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Author Topic: Gay sex in Fiji? Two years in prison....
Hephaestion
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posted 06 April 2005 03:19 PM      Profile for Hephaestion   Author's Homepage        Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Queerday reports

quote:
A Fiji court sentenced an Australian tourist to two years in jail for what the judge called a "shameful" and "disgusting" homosexual act. Retired university lecturer Thomas Maxwell McCoskar, 55, and a Fijian man had pleaded guilty to having gay sex in the city of Nadi and asked the court for leniency, the Fiji Times reported. Magistrate Syed Muhktar Shah said the crimes committed by McCoskar, from Victoria, and Dhirendra Nandan, 23, were "something so disgusting that it would make any person vomit." Shah said McCoskar's actions bordered on paedophilia, adding that "If you wanted to have fun, you should have stayed in Australia instead of trying to come to Fiji and exploit our young boys." Gay sex is illegal in Fiji, a conservative Christian nation where gay sex carries a jail sentence of up to 14 years.

Sydney Morning Herald


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Raos
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posted 06 April 2005 06:07 PM      Profile for Raos     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Indeed it is "something so disgusting that it would make any person vomit."

I simply don't understand how an entire society can condone such treatment of people. Potential for a 14 year sentence.


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swirrlygrrl
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posted 06 April 2005 06:16 PM      Profile for swirrlygrrl     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
What a ridiculous, horrifying and offensive statement and sentence.
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Doug
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posted 06 April 2005 08:25 PM      Profile for Doug   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 

Yeah, but look at that beach! Two years might be worth it.

Unfortunately, the truth is that when you visit somewhere, you're subject to their laws, no matter how stupid they are.


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blacklisted
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posted 06 April 2005 08:57 PM      Profile for blacklisted     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
knee-jerk reactions? maybe the aussies should stay home.
http://www.fijiwomen.com/children/sex_tourism.htm
http://www.unhchr.ch/huricane/huricane.nsf/0/3DE83156860196A9802568070036D4FA?opendocument

[ 06 April 2005: Message edited by: blacklisted ]


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miles
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posted 06 April 2005 09:01 PM      Profile for miles     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
holy side scroll blacklisted
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Hephaestion
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posted 06 April 2005 09:02 PM      Profile for Hephaestion   Author's Homepage        Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
quote:
...the crimes committed by McCoskar, from Victoria, and Dhirendra Nandan, 23...

Doesn't sound like pedophilia to me...


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swirrlygrrl
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posted 06 April 2005 11:06 PM      Profile for swirrlygrrl     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Doug, I find the first part of your posting both ignorant and insenstive.

As for blacklisted post, I really don't see what one has to do with the other. We're talking about the criminalization of male to male sexual contact between consenting adults. NOT the exploitation of children.


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NDP Newbie
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posted 07 April 2005 04:05 AM      Profile for NDP Newbie     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
A female judge in China threw a gay male in jail for 3 years.

My grudge against Beijing predates that, but it certainly doesn't improve my opinion of the Chicons.


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blacklisted
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posted 07 April 2005 04:36 AM      Profile for blacklisted     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
no legal, social or moral stance within any society evolves in a vacuum . the prevalance of sexual exploitation no doubt to some extent informs the prejudicial quality of the sentence.
there is a supremely naive and shallow quality to the type of thinking which believes that, within that context, any behavior not intrinsically embraced by the prevailing social order will be accepted as non-threatening.

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Hephaestion
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posted 07 April 2005 04:46 AM      Profile for Hephaestion   Author's Homepage        Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
So WTF, because that society believes that all gay men are child molesters, we should just accept it and move on, is that it?
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Crippled_Newsie
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posted 07 April 2005 08:57 AM      Profile for Crippled_Newsie     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
quote:
Originally posted by blacklisted:
no legal, social or moral stance within any society evolves in a vacuum . the prevalance of sexual exploitation no doubt to some extent informs the prejudicial quality of the sentence.

