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WORLD NEWS Thursday 4 april 2019

Brunei invokes laws allowing stoning for gay sex, adultery

By ANNABELLE LIANG help fund the murder of in- ity. Public criticism of his
Associated Press nocent citizens?” Clooney policies is extremely rare in
SINGAPORE (AP) — New wrote Thursday on Dead- the country.
Islamic criminal laws that line Hollywood. Hassanal, who has reigned
took effect in Brunei on Clooney said that while you since 1967, has previously
Wednesday, punishing gay can’t shame “murderous said the Penal Code should
sex and adultery by stoning regimes,” you can shame be regarded as a form of
offenders to death, have “the banks, the financiers “special guidance” from
triggered an outcry from and the institutions that do God and would be “part of
countries, rights groups and business with them.” the great history” of Brunei.
celebrities far beyond the Customers at two presti- On Tuesday, the United
tiny Southeast Asian na- gious Paris hotels owned by States joined the United
tion’s shores. the sultan expressed their Kingdom, Germany and
The penalties were pro- support for a boycott. France in urging Brunei to
vided for under new sec- Outside the Le Meurice ho- halt its plans.
tions of Brunei’s Shariah tel, Philippe Ménager said Brunei’s Southeast Asian
Penal Code. Sultan Has- he was no longer comfort- neighbors, some of whom
sanal Bolkiah instituted the able going to the spa after have laws banning sex be-
code in 2014 to bolster the being a regular customer tween men, were silent.
influence of Islam in the oil- In this Oct, 10, 2013, photo, Brunei’s Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah for 15 years. But LGBTQ citizens of other
speaks during the closing ceremony and handover of the
rich monarchy of around ASEAN Chairmanship to Myanmar in Bandar Seri Begawan. “I can’t continue to be a nearby Muslim-majority
430,000 people, two-thirds Associated Press frequent visitor of the hotels countries were concerned
of whom are Muslim. of this savage to preserve about the broad penalties.
Even before 2014, homo- death by stoning too, while “Now with it, we feel even the jobs of the people who “I am very worried that In-
sexuality was already pun- thieves face amputation smaller and the ones who work at Le Meurice - who donesia or Malaysia may
ishable in Brunei by a jail of a right hand on their first could potentially oppress are very nice and I like follow the lead,” said a
term of up to 10 years. The offense and a left foot on us have more opportunity them,” he said. 24-year-old man from
first stage of the Shariah their second. to harass us to say and do A tourist from Norway, Anja Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia’s
Penal Code included fines “Living in Brunei, we already what they want,” he said. Anderson, said she would capital, who wanted to be
or jail for offenses such as knew that our sexual iden- Celebrities including have stayed at a hotel oth- identified only by his first
pregnancy out of wedlock tity is taboo and should not George Clooney, Elton er than the Plaza Athénée name, Ludwig. “I think peo-
or failing to pray on Fridays. be expressed. We already John and Ellen DeGeneres had she heard about the ple nowadays, especially
But under the new laws — felt belittled before the have voiced opposition to boycott before making her the younger generation,
which also apply to chil- law came to place,” said the new laws, and have ral- reservation. are quite OK with LGBT, but
dren and foreigners, even a 23-year-old member of lied a boycott of nine ho- There has been no vocal those who are not make
if they are not Muslim — the LGBTQ community who tels in the U.S. and Europe opposition to the new pen- the loudest noise and they
those found guilty of gay wanted to be identified with ties to Hassanal, who is alties in Brunei, where the are the reason why it seems
sex can be stoned to death only as Kun out of fear of still sultan. sultan rules as head of state like everyone is against
or whipped. Adulterers risk reprisal from the authorities. “Are we really going to with full executive author- it.”q

Kazakhstan leader Tokayev in

Moscow for 1st foreign visit

Associated Press the upper house of Ka- Nazarbayev’s strategy of
MOSCOW (AP) — zakhstan’s parliament, maintaining close relations
Kazakhstan’s interim presi- was named the country’s with Russia while still culti-
dent is making his first for- leader after the unexpect- vating Western countries.
eign visit since being ap- ed resignation of Nursul- Tokayev called his nation’s
pointed two weeks ago, tan Nazarbayev, who had ties with Russia “a model
meeting with Russian Presi- been in power since the relationship” at the meet-
dent Vladimir Putin in Mos- country became indepen- ing Wednesday and says
cow. dent from the Soviet Union “my task is to make sure Kazakhstan’s interim President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev enters
Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, in 1991. this strategy remains in a hall for his talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the
formerly the speaker of Tokayev is likely to continue place.”q Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, April 3, 2019.
Associated Press