By NATION REPORTER
THE international communities should respect our values and not dictate what we should do and not do, Pambashe Member of Parliament Ronald Chitotela has said.
Reacting to the statement by US Embassy in Zambia which has critisised the arrest of the ring leaders of the queer Sista Sista protest which was held in Lusaka last week, Mr Chitotela said Zambia was a Christian nation and did not condone or subscribe to alien beliefs being championed by western countries.
The embassy on its Facebook page stated that it Embassy stood in solidarity with women across Zambia and the world in insisting on equal opportunities, rights, and protections under the law and in action.
The US Embassy in Zambia said despite progress in many spheres, over the past year, Zambia had seen a notable increase in reported cases of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV).
It said women and girls were overwhelmingly the victims of GBV and the effects had life-long impacts on the victims.
“Not everyone may have agreed with their language or the symbols which a small number of them carried; this is often the case in civil rights struggles led by people from diverse, marginalized communities. Regrettably, rather than protect and defend those who stepped forward and spoke out calling for safety from physical and emotional harm, Zambian authorities instead chose to punish those they did not agree with. Let us refocus on the core issue at hand: ending sexual and gender-based violence against all people,” the statement said.
It said the United State stood with women everywhere in demanding bodily safety and security from physical and emotional harm for all people.
“We call on Zambia’s leaders to take action against sexual and gender-based violence; to focus resources on preventing SGBV and holding perpetrators accountable; and to ensure all people realize the full and equal freedoms, rights, and protections they are guaranteed under the law,” the US Embassy in Zambia said.
But Mr Chitotela said that it was wrong for the United States to condemn the action taken by the Zambians government against homosexuality because there was no individual that was born gay or lesbian.
He charged that Zambians should not even entertain the issue of LGBTQ that was being championed by the west.