[IRONY POWERS ACTIVATE] In other words: "Ya know, those stereotypes exist for a reason. So let's just keep thinking in narrow, prejudicial ways about any minority group we come across... because, I mean, at some point in time they deserved it, right?" [IRONY POWERS DEACTIVATE]


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Hephaestion
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posted 11 April 2005 04:57 AM      Profile for Hephaestion   Author's Homepage        Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Follow-up from queerday:

quote:
Australia and New Zealand pressure Fiji to release McCoskar and friend

There are calls across Australia and New Zealand for pressure to be put on the Fijiian government to release the two men, one an Australian tourist, who received two-year prison sentences for consensual gay sex.


gaynz.com

quote:
Australian GLBT activist Rodney Croome along with the Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobby has called for government intervention, and says LGBT people across the globe should be arguing for the couple’s freedom. "It's absolutely vital the Australian government makes representations to the Fiji government immediately expressing its deep concern about what's occurred and protesting the actions of the Fiji judiciary," he said. "If Australia wants to see itself as a leading proponent of human rights in the Asia-Pacific region, then it can't let this outrage go unprotested."

Good ol' Rodney... I should'a known he'd be all over this.


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Hephaestion
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posted 12 April 2005 03:45 AM      Profile for Hephaestion   Author's Homepage        Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Good news!

quote:
Thomas McCoskar and Dhirendra Nadan free on bail in Fiji

Australian tourist Thomas McCoskar and a Fijian man who were jailed for having gay sex in Fiji have been freed on bail after appealing their convictions. The Lautoka High Court granted bail to McCoskar and Dhirendra Nadan, both of whom were given two-year prison sentences last week in a judgment criticized by human rights groups and yours truly. McCoskar, 55, a retired teacher from Victoria, surrendered his passport as part of the bail conditions. He faces an eight- to 10-week legal process in Fiji.


link to ninemsn

It's not as good as charges being *dropped*, but it's a start...


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Raos
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posted 12 April 2005 01:35 PM      Profile for Raos     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
That's a lot more than I was expecting was going to happen. I'd say it's quite a fantastic start to fixing the situation.
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Hephaestion
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posted 12 April 2005 03:41 PM      Profile for Hephaestion   Author's Homepage        Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Yes. Much kudos to Rodney Croome and the gang!
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Hephaestion
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posted 13 April 2005 06:46 PM      Profile for Hephaestion   Author's Homepage        Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Fiji Prime Minister tells foreign gays to mind own business

quote:
Fiji's Prime Minister, Laisenia Qarase, says foreign gays and international human rights groups should keep noses out of the country's affairs.

Qarase said Wednesday that he has no intention of repealing a law that provides for sentences up to 14 years in prison for anyone convicted of committing homosexual acts.

The Fijian government has under intense pressure to get rid of the law after an Australian tourist and a local man were sentenced to two years behind bars for having gay sex. The pair were released on bail this week as they await an appeal.

In a radio interview Qarase said that the Bible clearly states that homosexuality is a sin and Fiji's law reflected that. He also accused the men of making pornography.

While they wait Thomas Maxwell McCoskar and Dhirendra Nadan have been ordered not to leave the country. McCoskar, a retired Australian university professor, was ordered to surrender his passport.

Lawyers for the two men say the convictions were unconstitutional. Gay and lesbians have protections under Fiji's 1998 Constitution, but old former colonial laws banning gay sex remain on the books.



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Hephaestion
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posted 16 April 2005 11:28 AM      Profile for Hephaestion   Author's Homepage        Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Fiji Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase says being gay is a sin

quote:
Laisenia Qarase, the Prime Minister of Fiji, has rejected international pressure to make gay sex legal, saying homosexuality is a sin. Queer Day and Human Rights Groups have criticized Fiji's sodomy law after Australian tourist Thomas McCoskar, 55, and Dhirendra Nadan, 23, were given two-year jail sentences just for having sex. Qarase says the Bible clearly states that homosexuality is a sin and Fijian law reflects that. Gay sex can actually carry a maximum sentence of 14 years there.

The Australian


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NDP Newbie
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posted 16 April 2005 02:13 PM      Profile for NDP Newbie     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
As I did when Strom Thurmond died, I will drown myself in a celebratory river of alcohol and weed when this asshole joins him in Hell.
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Hephaestion
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posted 29 April 2005 08:34 AM      Profile for Hephaestion   Author's Homepage        Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
... and the case drags on...

quote:
Fiji's High Court has granted attorneys for an Australian tourist and a local man a 45 day delay in filing an amendment to their appeal of the convictions of the men for engaging in gay sex.

