Apisai Tora

Apisai Mohammad Tora is a controversial Fijian politician, who was imprisoned in 2005 for offences related to the coup that overthrew the elected government in 2000.

Senate speech, 24 August 2004 (excerpts)

Reported in the Fiji Times, 25 August 2004.

• "There is such a thing as freedom of speech in this country. It is a constitutional right. Too often these days when people speak out on certain matters there are attempts to intimidate or muzzle them and breach their rights by throwing allegations of racism or making hate speeches."

• "Even our new Commissioner of Police Andrew Hughes went so far as to say that those involved in these kinds of things are called domestic terrorists. Someone should remind Mr Hughes, who is an Australian, what his own people did to our counterparts."

• "They rounded the Aborigines up and ... committed wholesale murder and genocide to a whole group of people and they destroyed their culture".

• "People have got to be careful coming to Fiji and say Fijian people or taukei be careful of what you are doing you are trespassing, you are committing domestic terrorism. I would like to warn Mr Hughes to be careful. To do his own work properly and not to tread where angels fear to tread."

• "(The Constitution is) nothing less than a fraud on the Fijian people".