Prime Minister says Fiji’s Sodomy Law Reflects Biblical Truth
LifeSiteNews.com
(Conservative Christian), April 14, 2005
SUVA—In the independent island
nation of Fiji, homosexual activity is illegal. The Australian online
newsmagazine, The Age, reports that the president of Fiji also considers
homosexual acts to be sinful. Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase, said that the
Bible clearly states homosexuality is sinful and the laws of Fiji reflect
that.
Speaking on a local radio station, the Prime Minister
reacted to criticism from the Australian Green party after two men were
sentenced to two years in prison for violating the country’s sodomy laws.
Qarase said that the international critics should not interfere with Fiji’s
legal process.
According to the Fiji Islands Bureau of Statistics
(1996), about 52% of the population is Christian and is often called
‘conservative’ by the media. Fiji’s economy rests upon the country’s
popularity with tourists. In many of the more permissive South East Asian
countries, the phenomenon of ‘sex-tourism’ has become a headache for local
law enforcement and along with tourism, prostitution has become a dominant
problem.
The two men, Thomas Maxwell McCoskar, 55, and Dhirendra
Nadan, 23, are appealing their conviction arguing that the country’s
constitution, which prohibits discrimination based on ‘sexual orientation’
overrides the criminal code.
Homosexual acts carry a maximum sentence of 14 years but
laws have rarely been enforced in Fiji. Laisenia Qarase won political gains
beginning with his appointment as Prime Minster in 2000 in a time of political
and economic crisis in Fiji. He won an election at the head of his own newly
created party, the nationalist Soqoso Duavata ni Lewenivuana, taking 31 out of
71 parliamentary seats. Since that time, the political climate in Fiji has
been stable and the economy has grown.
hw
[Home] [World] [Fiji]