Lawyers for the two appeared in court today and argued that they wanted to present new evidence in the case.

Thomas Maxwell McCoskar, 55, a retired university professor and Dhirendra Nadan, 23, were convicted earlier this month under Fiji's sodomy law. The pair was sentenced to two years behind bars. (story) The maximum the men would have been sentenced to would be 14 years.

Both men are out on bail while the appeal proceeds, but McCoskar has been ordered to surrender his passport and not leave the island.

McCosker's lawyer Iqbal Khan told the HIgh Court today that the details of the case presented to the lower court by prosecutors had nothing to do with the charges on which his client was convicted.

The pair had pleaded guilty but Khan said court records showed the only facts tendered were that McCosker accused Nadan of robbing him. When he was questioned by police Nadan said the pair had oral sex.

"The facts that were outlined by the prosecution in the lower court does not constitute any offence my client was charged with," Khan said.

The original appeal argued that Fiji's constitution which guarantees civil rights to all people nullifies its anti-gay laws and the judge who jailed them was prejudiced.



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Hephaestion
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posted 05 May 2005 09:53 AM      Profile for Hephaestion   Author's Homepage        Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Fiji's top lawman accused of bias in gay sex case

quote:
Fiji's chief prosecutor has refused to step down from the appeal of an Australian tourist and a local man convicted of having gay sex after it was disclosed that he had sent an email condemning homosexuality.

The email, sent by Director of Public Prosecutions Josaia Naigulevu, to religious groups on Fiji called on churchgoers to take a public stand against gay sex.

"The challenge is to take a stand for righteousness and boldly declare and uphold God's precepts, values and principles against homosexuality," Naigulevu said in the email.

[...]

The email was obtained and made public by Nadan's lawyer, Natasha Khan who said it showed Naigulevu was biased and should step down from the appeal.

"This is a clear dereliction of a fair and impartial prosecutor's responsibility," she said.

Naigulevu said he had no intention of stepping aside and he has the backing of Fiji Attorney-General Qoriniasi Bale.

Bale told a radio station Wednesday he welcomed and supported Naigulevu's views.

[...]

Qarase also said that he has no intention of repealing a law that provides for sentences up to 14 years in prison for anyone convicted of committing homosexual acts.



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Hephaestion
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posted 24 June 2005 06:29 PM      Profile for Hephaestion   Author's Homepage        Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Fiji sees increase in hate crimes after gay arrests

quote:
Attacks on gays in Fiji have increased significantly in the wake of a sensational trial of two men, one an Australian tourist, convicted under the Pacific island's sodomy law of having gay sex.

The attacks have been documented by Women's Action for Change, a human rights group.

"The difference between me and heterosexual people though, is that when they make mistakes or have problems they are not instantly labeled as evil or deviant," Noelene Nabulivou, a coordinator for WAC, told FijiLive.

The publication said that most of the attacks were on gay sex trade workers although gays on the island say anyone who is perceived to be gay is at risk.


Yet another case that shows that those who claim there is no connection between anti-gay rhetoric and violence are full of shit.


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Hephaestion
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posted 27 August 2005 08:34 AM      Profile for Hephaestion   Author's Homepage        Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Fiji court overturns sodomy law - gays set free

quote:
Fiji's High Court overturned the convictions of two gay men on Friday, ruling that the South Pacific island's sodomy law was unconstitutional.

[...]

In his landmark ruling on Friday Justice Gerald Winter said that the sodomy law - a holdover from British colonial rule - was inconsistent with the Fijian constitution and therefore invalid.

"What the Constitution requires is that the law acknowledges difference, affirms dignity and allows equal respect to every citizen as they are," his ruling said.

"The State that embraces difference, dignity and equality does not encourage citizens without a sense of good or evil but rather creates a strong society built on tolerant relationships with a healthy regard for the rule of law.

"A country so founded will put sexual expression in private relationships into its proper perspective and allow citizens to define their own good moral sensibilities leaving the law to its duties of keeping sexual expression in check by protecting the vulnerable and penalizing the predator."


International activists take note... you can make a difference! Mark one up for the good guys (and gals!) (I say this because without international pressure, I'm sure this case would never have made it to the Fujian high court.)

