Tonga's Leiti Association calls for change in law Featured
Members of Tonga’s LGBTI community at the Tonga Family Health Clinic
10 October, 2016. For the first time, Tonga's homosexual and transgender community will call on government leaders to revise legislation in order to protect LGBTI people in the deeply conservative country.
Tonga's Leiti Association has planned a national consultation with government leaders in December to petition for changes to the Criminal Offences Act, which criminalises cross-dressing and sodomy, and can be punished with up to ten years in prison or, in some cases, whipping.
"This is going to be the first time that we actually invite people to come and sit around the table and talk with us and work together with us on such issues," said Henry Aho, the association's project officer.
"It's the first time we actually step up asking the Tongan government and all other sectors in Tonga to actually dialogue with us so that we could overcome these issues."
In 2015, the Pacific Sexuality Diversity Network hosted a human rights conference in Tonga. That gathering was strongly opposed by church groups, who gathered outside waving banners with slogans such as "Go away with you immorality."
Mr Aho said the community was, yet again, expecting opposition from religious groups ahead of their gathering in December, which will be funded by the Canadian government's Fund for Local Initiatives.
"We have a few religious organisations who are trying to actually reawaken these laws," he said
"They feel like, with the Sunday law being reinforced - with bakeries not being allowed to serve customers on the Sabbath, they believe that the next step for them is to reawaken these laws so that the morale of the country is put in check."
Tonga's acting attorney general, 'Aminiasi Kefu, agreed that there would be strong opposition to calls from Tonga's LGBTI community to revise the kingdom's conservative laws, which have been criticised by rights groups and the United Nations. Henry Aho on twitter says religious leaders are pushing for more enforcement.
During a Universal Periodic Review by the organisation's human rights body in 2013, Tonga requested that recommendations to decriminalise homosexuality could be deferred until after further consultation in the country.
Mr Kefu said references in the country's laws to consenting acts like sodomy would be looked into if the government decriminalised homosexuality. But any such move, he said, was likely to be strongly opposed by the public.
"So that matter is entirely in the hands of the political masters to consider the issue and make the ultimate decision and obviously they'll definitely refer it to the public," he said. "But knowing Tongan culture and the strength of Christian principles, there will be strong opposition to it."
"But it's a matter entirely for government to decide."
However, Mr Kefu said while there had been "a few" sodomy convictions in Tonga in the past, they had only been in relation to sexual assault cases. "There hasn't been a conviction where two consenting adults have actually been charged for committing sodomy."
Still, there was no dispute that two consenting adults could be charged: "They could be, but it also comes down to prosecution policy," he said. "Some prosecutors could say no, even though technically they've committed the act. But it's up to their discretion."
Mr Aho admitted that it was scary for members of Tonga's LGBTI community who knew they would face stiff opposition from Tonga's powerful religious community, but it was trying to be proactive in pushing for the laws to be revised.
"We feel that consensual sex between two adult males isn't something that the law should be looking into," he said. "We want to safeguard our members of our community because we feel like, so long as these laws are in place, someone can use them against us."
"We are prepared for the opposition," said Mr Aho. "It's a lot of preparation that we have to do within our own community to prepare our own members for the backlashes that this might have, and to tell them of what lies ahead and why we need to do what we're doing because if it's not us that will be affected, it will be other people."
-RNZI
5 comments
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Kuopau ke tali ena ia e Akilisi he ko hono mafu e me'a koe "human rights" - TOTONU 'A E TANGATA.
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Ko e taketi foki ia a Joyee ko e ta'u e pe e fiha mei heni kuo malava kenau mali tangata mo e tangata. 'Oku 'ikai toe kehe 'a e hoholi koeni mo e hoholi a Ofa Likiliki mo me'a koe'uhi pe ko 'enau obliged 'akinautolu ki he ngaahi funding kuo nau 'osi tanaki mei muli. Ka ko e comment koena 'a Mark oku ke mo'oni kotoa pe koe mei mu'a ki mui, lolotonga pe 'enau tau'ataina kuo fiema'u 'e kinautolu ke fepaakaki kinautolu 'e he valevale tangata ki he vaivai tangata.
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'e faifai peau toe foki 'o fkaleiti. Na'aku fakaleiti pea kou fo'i pe he fkleiti pea quit he kou sio ki he fa'ahinga to'onga mo'ui na'a ku 'iai 'oku ta'e fkkalisitiane mo palaku. ko tonga 'eni 'oku maama mo lotu, 'ofa mai kau fkleiti 'o fksetane fkpulipuli pe ' hange ko 'eku fa'a fai he 'oku 'ikai fai ha mo'ua ai, felotoi pe. IUWII
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Ko e kalasi ena ia ku tonu ke 'ave nautolu 'o tuku 'i motu tapu. Me'a fakapango'ia ko e toe poupou'i 'e 'Aminiasi Kefu 'a e feinga ko eni 'a e kau fakaleiti ke liliu 'a e lao 'o Tonga ni ke fakalao 'a e fakasotoma koe'uhi ko e totonu 'a e tangata 'a ia 'oku poupou'i 'e he UN. Ko e lao 'a e UN pe ko e lao 'a Sihova 'oku mo'ui ai 'a e Tonga?? 'A e fonua na'e tuku ki langi kuo 'alu hake kau poto ke nau fakamala'i 'a e fonua.
