“Our government should move to defend our laws, values, and culture against those bigger than us who believe that they can insult us without consequence…”
The Jamaican government is being urged to call in the heads of embassies and the European Union delegation, which hoisted the rainbow LGBTQ pride flag on May 17 in recognition of the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia (IDAHOBIT).
The rainbow pride flag was mounted at the US, Canadian, and German embassies, as well as the EU delegation, in defiance of Jamaican laws that do not support same-sex relationships.
Among those upset about the move is the former president of the Lawyers Christian Fellowship of Jamaica, Helene Coley-Nicholson, who pointed out that a similar effort by the British Embassy in Indonesia in May 2022 was resisted by that country’s government.
“The Indonesian government summoned the British ambassador to explain the raising of the LGBTQ Pride flag at the embassy, and the Indonesian government urged foreign missions to respect local sensitivities, and this was following a huge backlash from the people,” she said.
The British embassy stated at the time that the embassy is considered foreign territory, a view often expressed in Jamaica. But Coley-Nicholson noted that the Vienna Convention stipulates that only a nation’s flag can be flown.
“These people have come to Jamaica, and they are flying the LGBT flag. Have we heard our Jamaican government summoning anybody? Why have they not summoned anyone? Why is it that they are flying the flags at these embassies and delegations, but we are celebrating and wallowing in salary increases at the same time that these flags are being flown on Jamaican territory, on our soil?” she asked.
“We are calling on our government; we are calling on our foreign ministry to call them in,” said a militant Coley-Nicholson during a town hall meeting in Montego Bay, St. James, that was organised by the Freedom Come Ministries International and the Association of Christian Communicators and Media (ACCM), of which the attorney and noted broadcaster is a member.
Coley-Nicholson’s call was echoed by scores of Christians in attendance at the event, which was hosted at the Trumpet Call Ministries International, located off Howard Cooke Highway. Hundreds of people took part in an all-night Solemn Assembly to pray for Jamaica following the town hall.
Several members of the Love March Movement (LMM) and the Jamaica Coalition for a Healthy Society mounted a protest at the EU Delegation’s office in Kingston on May 17 to protest the mounting of the pride flag. They protested under the gaze of the police, who were contacted upon their arrival.
“The LGBT flag is a political statement which represents the LGBT agenda. It represents a hostile communication against our laws, values and culture and is in breach of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic relations Articles 3.1.e, 20 and 41 which govern the insignia which guest nations are allowed to display. It is a form of neo-colonialism and should not be tolerated,” said the president of the LMM, Dr. Daniel Thomas.
“Our government should move to defend our laws, values, and culture against those bigger than us who believe that they can insult us without consequence and culturally colonise us. It should not be too much for our government to defend us since we are a sovereign state with our own values and culture, which they should respect,” he said.
It wouldn’t be the first time a foreign country has flown the rainbow pride flag on Jamaican soil. This was done in June 2016, when the US Embassy flew the flag in response to a mass shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando.
In response, Attorney General Marlene Malahoo-Forte tweeted, “I strongly condemn #OrlandoNightClubShooting but find it disrespectful of Jamaica’s laws to have #RainbowFlag flown here. #MyPersonalView.”
She was taken to task by the US Embassy in Jamaica, which posted the following tweet: “We’re listening. Explain the legal reasoning? It was an attack of terror !!and!! hate, targeting the LGBT community.”
Prime Minister Andrew Holness denounced the mass shooting at the time, but there was no indication that he supported the views of Malahoo-Forte.
“The bullet of terrorism does not discriminate, it does not know gender, class or sexual orientation. We all grieve the 49 lives lost,” he tweeted.
Local media later reported Malahoo-Forte saying that her original tweet had been “misconstrued.
The United States Embassy in Kingston again raised the rainbow flag in Jamaica in June 2021 to observe Pride Month. The Embassy stated that it stands in support of the full inclusion of LGBT rights across the island.
“The US reaffirms that #LGBTQI+ rights are human rights. No group should be excluded from those protections, regardless of race, ethnicity, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, sex characteristics, disability status, age, religion, or belief. #YouAreIncluded #Pride2021,” the embassy wrote on its official Facebook page at the time.
Several concerned Jamaicans protested outside the US embassy on Independence Day later that year, demanding that it remove the LGBTQ Pride flag hoisted on its grounds. The group said that it was a form of cultural imperialism, a phrase used to refer to the exercise of domination in cultural relationships. In such cases, the values, practices, and meaning of a powerful foreign culture are imposed upon a native culture.
The Donald Trump Administration had banned the rainbow flag at its embassies overseas in 2019, reversing the Barack Obama Administration’s strategy of forcing lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning or queer (LGBTQ) rights on other countries. The Obama administration had granted blanket permission to embassies overseas to fly the pride flag during June, which is commemorated as pride month. But under Trump’s leadership, several embassies were not granted approval to fly the flags. This decision was reversed by Joe Biden, whose administration gave blanket written authorization in 2021 for U.S. missions overseas to fly the pride flag on their official flagpoles.
With June fast approaching, many Christians are watching to see if the embassies will be flying the pride flag again in defiance of Jamaica’s law. Medical doctor Brittanie Clacken was adamant that Jamaicans should protest any effort to have it confirm to foreign ideologies.
“Jamaica is a leader, not only in the Caribbean but in the world. Jamaica paves the way, not just in music, sports, and entertainment. Jamaica is a trailblazer. “Jamaicans do not just stand by lightly and let anything happen,” said Dr. Clacken, who is also a member of the LMM.
“You need to make your voices be heard and let the powers that be know that Jamaica is not for sale; that we will not bow; that Jamaica is a Christian nation, and we will uphold truth, righteousness, and justice in this nation,” she declared.
