Secretary of State John Kerry spoke to
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni on Thursday, a day after Kerry likened
the nation's anti-gay law to anti-Semitism and apartheid.
In comments to reporters, Kerry
criticized the law which increases the penalties for homosexuality in
a nation where gay sex is already illegal.
“You could change the focus of this
legislation to black or Jewish and you could be in 1930s Germany or
you could be in 1950s-1960s apartheid South Africa,” Kerry said.
“It was wrong there, egregiously in both places and it is wrong
here.”
Kerry called the legislation “flat
out morally wrong,” Reuters
reported.
The State Department on Friday
announced details of a telephone conversation Kerry had with
Museveni.
According to the State Department,
Kerry expressed to Museveni the United States' deep disappointment in
the law's passage, saying that it “complicates” relations between
the two nations and threatens the safety and security of Uganda's
LGBT community.
Kerry urged Museveni to ensure the
safety and protection of all Ugandan citizens.
The two also discussed “the law's
negative impact on public health efforts including those to address
HIV/AIDS, as well as on tourism and foreign investment in Uganda.”
The State Department did not say how
Museveni responded.
(Related: Scott
Lively defends Ugandan anti-gay law; says sodomy is not human right.)