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Figi Prime Minister says Homosexuality is a sin. Fiji Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase
told a radio station that local and international critics
should respect Fiji's law and not interfere in the country's
legal process. Fiji Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase has rejected international pressure to make gay sex legal in the conservative Christian nation, saying homosexuality was a sin. Human rights groups and the Australian Greens have criticised Fiji's sodomy law after an Australian tourist and a Fiji man were given two-year jail sentences last week for having sex. But Qarase said the Bible clearly stated that homosexuality was a sin and Fiji's law reflected that. He told a radio station that local and international critics should respect Fiji's law and not interfere in the country's legal process. Qarase said people should realise that the convicted pair had also been making pornography. Thomas Maxwell McCoskar, 55, and Dhirendra Nadan, 23, were freed on bail on Tuesday after appealing their convictions in a Fijian high court. Lawyers for the pair argue that Fiji's Constitution, which outlaws discrimination based on sexual orientation, overrides the Pacific nation's penal code. Homosexual acts carry a maximum sentence of 14 years but have been rarely enforced in Fiji. Protests against the convictions have been held in Fiji and Australia. "The Greens are calling on the Australian government to convey this concern to the Fijian government and send a clear message that Australia considers discrimination on the grounds of sexuality as inappropriate as racism," Australian Greens senator Kerry Nettle said.
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