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"Revoke their visas!" - Gay rights group targets Jamaican government officials
A little known organisation - Citizens Advocacy Group International Support Initiative (CAGI) - wants the revocation of US visas issued to Jamaican Government officials and citizens who violate the rights of homosexuals.
The group, which says it's affiliated with international gay rights organizations, also wants aid supplied by the US and Europe to Jamaica withdrawn.
CAGI says it will not allow members of the religious community to dictate the rights that gay men are entitled to.
Opposing groups on the gay rights issue have recently been mobilised, primarily by the dismissal of Professor Brendan Bain as Director of the Caribbean HIV/AIDS Regional Training Network (CHART).
A mass protest has been organized by a coalition of church groups for this Sunday in Kingston's busy Half-Way-Tree Square to escalate their opposition to the "gay agenda" in Jamaica.
CAGI has also called for the Government of Jamaica to address the attack on the gay community and enforce the constitutional rights guaranteed to all citizens.
Targeting Jamaican artistes
International gay rights groups have, for several years, been targeting Jamaican artistes who include anti-homosexual lyrics in their musical content. A number of prominent artistes have had concerts and tours in North America and Europe cancelled or severely restricted as a result.
This move by CAGI seeks to go beyond the targeting of artistes and bring pressure to bear on the country's policy makers.
Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller gained favourable international attention in December, 2011, when, during the National Leadership Debate, ahead of the general election that month, she promised to hold a conscience vote in Parliament on the repeal of the country's anti-buggery law. That commitment has not yet been fulfilled and pressure has been mounting for the Prime Minister to do so ahead of the next election, constitutionally due by 2016.
Opposition Leader Andrew Holness recently called for this and other controversial social issues to be put to the voters of the country in a "Grand Referendum" in 2015.