US
Threat to gay rights in Fiji
SUVA — Right-wing political forces and conservative church groups in Fiji are attempting to reverse a constitutional provision that outlaws discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.
A clause in the Bill of Rights, part of the new Fiji constitution introduced last year, explicitly mentions sexual orientation as a basis on which discrimination cannot be based.
Bowing to pressure from the Methodist Church and the Fiji Council of Churches, a parliamentary committee and the office of Fiji's prime minister, Sitiveni Rabuka, have proposed to amend the Bill of Rights to state that same-sex marriage and homosexual relationships remain illegal.
The amendment would radically restrict the newly won rights of gays and lesbians, and create a precedent for undermining other constitutionally enshrined rights and liberties.
The Coalition on the Right to Sexual Orientation has been formed to fight against the change. It brings together Women's Action for Change, the Fiji Women's Crisis Centre, the Citizens' Constitutional Forum and the Fiji Women's Rights Movement. The coalition has issued an urgent appeal for solidarity.
The group warns that the changes, and the arguments used in favour of them, have been phrased in such a way as to sow hatred against homosexual people. The coalition said that church groups and political parties are using the issue "as a sensationalist ploy to gain needed public attention in time for the 1999 elections".
The coalition is asking supporters of human rights to send letters to the Fiji prime minister and opposition leader demanding that the constitution not be amended to deprive Fijians of the right to choose their sexual orientation without fear of discrimination.
Write to: Prime Minister's Office, Parliament Complex, Box 2352, Government Buildings, Republic of Fiji (fax: 679 305 204); Leader of Opposition, Opposition Office, Box 2352, Government Buildings, Republic of Fiji (fax: 679 305 317). Please send copies to: Fiji Women's Crisis Centre, 88 Gordon St, PO Box 12882, Suva, Fiji (e-mail: <fwcc@is.com.fj>).