Fridae

Gay rights activists in Singapore have protested against the European Union for inviting a controversial anti-gay academic to speak at its international human rights law seminar in the city-state where equality rights are a contentious issue.

The EU had invited Thio Li-ann, a prominent law professor at the National University of Singapore to speak at a seminar it is hosting, according to an AFP report appearing in therakyatpost.com.

Close to 80 gay rights activists in a written statement said they were “profoundly disappointed” with the EU because Thio’s is noted for making public statements against same-sex relations and supporting a colonial-era law that criminalizes gay sex.

They wanted the EU to “explain how inviting Professor Thio as a speaker for a Human Rights Day seminar is consistent with its own stated role as a defender and advocate of human rights,” the report said.

The activists held placards in support of gay rights and a rainbow flag and taped their mouths shut at a downtown hotel Dec 4 in front of the stage while Thio was speaking.

The report quoted an activist as saying that the action was meant to “send a message” to the EU that the selection of Thio as a speaker was “problematic.”

Another activist said Thio’s views were contrary to both the EU and the UN’s stance on LGBT rights. Moreover her presence “makes a mockery” of EU efforts in promoting LGBT rights around the world.

A spokeswoman for the EU delegation in Singapore told AFP that Thio was invited to talk on her area of expertise which is the role of the judiciary in the promotion of human rights.

In 2007 Thio created a stir when she delivered a controversial speech in Parliament supporting Section 377A of the Singapore penal law that criminalizes consensual sex between adult men with imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years.

She said anal-penetrative sex was “like shoving a straw up your nose to drink.”

Gay rights are a contentious issue in Singapore. The government claims it does not actively enforce that ban but many Christian and Muslim religious groups want no debate on discarding the law and have become vociferous in opposing gay rights ever since Singapore recently witnessed its largest gay-rights rally with 26,000 people attending.

There have been various calls for Section 377A to be repealed in recent years and the issue of repealing or retaining it has also been brought up in Parliament in recent years. The Court of Appeal, Singapore’s highest court, in October upheld that law criminalizing gay sex.