CHURCHES Action Uniting Society for Emancipation (CAUSE), which has members in several churches across the island, is planning to host a mass protest in Half-Way-Tree, St Andrew on June 29, as Christians step up its protests against the dismissal by the University of the West Indies (UWI) of Professor Brendan Bain as director of the Caribbean HIV/AIDS Training Network.

The group, which was officially launched yesterday in Kingston, said its is not happy with the way the professor was treated following his dismissal in May and is determined not to let the issue be swept under the carpet.

“The aim of protest is to send a message that we (the church) will not sit back and allow this issue to be swept under the carpet,” said Bruce Polson, a pastor and senior member of the group of more than 100 church members.

Polson said that leading up to the mass meeting church officials have started the staging a series of smaller protests at the gates of the UWI in Mona.

Stevenson Samuels, another member of the group, said the protest would continue even though the court had granted an injunction last Friday against the UWI in the sacking of Professor Bain.

The UWI, in May, dismissed Professor Bain following concerns raised by gay activists across the region, after hearing testimony he made in Belize about two years ago regarding homosexuality and HIV/AIDS.

The issue has triggered island-wide protest from scores of Jamaicans who have argued that the professor was treated unfairly.

Bain has since challenged his termination in the High Court.

— Kimmo Matthews