Tag: Macky Sall

Obama clashes with African host over gays

uganda_gayPresident Barack Obama on Thursday praised the Supreme Court’s ruling on same-sex marriage as a “victory for American democracy” but clashed with his African host over gay rights in a sign of how far the movement has to go internationally.

Obama said recognition of gay unions in the United States should cross state lines and that equal rights should be recognized universally. It was his first chance to expand on his thoughts about the ruling, which was issued Wednesday as he flew to Senegal, one of many African countries that outlaw homosexuality.

Senegalese President Macky Sall rebuffed Obama’s call for Africans to give gays equal rights under the law.

“We are still not ready to decriminalize homosexuality,” Sall said, while insisting that the country is “very tolerant” and needs more time to digest the issue without pressure. “This does not mean we are homophobic.”

Obama said gay rights didn’t come up in their private meeting at the presidential palace, a mansion that looks somewhat similar to the White House. But Obama said he wants to send a message to Africans that while he respects differing personal and religious views on the matter, it’s important to have nondiscrimination under the law.

“People should be treated equally, and that’s a principle that I think applies universally,” he said.

A report released Monday by Amnesty International says 38 African countries criminalize homosexuality. In four of those – Mauritania, northern Nigeria, southern Somalia and Sudan – the punishment is death. These laws appear to have broad public support. A June 4 Pew Research Center survey found at least nine of 10 respondents in Senegal, Kenya, Ghana, Uganda and Nigeria believe homosexuality should not be accepted by society.

“Senegal is one of the most stable democracies in Africa and one of the strongest partners that we have in the region,” Obama said. “It’s moving in the right direction with reforms to deepen democratic institutions.”

But such people-powered democratic transitions are not always the story of the African experience. Fighting and human rights abuses limited Obama’s options for stops in his first major tour of sub-Saharan Africa since he took office more than four years ago. Obama is avoiding his father’s homeland, Kenya, whose president has been charged with war crimes, and Nigeria, the country with the continent’s most dominant economy. Nigeria is enveloped in a bloody struggle and military crackdown. – AP

 

Obama congratulates Macky Sall on Senegalese election win

US President Barack Obama congratulated Macky Sall on Monday for winning Senegal’s presidential poll, praising the west African nation as “a leading example of good governance and democracy at work.”

Obama, who was in South Korea for a nuclear security summit, also paid tribute to outgoing President Abdoulaye Wade “for his leadership and friendship to the United States” during his presidency.

“Senegal has, through this election, reaffirmed its tradition as a leading example of good governance and democracy at work in Africa and remains an example for its neighbors,” Obama said in a statement.

“The government and people of Senegal have once again demonstrated their commitment to political expression through peaceful, democratic elections, making it harder for non-democratic forces near and far to prevail,” he said.

“Today’s results deepen hopes across the continent and around the world that the quest for human dignity cannot be denied and that Africa’s democratic wave must continue.”

He said the United States “looks forward to maintaining its strong partnership and close engagement with the people and government of Senegal to continue to strengthen democracy, peace, and prosperity in the region.”

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton hailed Sall’s victory and congratulated the authorities for organizing “the election process, which international and domestic observers agree was credible, orderly, and transparent.”

The chief US diplomat said the “election was an important step forward for democracy in Africa and for the Senegalese people,” adding Washington hoped to strengthen its partnership with the Senegalese people and government.

Senator Chris Coons, a Democrat who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on African Affairs, congratulated Sall, applauded the Senegalese for “conducting free, fair, and transparent elections,” and praised Wade.

“President Wade’s swift and peaceful concession is also a victory for Senegal and its people, and a critical milestone for its democratic system,” Coons said.

Sall defeated veteran leader Wade in an election lauded around the world as an example for African democracy.

Senegal was jubilant after the poll, which brought Wade’s increasingly controversial rule to a crushing end and disproved fears that political chaos was on the way in a country regarded as a regional beacon of democracy.