Thousands of Ugandans have marched in support of a new anti-gay law, venting their anger at what they call Western interference in their country’s internal affairs, Press TV reports.


On Monday, the protesters took to the streets of the capital Kampala, expressing their support for the newly adopted law.

“(US President Barack) Obama, we want trade not homosexuality,” some of the placards carried by the protesters read.

According to the report, Uganda’s top military generals also took part in the protest.

Speaking to the crowd, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, who signed the Anti-Homosexual Act in February, said that the nation could live without the aid that Western donors suspended in protest at the law.

“They are attacking our culture, which is the bedrock of our survival over the ages, and that is why we say this is not acceptable. Nobody should even attempt to do that,” he said.

The World Bank and major Western donors have decided to cut financial aid to Uganda over the law that criminalizes same-sex relationships in the African country.

The World Bank has so far suspended a 90-million-dollar loan package aimed at strengthening the country’s health care system.

The Netherlands has frozen a 9.6-million-dollar subsidy to Uganda’s legal system.

Denmark and Norway have announced that they are reconsidering financial aid for Uganda’s private sector, aid agencies, and rights organizations.

The law stipulates that individuals involved in acts of “aggravated homosexuality” face life imprisonment. It also criminalizes “promotion” of homosexuality.

The Ugandan government has stressed that the West is trying to impose its own values on the country. Kampala argues that the anti-gay law is a domestic matter.