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Koe me'a eni koee 'oku ui koe "mohemohe 'a kulii fafangu". Lolotonga pe 'enau nofo fiemalie 'o fa'iteliha ki he'enau ngaahi me'a 'oku fai kuo nau tu'u hake 'o tui kia Souii mo Heneli 'Aho. Koe kau fakaleiti ena 'oku nau tau'ataina ki he'enau mo'ui moe anga 'enau teuteu, 'enau ngaahi to'onga mo'ui mo e ha fua, 'oku 'ikai ta'ofi 'eha taha. Tali lelei 'ehe sosaieti Tonga 'enau to'onga mo'ui, pea 'oku te'eki ai ke tau sio kou faka'ilo ha fakaleiti he'ene to'onga fakaleiti, neongo 'oku 'ilo 'ehe tokotaha kotoa 'enau fakasotoma moe ngaahi to'onga fakalusa pehe. 'Oku fu'u tolerant 'aupito e lao 'a Tonga moe sosaieti Tonga kia nautolu. 'Oku 'ikai fakamamahi'i pe fakaehaua'i kinautolu. Ka nau tu'u hake leva eni ke liliu e lao, ko 'enau tui kia Souii mo Heneli 'aho, he koe me'a ia 'oku na folau takai holo ai 'i mamani ma'u 'ena pa'anga mei ai, ko 'ena 'alu holo 'o loi ki mamani tokua 'oku fakamamahi'i mo fakaehaua'i e totonu 'ae kau fakaleiti 'i Tonga ni. Koe lao he taimi ni 'oku ne malu'i kinautolu mei hano fakamamahi'i kinautolu. Koe ngaahi hia fakasotoma eni 'e fiha kuo mo'ua ai e kakai tangata, ka na'e 'ikai ko ha'anau fakamamahi'i pe tohotoho'i ha fakaleiti, ka ko 'enau holi kovi pe 'a nautolu kihe fanau tangata. Ka liliu e lao ko eni, 'e 'ataa leva ki he kau fakamamahi pehe ni ke nau fa'iteliha hono fakaehaua'i mo tohotohi'i 'etau fanau tangata. Ka 'oku 'ikai ke tau ofo, he koe tokolahi taha e kau fakaleiti na'e 'ikai si'i a'u e ako, pea kuo nau tui noa'ia ai pe kia Souii mo Heneli. Kou pole'i atu heni ha fakaleiti ke ne talamai ha taha fakaleiti kuo mo'ua he fakamaau'anga koe teuteu fakafefine pe mohe mo ha'ane tangata 'oku 'ofa ai. Fefe ho'omou fa'a katongaa fili Miss Galaxy, 'oku ta'ofi nai ia 'ehe lao pe kau polisi? hala'ataa, 'oku mou fa'iteliha. Fefe homou ngaahi partner tangata, kuo faka'ilo moutolu koe fakasotoma he me'a ko ia neiongo 'oku 'ilo 'ehe tokotaha kotoa koe me'a ia 'oku mou fai? koe tali ki ai 'ikai. Ko ho'omou holi ko eni ke liliu e lao 'e toki hanga hake leva e kakai 'o fakafepaki'i mo fakamamahi'i moutolu. Mou nofo noa ho'omou nonga kae tuku ho'omou kole'i e mamahi'ia. Pea 'oku sio atu e tokotaha kotoa 'o 'ilo e 'asenita 'a Souii, koe 'osi e feinga liliu lao ko eni 'e hoko atu leva ki he feinga ke fakalao'i e mali hoa tatau. hoooiiii, mou nofonoa pea mou fiemalie pe he mo'ui fiefia 'oku mou ma'u he taimi ni. Pea tuku ho'o fiepoto Heneli 'Aho ka ke 'alu 'o fai ha'o ngaue 'oku 'aonga. Ifo foki hono ma'u mai e funds mei Kanata mo fe fua ke na fa'iteliha ki ai mo Souii, pea ko 'ena feinga tamate leva eni ke na fakahoko a ngaue na'a na lohiaki'i'aki e kau donors. Kau fakaleiti, 'oku 'ikai fiema'u ke liliu e lao ia he 'oku mou lolotonga fa'iteliha pe he taimi ni ki ho'omou mo'ui mo ho'omou me'a 'oku fai. Kapau na kuo tau sio kuo puke 'ehe kau polisi 'a Souii 'o faka'ilo he'ene teuteu fakafefine pea tau pehee leva 'oku 'iai e palopalema. Ka 'ihe taimi lolotonga ni 'oku mou monu'ia he 'oku mou ma'u e tau'ataina kakato 'oku 'ikai ke ma'u ia 'eha kau fakaleiti 'iha toe fonua 'i mamani.