Prime Minister Bruce Golding has forcefully reiterated that homosexuals have no place in his Cabinet, even as he sought to assure gay people that attitudes towards same-sex unions are changing in Jamaica and that the state respects their right to privacy.

In a sometimes combative interview with journalist Stephen Sackur on the British Broadcasting Corporation Television’s (BBC-TV’s) discussion show, Hardtalk, aired yesterday, Golding was emphatic in his declaration that Jamaica would not bow to the dictates of lobby groups who want to define standards and morals for the island.

Asked by Sackur whether he was more accepting now of homosexuals, given his declaration in 2006 when he was in Opposition that homosexuals will “find no solace” in any Cabinet formed by him, Golding said that in appointing a Cabinet a prime minister exercises judgement. “That is his exclusive responsibility. There’s no right to being in a Cabinet,” he said.

Sackur, apparently not satisfied with Golding’s answer, said: “No, but you’ve just told me that you believe that Jamaica is on track to give real equality before the law to homosexuals. But you yourself have said that homosexuals will find no solace in any Cabinet formed by me.”

Golding, however, shot back: “That has nothing to do with equality before the law.”

Sackur pressed further, asking Golding: “Do you not have a duty to consider people on their merits?” to which the prime minister replied that he considered people in terms of their ability and the extent to which they are going to be able to exercise their function with independence.

When Sackur suggested that Golding clearly considered appointing people to his Cabinet based on their sexuality, the prime minister said that it was his responsibility to appoint an executive that will discharge its duties without fear, favour and intimidation.

“What kind of signal does that send about Jamaica to the outside world, indeed to potential investors.” asked Sackur.

“One signal that it sends is that Jamaica is not going to allow values to be imposed on it from outside,” replied Golding.

“We’re gonna have to determine that ourselves, and we’re gonna have to determine to what extent those values will adapt over time to change, to changing perceptions and to changing understandings as to how people live, but it can’t be on the basis that lobby groups, far away from Jamaica, are going to start to define for Jamaica how it must establish its own standards and its own morals.”

Jamaica has had a long battle with rights groups who have consistently lambasted the island for its strong opposition to homosexuality.

The previous People’s National Party Government has, on more than one occasion, told gay lobbyists that they should not try to force the island to accept their way of life.

In the BBC interview, Sackur asked Golding whether he would want to live in a Jamaica in the future where homosexuals can be a part of his Cabinet or any Cabinet.

“I want to live in a Jamaica where persons are free to conduct their private relations,” Golding replied. “But I’m not talking about leading Jamaica in a direction where its own values are going to be assaulted by others.”

Sackur, however, was still not satisfied. “With respect, that is not an answer to my question,” he said. “Let me put it to you one more time. Do you, in the future, want to live in a Jamaica where a gay man or a gay woman can be in the Cabinet?”

Golding replied: “Sure they can be in the Cabinet; not mine.”

Sackur: “But do you want to live in a Jamaica where they can be and they should be and it would be entirely natural for them to be so?”

Golding: “I do not know that that is necessarily the direction in which I want my country to go.”

Earlier in the interview, in response to Sackur’s reference to violent attacks on men accused of being homosexuals in Jamaica, Golding said that the authorities were clear that crimes against persons because of their sexual orientation must be pursued with the same vigour as any other crime.

He also explained that while Jamaica had a long-standing culture that is very opposed to homosexuality, there is greater acceptance now that people have different lifestyles and that their privacy must be respected.