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    November 29, 2011

Anti-Gay Sentiment Flares in Ethiopia as Addis Ababa Preps for AIDS
Conference

   Peter Heinlein | Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
   Ethiopian orphans Endashew (R) and his sister Yeshiwork, who lost both
   their parents to HIV/AIDS, sit outside their family house near the
   capital Addis Ababa, June 2005. (file photo)
   Photo: Reuters
   Ethiopian orphans Endashew (R) and his sister Yeshiwork, who lost both
   their parents to HIV/AIDS, sit outside their family house near the
   capital Addis Ababa, June 2005. (file photo)

   Ethiopia's religious leaders have abruptly canceled a news conference
   called to denounce a planned meeting of gay rights activists on the
   fringes of an international meeting on AIDS. Ethiopia's attitude toward
   homosexuality is shaping up as a potential flash point as some of the
   world's leading experts gather to discuss trends in AIDS treatment and
   prevention.
   The leaders of Ethiopia's main religious denominations faced
   journalists briefly in an Addis Ababa conference room Tuesday. Abune
   Paulos, the patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church was there, along
   with representatives of the Ethiopian Islamic Affairs Supreme Council,
   the Roman Catholic Church, and Protestant denominations.
   But before anything could be said, Ethiopia's Health Minister Tewodros
   Adhanom arrived and asked for a word with the religious leaders in
   private.
   Abrupt postponement
   After nearly an hour, the leaders left without comment. The Reverend
   Iteffa Gobena Molte, president of the Ethiopian Evangelical Council
   Mekane Yesus told reporters the event would be rescheduled.
   "It's postponed to another time. And when they are ready they will call
   upon you to come and record them," said Iteffa.
   Reporters initially were told the news conference had been called to
   condemn a planned conference on "men who have sex with men."
   The website of a group called the African Men for Sexual Health and
   Rights, or AMSHER, says the meeting is to be held Saturday at an Addis
   Ababa hotel. A list of speakers posted on the website include Michel
   Sidibe, director of UNAIDS, and Eric Goosby, the United States Global
   AIDS Coordinator.
   Fighting AIDS
   That gathering was to coincide with the 16th International Conference
   on AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Infections in Africa, which opens
   Sunday in the Ethiopian capital. More than 8,000 experts and activists
   are expected to attend, and former U.S. President George W. Bush is
   slated to be an honored guest.
   The sudden cancelation of the news briefing underscores Ethiopia's
   strong anti-gay sentiment. At a 2008 meeting with reporters, many of
   the same religious leaders urged passage of a constitutional amendment
   banning homosexuality.
   News reports at the time quoted the clergy as calling homosexuality
   'the pinnacle of immorality.' Ethiopian Orthodox leader Paulos was
   quoted as condemning gay sex, saying, 'for people to act in this
   manner, they have to be stupid, like animals."
   Condemnation of gay sex
   Reverend Iteffa said Ethiopian Protestants believe homosexuality is
   unnatural.
   "The Protestant church teaches about homosexuality that it is not God's
   creation. God had created man and woman. So that is the proper creation
   and it continues to be there, and the Bible explicitly says in many
   parts of the Bible, so we claim that to be our faith as a Protestant,"
   he said.
   A statement distributed to reporters at Tuesday's canceled news
   conference quoted a survey showing 97 percent of Ethiopians consider
   gay behavior immoral. It said scheduling a conference on homosexuality
   in Addis Ababa shows a disregard for Ethiopia's laws and morals.
   An email asking for AMSHER's response was not immediately answered.
   An official standing outside Tuesday's news conference site suggested
   that the intervention of the Health Ministry, a major backer of the
   AIDS conference, indicates that the AMSHER meeting might not take
   place. A call to the hotel being advertised as the meeting site showed
   no facilities are currently reserved in AMSHER's name.