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Senegalese Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko has criticised what he described as Western attempts to impose homosexuality on other countries, while defending a newly signed law increasing penalties for same-sex relations.
Speaking before lawmakers on Friday, Sonko said some Western countries were trying to force their values on the rest of the world through media influence and economic power.
“There is a kind of tyranny. There are eight billion human beings in the world, but there is a small nucleus called the West… which, because it has resources and controls the media, wants to impose it (homosexuality) on the rest of the world,” Sonko said.
He argued that Senegal would not take lessons from countries that had adopted such practices, adding that criticism from abroad, particularly from France, would not affect the country’s position.
“If they have opted for these practices, it’s their problem, but we don’t have any lessons to take from them, absolutely none,” he said.
The remarks followed the signing of a new law by President Bassirou Diomaye Faye in March, which increased the maximum prison sentence for same-sex relations from five to 10 years.
The legislation also introduced three to seven years prison term for individuals found guilty of promoting or financing same-sex relationships.
Sonko called on the justice system to fully enforce the law and rejected calls for a suspension of its implementation after several African figures urged Senegal to reconsider the legislation in an opinion article published earlier this month.
LGBTQ issues remain highly sensitive in Muslim-majority Senegal, where advocacy for gay rights is often portrayed by critics as an attempt by Western countries to impose foreign cultural values.
