Brody's Notes... Liberia's Presidents Reverses Course On Anti-Gay Comments

Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf

By Brody Levesque | MONROVIA, LIBERIA -- A presidential spokesperson Wednesday reaffirmed a statement released Tuesday by Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, which stated she has vowed to veto any legislation that would criminalise homosexual behaviour in the country. This is a reversal from a public pronouncement made during a joint interview with former British Prime minister Tony Blair in which she asserted that there were no anti-gay laws in this west African nation, even if the country's societal religious and cultural beliefs condemned “homosexual practices.” This statement is at odds with a current statue that calls for up to a year in prison for what Liberian Criminal code labels “voluntary sodomy.”

In her statement yesterday, the president said that she would not condone discrimination against any group, nor impose her own beliefs on the nation country. Sirleaf added she would allow democracy to take its own course, and let the citizens of Liberia discuss issues in “an atmosphere of freedom.”

“I will never condone discrimination against any group,” she said, further adding that she would use her constitutional right to block what she described as “extremist legislation” that would marginalise people on account of their sexual orientation.

During his visit last month Blair avoided answering a question about his view on Liberia’s anti-gay laws during an joint press interview with President Sirleaf. For her part, the president indicated she would not consider repealing the laws criminalising homosexual acts in her country, saying: “We’ve got certain traditional values in our society that we would like to preserve,” adding, “We like ourselves just the way we are.”

When pressed, Mr Blair refused to answer when asked what advice he would give President Sirleaf, instead deflecting the issue by saying: “One of the advantages of doing what I do now is I can choose the issues I get into and the issues I don’t. For us, the priorities are around power, roads, jobs delivery.”

Both the former prime minister's remarks and President Sirleaf's drew fierce global criticism some activists calling for a revocation of the Nobel Peace Prize awarded to her.

Homophobia in Liberia runs rampant with one group issuing a ‘death list’ against LGBTQ people.