One of the ways to curb the spread of HIV/AIDS is to destigmatize homosexuality. Unfortunately, many government and religious leaders in Africa want to ignore that, and that includes a large number of religious leaders in Ethiopia. Religious leaders in that nation abruptly canceled a news conference calling for the denunciation of the planned meeting of a group of LGBT rights activists on the fringes of an international meeting on AIDS.

Among those who were suppose to meet with journalists in Addis Ababa were Abune Paulos, the patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, as well as “representatives of the Ethiopian Islamic Affairs Supreme Council, the Roman Catholic Church, and Protestant denominations.”

Ethiopia’s Health Minister Tewodros Adhanom, though, asked for a word with the religious leaders in private and the whole thing was called off. According to Reverend Iteffa Gobena Molte and president of the Ethiopian Evangelical Council Mekane Yesus, the event will be rescheduled. According to Iteffa “It’s postponed to another time. And when they are ready they will call upon you to come and record them.”

According to VOA News:

Reporters initially were told the news conference had been called to condemn a planned conference on “men who have sex with men.”

The website of a group called the African Men for Sexual Health and Rights, or AMSHER, says the meeting is to be held Saturday at an Addis Ababa hotel. A list of speakers posted on the website include Michel Sidibe, director of UNAIDS, and Eric Goosby, the United States Global AIDS Coordinator.

This is all occurring in the shadow of the 16th International Conference on AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Infections in Africa. More than 8,000 experts and activists are slated to attend with former US President George W. Bush attending as an honored guest.

Ethiopia, like many African nations, are very homophobic. Ethiopian Orthodox leader Paulos condemned gay sex saying that “for people to act in this manner, they have to be stupid, like animals.” Reverend Iteffa has stated taht homosexuality is unnatural. He stated that “The Protestant church teaches about homosexuality that it is not God’s creation. God had created man and woman. So that is the proper creation and it continues to be there, and the Bible explicitly says in many parts of the Bible, so we claim that to be our faith as a Protestant.”

Of course, the fact that there are tons of species that have same-sex activities is usually ignored by people thumping Bibles.

http://lezgetreal.com/2011/11/ethiopian-religious-community-cancel-news-conference-attacking-gays/