In Uganda, a powerful pastor toasted by American conservatives for his "abstinence only" efforts against AIDS has begun a new crusade. Martin Ssempa - who has been a keynote speaker at a Rick Warren conference and who has received US global AIDS prevention funds - wants to ensure that homosexuality remains illegal and that gays and lesbians are identified in the public mind as sexual abusers. To this end, he wants media censorship against opposing views and the dismissal of dissenting academics. The demands were featured in a recent rally; The Monitor reports:

CHRISTIANS opposed to homosexuality will hold a rally today, just days after gays addressed a news conference for the first time demanding respect for their rights.

...Pastor Martin Sempa, a key organiser of the event, told reporters yesterday that the rally is a direct reaction to the gay community's quest for equal rights.

...The rally theme is, A Call for Action on Behalf of the Victims of Homosexuality. "It is a crisis before us because people are suffering, seeking for justice and are confused of their gender; they do not know what to do after being sodomized and molested," Pastor Sempa said.