A campaigner for the Rights of Sexual Minorities in Fiji has welcomed a High Court ruling which allows consensual sex between people of the same gender in private.
The ruling was given by Justice Gerard Winter who quashed a conviction and sentence against an Australian tourist and a local who were imprisoned in April for homosexual activity.
Carlos Pereira says the ruling means people are free to pursue their private lives without fear of being persecuted.
The Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase says the ruling goes against the scriptures and also against cultural and traditional values, suggesting it should be amended.
But Mr Pereira says the state and religion should remain seperate entities
"In a democratic society, the state should remain individual and the religious organisation should remain as an individual body. And the religious institutions shouldn't impose their views on to the state - it makes the state's job more harder. And in this case, the state is actually taking on the views of the religious organisation."
Carlos Pereira, campaigner for the Rights of Sexual Minorities.
