Britain's Prime Minister Gordon Brown (right) greets Jamaica's Prime Minister Bruce Golding at his residence, 10 Downing Street, in London, yesterday. During the meeting, Golding told Brown that institutions like the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank needed to reform their approach to middle-income countries like Jamaica when dealing with debt relief and debt-servicing discussions. As a result of the talks, a decision was taken for Great Britain to provide Jamaica with technical assistance in dealing with international financial organisations on issues of financing and debt relief. - AP

Prime Minister Bruce Golding's firm stance against homosexuality in Jamaica on an international talk show has drawn both support and sharp criticism from within the nation and the diaspora.

Yesterday, president of the Jamaican Diaspora Foundation in Canada, Phillip Mascoll, argued that while same-sex marriages were allowed in Canada, buggery remained a crime in Jamaica and the law should be obeyed.

"The prime minister, being a politician, has to do what the people want him to do," Mascoll said.

Golding, who was responding to questions posed by Stephen Sackur on the BBC talk show Hardtalk, said he would not be pressured by outsiders to recognise homosexual rights.

"We're going to have to determine that for ourselves and we're going to have to determine to what extent those values will adapt over time to change; change in perception, change in understanding, as to how people live," he said.

Golding also declared he would not allow homosexuals to form part of his Cabinet.

Jason McFarlane, spokesman for local gay lobby group, the Jamaica Forum for Lesbians All Sexuals and Gays (JFLAG), told The Gleaner yesterday that Golding's utterances on a British talk show Monday night would have serious implications for Jamaica's international image.

However, McFarlane did not expand on his concerns.

Jamaica has been facing increasing pressure from international lobby groups to repeal its buggery laws and give more support for rights of homosexuals.

Local clergyman Errol Rattray, of the Errol Rattray Evangelistic Association, was also supportive of Golding's stance.

"I commend the prime minister for being bold enough to express such a position on the international stage," Rattray said. "There is a line that should be drawn when it comes to diplomacy and the truth, and while you can be diplomatic, you must always be truthful and everybody has a conscience that guides them."

However, former New York City councilwoman Una Clarke, said she believed a potential Cabinet minister should not be rejected based on his or her sexual orientation.

She insisted that individuals must be selected based on their level of competence and their behaviour in public.

"If you have your lifestyle, you live your lifestyle, and it's not anybody's business but your own," said Clarke. "Nobody needs to put a sanction on it - right or wrong."