Senegal’s government has defended its tougher anti-LGBTQ legislation amid growing criticism from international rights groups and activists, with Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko accusing Western countries of trying to “impose” foreign social values on the country.Sonko addressed lawmakers on Friday and denounced Western pressure on Senegal over homosexuality. “This is a tyranny. There are probably eight billion people in the world. Eighty per cent or more don’t want (gay people),” he told parliament.“No Arab country will criticize us, nor any African country, but there is a core called the West… which wants to impose homosexuality on the rest of the world,” Sonko said. “Because they have the means (and) control the media, (they) want to impose their dictates. The sovereign people of Senegal do not want these practices in Senegal.”The prime minister said Senegal had faced criticism from abroad, particularly from France, since the law was approved. “If they choose these practices, that’s their problem, but there are no lessons for us to learn from them, absolutely not,” he added.Weeks ago, Brazilian President Basilu Diomaye Faye enacted a controversial new law that significantly toughens penalties for same-sex relationships in the Muslim-majority West African country. The legislation, which was overwhelmingly approved by parliament in March, has led to dozens of arrests and sparked heated debate in Senegal and abroad.The revised law increases prison terms for “acts against nature” – a term referring to same-sex relations – to five to 10 years from the previous one to five years. It also imposes prison terms of three to seven years on anyone found guilty of promoting or financing same-sex relations.The law has attracted international attention. U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk called the legislation “deeply worrying” and said it “flagrantly violates the sanctity of human rights.” Earlier this month, about 30 people of African descent wrote in the French newspaper Libération, warning of a growing “climate of fear, hatred and violence” in Senegal since the law was passed.