[ 27 August 2005: Message edited by: Hephaestion ]


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Ken Burch
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posted 13 September 2005 07:32 PM      Profile for Ken Burch     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Something else to note:

Mr. Nadan's name sounds like he is Indian-Fijian(a descendant of people from India who were settled in Fiji.). The Indo-Fijian community, which makes up about half of Fiji's population, has been in a long and bitter fight with ethnic Fijians, who have used great violence(including at least one military coup against an elected Indo-Fijian prime minister)to keep Indo-Fijians out of political power.

Could the severity of the punishment in this case be partially related to this ethnic tension?


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Hephaestion
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posted 15 September 2005 05:34 AM      Profile for Hephaestion   Author's Homepage        Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
quote:
Originally posted by Ken Burch:

Could the severity of the punishment in this case be partially related to this ethnic tension?



Interesting question. I dunno if there's an easy way to determine that, though. Rodney Croome might have an idea (but then again, maybe not...)

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Hephaestion
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posted 06 October 2005 04:57 PM      Profile for Hephaestion   Author's Homepage        Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Update

quote:
Thomas McCosker, the Australian gay man who was acquitted of consensual sodomy charges by Fiji’'s High Court, is now facing the possibility of a new trial after the South Pacific nation's Department of Public Prosecutions launched an appeal.


Link

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Hephaestion
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posted 15 March 2006 05:14 AM      Profile for Hephaestion   Author's Homepage        Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
The Fijians are back to the same old crap...

quote:
Two men have charged with sodomy in Fiji despite a high court ruling that the law is unconstitutional.

The men were arrested in a beach house near the capital Suva. Police said they caught the men during sex but would not say who tipped them off.

The pair were released on bail following a brief court appearance.

[...]

Despite the court ruling the government has refused to repeal the sodomy law which dates back to British imperial rule.

Gay rights activists have been lobbying for a lenient law that will at least allow gay sex acts in private.


"Police said they caught the men during sex but would not say who tipped them off."

Why am I reminded of the fucking Stasi?

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Boarsbreath
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posted 15 March 2006 10:22 PM      Profile for Boarsbreath   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
I've just had two students in my office (I teach at the University of the South Pacific law school) proposing a project on gay rights in Fiji. We whittled it down to the interplay between politics and the law on this issue, since there really is no room for legal argument -- the Constitution says expressly that discrimination on the basis of orientation is forbidden, yet the criminal code outlaws sodomy. The code has to be invalid on that.

However...this Constitution is resented by most native Fijians, although few understand it. Not their fault; even the few who've heard a reasonable account of it could not be expected to understand it. Almost no-one has actually seen it, even the ones who comfortably read English. (Of course it was written in English, like all Pacific constitutions -- except Samoa's, and even there only the English version counts -- even though THIS constitution was adopted only ten years ago.) It's hard to exaggerate how foreign the formal state law is in these countries.

So high-falutin' ideas from the decadent West, about the illegitimacy of violence, the equality of women -- heck, the equality of men -- and of course any tolerance at all of gays, don't go over well.

But it's not even that simple. One of the students is himself a gay man, very openly effeminate -- as is the tradition for a significant proportion of the male population...! Same in most Pacific countries, and probably like (I don't know) the "two-spirit" thing among First Nations over on the Turtle. And even now these guys are rarely hassled (or so I think; I'm straight).

Of course the religious leaders head the anti-gay movement (and it is that, no mealy-mouthedness here), but so do the traditionalist leaders, albeit less rabidly.

I put to the students that one aspect of their project could be a choice of strategy: open confrontation (the Stonewall option, though I didn't use the reference), or a more subtle invocation of pre-Christian tradition combined with modern secularism, versus 19th-C religiosity. (COLONIAL religiousity!) Thing is that "human rights" have a bad smell to most traditionalists, which is probably most people, since it's associated with opposition to almost everything traditional (notably, hierarchy & privilege).

And you know? A few months ago I did a jurisprudence (philosophy of law) course in Fiji, and there, in a country then on the verge of military coup, radically split racially, facing economic disaster as the sugar industry fades, you'd have thought -- based on what students posted & talked about -- that the biggest jurisprudential issue facing their society was gay marriage....gay MARRIAGE! (It's weird living in a globalised world but physically in the developing world, where you can be immersed in such things on the net and among friends, while outside your door Thomas Jefferson would be a revolutionary.)


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