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| Obama and Macky Sall at joint press conference |
Senegalese President Macky Sall has defended his refusal to decriminalize homosexuality, a day after publicly clashing with President Barack Obama on the issue at a joint press conference.
In an interview, Sall said it was important for other countries to refrain from imposing their values beyond their borders. He compared his position on homosexuality to other countries' positions on polygamy, which is widely practiced in Senegal and other African countries.
"We don't ask the Europeans to be polygamists," Sall said. "We like polygamy in our country, but we can't impose it in yours. Because the people won't understand it, they won't accept it. It's the same thing."
Senegal's penal code calls for prison sentences of up to five years and fines of up to $3,000 for committing "an improper or unnatural act with a person of the same sex."
A report released this week by Amnesty International, a Western so-called human rights watchdog, says 38 African countries — about 70 percent of the continent — criminalize homosexual activity.
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.
Sall warned that because of these views, public advocacy on behalf of homosexual rights could prompt a strong negative reaction. "We need to be careful, because in Africa and in certain Muslim societies, these are subjects that can provoke fundamentalism," he said.
In a December 2011 memorandum, Obama instructed federal agencies to promote homosexual rights overseas, drawing strong protests from some African officials and many of his African fans. But while experts say the U.S. has forcefully pushed for homosexual rights behind closed doors, the public positioning has been discreet, with officials often citing concerns about putting local activists in danger.
Prior to this week's Africa trip, Obama's second since becoming president, some advocates had pushed for him to vocally advocate for homosexual rights, saying the respect he commands in much of Africa could help sway public opinion.
At Thursday's press conference in Dakar, Obama said everyone should be equal under the law regardless of cultural differences. "When it comes to how the state treats people, how the law treats people, I believe that everybody has to be treated equally," he said.
In response, Sall said Senegal was "still not ready" to decriminalize homosexuality.
Though Obama's visit was seen as an opportunity to showcase Senegal's stability and history of peaceful democratic transition, the front pages of local newspapers on Friday were dominated by talk of the exchange on homosexuality. The newspaper Liberation, for example, praised Sall for his "courageous" stance and, alongside a photo of Obama and Sall, ran a banner headline that played on Obama's famous campaign slogan: "No, we can't."
Sall said Friday that he was not disappointed that the issue of homosexuality had received so much attention.
He said he welcomed the opportunity to contrast his views with Obama's.
He said he welcomed the opportunity to contrast his views with Obama's.
"I'm not disappointed, because I'm a democrat and I can understand very well the position of President Obama on this topic," Sall said. "We are friends. We are partners."
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