As the U.S. ambassador to Brunei speaks at a Nike-sponsored event in Portland, demonstrators will gather outside to protest Nike’s recent trade deal with the Southeast Asian nation.
Brunei’s dictator, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, decreed death by stoning against LGBTQ individuals and unmarried women who become pregnant shortly after he imposed Sharia Law in his country in 2014.
At 7:30 a.m. March 21, 2016, protesters will gather outside the World Affairs Council of Oregon, 1200 SW Park Ave. Rep. Rob Nosse (D-Portland); Diana Wu, executive director of Portland Jobs with Justice; and Michael Shannon, executive director of Oregon Fair Trade Campaign, will deliver speeches at 8 a.m. Stones will be arranged in a pile outside the event to symbolize stoning, according to an OFTC news release.
Rally organizers encourage the public to attend in a show of support for LGBTQ rights worldwide.
“I understand Nike stands to make a lot of money in new tax cuts as a result of this agreement,” Shannon said, “but embracing a pact that helps prop up an LGBT-and-woman-killing tyrant is not the way to make a profit. The company has a good track record on LGBT issues domestically. If Nike cares about human rights for all people, it should distance itself from this trade proposal immediately.”
