Kuwait said on Friday June 3 that it had summoned the American charge d'affaires to protest against tweets from the United States Embassy supporting the LGBT community, while homosexuality is criminalized in this Arab Gulf country.
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The Kuwaiti Foreign Ministry says in a statement that it summoned US diplomat James Holtsnider on Thursday evening, after the publication of messages "
supporting homosexuality
", and "
stressed the need for the embassy to respect the laws and rules in force. in the country
”.
The embassy had posted on its twitter account on Thursday a photo of the rainbow flag to mark the start of "
Pride month
" in the United States, the month of Pride celebrating the LGBTQI + community, accompanied by a quote from the American president. Joe Biden.
“
All human beings should be treated with respect and dignity, and be able to live without fear, no matter who they are or who they love
,” she wrote.
Similar messages were disseminated by US representations in other countries in the region, including Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates.
In Kuwait, the tweet from the American Embassy sparked numerous criticisms on social networks, Internet users seeing it as an attack on the morals of the country.
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But despite a strong conservatism, the rich oil state lives to the rhythm of a relative political openness and a very active civil society, unique parameters in the Gulf region.
Last February, Kuwait's Constitutional Court ruled unconstitutional a law criminalizing "
imitation of the opposite sex
", a step described by the NGO Amnesty International as "a
major step forward for transgender rights in the region
".
