Bel-Air, Beverly Hills Hotel Boycotts Must Go On, Councilman Says

LOS ANGELES, CA — Los Angeles should not let up on its boycott of the Brunei-owned Hotel Bel-Air and Beverly Hills Hotel even though the nation's leader said it will not impose the death penalty on those convicted of having gay sex, said City Councilman Paul Koretz.

In response to worldwide boycotts of the Brunei-owned luxury hotels, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah issued a statement Sunday saying the country's new death penalty for homosexual acts and adulterers has been misunderstood. He insisted that gays would not be stoned to death under the new law that calls for the death penalty for homosexuality. He vowed to ratify the United Nations Convention Against Torture.

But anyone who stands against the criminality of homosexuality or the abuse of women should continue to be leery, Koretz said.

"The sultan's recent statements showed a step in the right direction by agreeing to ratify the United Nations Convention Against Torture and it shows that he was hearing our message loud and clear, not just the hotel boycotts here in Los Angeles but also around the world," Koretz said.

"But as long as homosexuality is still criminalized in the country and women can be brutally whipped for adultery it seems like his response is simply lip service to save the all-mighty dollar."

Hassanal Bolkiah had recently announced that, effective April 3, anyone charged with adultery or homosexuality will be stoned to death in accordance with sharia law, although no killings are believed to have taken place

The City Council resolution says the city will refrain from conducting business at the two hotels, including participating in any event or other business that requires city resources and officially discourages all city employees and residents from staying at or attending any functions at either hotel unless and until the government of Brunei repeals "these cruel and inhumane laws."

Actor George Clooney is at the forefront of the push to boycott the Beverly Hills Hotel, the Hotel Bel-Air and seven properties in Europe owned by the government-owned Brunei Investment Agency. Hassanal Bolkiah holds supreme power in the oil-rich nation.

"They're nice hotels," Clooney wrote in a column for Deadline before the City Council approved the resolution. "The people who work there are kind and helpful and have no part in the ownership of these properties.

"But let's be clear, every single time we stay at or take meetings at or dine at any of these nine hotels we are putting money directly into the pockets of men who choose to stone and whip to death their own citizens for being gay or accused of adultery."

City News Service and Patch Staffer Paige Austin contributed to this report.