Subin Constituency lawmaker, Eugene Boakye Antwi, has expressed his disapproval of same-sex marital marriage saying personal opinions and beliefs can be tolerated in a democratic environment, however, the system frowns on enforcement of interracial laws.
The New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament said it is wrong for countries who have a better understanding of democracy to attach strings to offering traveling visas to persons from other parts of the world who do not subscribe to their beliefs.
His comment follows the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Kingsford Sumana Bagbin’s pledge to pass a bipartisan bill to criminalize the activities of homosexuals in the country.
Discussing the matter on Metro TV’s Good Morning Ghana on Wednesday, June 30, 2021, Mr. Boakye Antwi said, “If the Australian high commissioner said that then it’s most unfortunate. Coming from Australia one of the oldest democracies in the world and who are also believers in the rule of law and freedom of speech what have you. To really look in the face of a Ghanaian member of parliament and say to him that ‘look because of your views no foreign embassy or high commission will grant you visa to travel is most unfortunate.”
The Member of Parliament said it is for the purposes of ensuring peace and harmony that is why it is necessary to resolve differences with such matters if not for anything,
“But to go to the extent of threatening a Member of Parliament for his views, the alleged threats is most unfortunate,” he added.
Mr. Eugene Boakye indicated that international persons who handle matters on foreign affairs must be guided in their approach stating, “And we expect high commissioners and diplomats for that matter to be very decorous and very measured in their language no matter the disagreement. Ghana is fairly generally a conservative country and it will take time for people to get used to happenings elsewhere. That’s what people must always bear in mind” he said.
He noted that Ghana has its own unique ideologies emphasizing “And even in Britain where I have been for a long time, people are still very ashamed coming out. So to come a country like ours, they shouldn’t let us feel that they are of a more superior world than what we have here.”
By Ernest Tetteh Kabu | Metrotvonline.com | Ghana
