Britain Condemns Burundi’s New Gay Sex Crimes. America Remaining Silent?

Well at least some countries see Burundi’s persecution of gays worth their attention. Pink Paper: “Britain’s international development minister Ivan Lewis has strongly condemned the recent decision by Burundi to criminalise gay sex. During a visit to the small country in Eastern Africa which shares a boarder with Rwanda, the minister repeatedly called for a change of policy at the highest official levels and to the media over the new law, which was passed by the Burundian President on 22 April. It makes consensual same-sex relations a crime for the first time in the country’s history, punishable by up to two years in prison and up to an $80 (about £50) fine.
During a meeting with Burundi’s president, Pierre Nkurunziza, Lewis warned him he was out of step with global opinion. Lewis said: ‘In any society, it should be totally unacceptable to criminalise anyone because of their sexual orientation.’”

So far, the U.S. State Department has not updated its Travel Warning for Americans headed to Burundi — which currently warns about armed rebel groups — about the persecution of gays. The American Embassy in Burundi also has no information. (Senegal’s Travel Warning, however, does include mention of the recent arrest of nine gay men.) We could find no word out of the State Department regarding the situation there.