Zambia slams U.S. official remarks concerning jailing of two gay men

   LUSAKA, Nov. 30 -- The Zambian government on Saturday expressed concern over remarks attributed to U.S. ambassador to Zambia Daniel Foote where he questioned the jailing of two gay men by a court to 15 years in prison after they were convicted.
   Zambia's Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Malanji said the government takes great exception in the remarks from the US envoy to question the country's judiciary.
   He told reporters during a press briefing that he called the American envoy regarding his statement and expressed the government's grave concern that an envoy decided to comment on a matter of sovereignty.
   He said Zambia subscribes to and maintains the independence of the judiciary as a fundamental tenet of democracy and that the judiciary was the guardian of the country's constitution whose decision must be respected.
   "To question its decision by a representative of a foreign government is tantamount to questioning the Zambian constitution on which the judiciary makes its rulings," he said.
   Zambia, he said, as a signatory to major international and regional treaties protecting human rights, remains committed to upholding human rights in line with international instruments. Xinhau