Junta-run Burkina Faso has passed a law banning homosexuality and instituting punishments of up to five years in jail, the latest in a clutch of African nations to pass anti-gay legislation.
“The law provides for a prison sentence of between two and five years as well as fines,” Justice Minister Edasso Rodrigue Bayala said on national broadcaster RTB.
“If a person is a perpetrator of homosexual or similar practices, all the bizarre behaviour, they will go before the judge,” he said, adding that foreign nationals would be deported under the law.
This is literally a law that I would expect a fascist country to have, not a revolutionary socialist-leaning one. Way too many people defending this.
I’m not defending it. I have said repeatedly i think they’re making a big mistake. Unfortunately many people even in socialist societies are homophobic, including those in the ruling party and government. Communists are not immune from holding onto antiquated and reactionary prejudices. And Burkina Faso, even with all its positive changes these past years, is not yet a socialist country, nor is it ruled by communists.
But the fact is that such laws do get passed in socialist countries. Stalin himself passed such laws. We should not idealize socialist countries as perfect societies that can do no wrong. Sometimes they make very big mistakes. It’s sad that it still happens in this day and age, but the hope is that through internal struggle and self-critique they can come to understand that they were wrong. As happened in Cuba.
Communists are supposed to be leaders and a guiding hand of the people, it doesn’t mean that their reactionary beliefs should be downplayed or mollycoddled.
The fact that Stalin and many communists were harshly anti-LGBT is half my point. Keyword, is WERE. There is no justification anymore. Not that there was in the first place, but even more so now.
I think Cuba is a different case, because the communists overthrew Batista and the U.S. backed cronies, in the mid 20th century.
If Cuba didn’t have it’s revolution until now, and then still persecuted LGBT people like Traore’s government is, I’d be just as pissed and disgusted as I am now.