year by two Gambian American men but it failed :\

Reply 2

al_94

14

This is not true he's not going to kill gays but just doesn't want homosexuality to be pushed in the country by western powers.

Reply 3

whorace

2

Tyrants like this make me think the British Empire was right, most of these people are not civil enough to look after their people.

Reply 4

_Fergo

19

Original post by al_94

x.

What values? Values that suppress people and threaten to kill them?

Incredible values indeed - we should rejoice the president's comments :facepalm:

(And, well, this shows your true colours. Not that they weren't obvious before)

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 5

Everglow

OP

19

Original post by al_94

This is not true he's not going to kill gays but just doesn't want homosexuality to be pushed in the country by western powers.

How does this not advocate killing gay people:

"If you do it [in Gambia] I will slit your throat. If you are a man and want to marry another man in this country and we catch you, no one will ever set eyes on you again, and no white person can do anything about it."

Reply 6

al_94

14

Original post by *Stefan*

What values? Values that suppress people and threaten to kill them?

Incredible values indeed - we should rejoice the president's comments :facepalm:

(And, well, this shows your true colours. Not that they weren't obvious before)

Well you have to understand that homosexuality is not viewed favorably by the majority of the world. Even where it is legal in places like Russia and Turkey, the majority of people are against it. They have their own values and don't like western powers trying to change that.

Reply 7

koeaziz

I understand the point al_94 is making but Yayah needs to be stopped, yes, I understand that West African culture does not support homosexuality but that does not allow Yayah to 'slit their throats'.

Sierra Leone, Ghana and Nigeria have classed being gay as illegal bit you do not see their leaders threatening to execute them.

I do not think the west should involve themselves as the situation would only worsen itself, Yayah has been a dictator with radicalised views since he got into power and we all know he has the background support of western powers

Reply 8

al_94

14

Original post by jedanselemyia

It is though :\
Africans have been brainwashed by Christian missionaries, evangelists and Islam too :frown:

I disagree, homosexuality has been around for a long time but there is a difference between it existing and it being promoted in all the media and even teaching it in schools like we see in the west.

Reply 9

username1586817

14

Original post by al_94

Well you have to understand that homosexuality is not viewed favorably by the majority of the world. Even where it is legal in places like Russia and Turkey, the majority of people are against it. They have their own values and don't like western powers trying to change that.

That's true, and perhaps the west shouldn't try to force them to change their views. But many of those views were installed by the west back when we had empires and our own views were less tolerant.
Although the west shouldn't perhaps try to change their views, should we be sponsoring them?

Reply 10

username1044970

18

Original post by al_94

Well you have to understand that homosexuality is not viewed favorably by the majority of the world. Even where it is legal in places like Russia and Turkey, the majority of people are against it. They have their own values and don't like western powers trying to change that.

Well you have to understand that female infanticide is viewed favorably by the majority of the people in xyz communities. Even where it is illegal in places India and China, the majority of the people in the some of the communities are for it. They have their own values and don't like Arabs Muslims, Christians, or secular feminists trying to change that.

See how absurd your appeal to tradition sounds?

Reply 11

username1504459

17

Original post by al_94

I disagree, homosexuality has been around for a long time but there is a difference between it existing and it being promoted in all the media and even teaching it in schools like we see in the west.

It's still not a reason to target a minority of Gambian women and men who have to flee to Senegal to survive.

Reply 12

tengentoppa

18

The next time someone echoes Diane Abbott's position that all cultures are of equal value and should be respected I will point them towards Gambia.

Reply 13

al_94

14

Original post by LucasADNorth

That's true, and perhaps the west shouldn't try to force them to change their views. But many of those views were installed by the west back when we had empires and our own views were less tolerant.
Although the west shouldn't perhaps try to change their views, should we be sponsoring them?

The west doesn't have to sponsor them but they use gay rights as a way to demonize other nations and I believe they are doing that to Russia at the moment to make people in the west anti-Russian.

Reply 14

_Fergo

19

Original post by al_94

The west doesn't have to sponsor them but they use gay rights as a way to demonize other nations and I believe they are doing that to Russia at the moment to make people in the west anti-Russian.

Yes, ensuring that people are treated equally irrespective of their orientation is really demonising a nation, which, by the way, threatens to kill these individuals.

I really wonder if you actually process what you say or are just regurgitating what you've been told.

Reply 15

h3isenberg

14

Original post by al_94

No need to insult me I'm just saying that Africans have a right to retain their culture & values and homosexuality is not part of that.

So Africans also have a right to mutiliate female genitalia? 'Western power' shouldn't try and stop that?

You can't promote homosexuality. You can only promote acceptance of homosexuality.