Dunne Urges Fellow MPs To Refuse Sevens Tournament Invites

United Future leader and MP for Ohariu Belmont, Hon Peter Dunne, today challenged fellow MPs who are invited to Sevens Tournament games involving Fiji to turn down the invitations.

“I myself will not be attending despite having received an invitation and I challenge my fellow MPs to do the same.

“It is United Future’s strongly held view that the rights of Indo-Fijians are far more important than whether Fiji participates. We are opposed to Fijian representative groups being granted visas and believe the Government is indulging in gross hypocrisy by allowing the sevens team to participate here, while publicly condemning the thugs running Fiji.

“Only a few months ago the Government prevented school rugby teams from visiting, but now there is an apparent willingness to welcome a Fiji National Sevens team,” says Mr Dunne.

He says the hypocrisy of the Government is compounded further when we realise that some of the Ministers supporting Fiji’ s participation more than likely were opposed to sporting contacts with apartheid South Africa.

“It is outrageous that some of these people now seem to have found their principles are negotiable on such an issue, many of them, I would have thought would view as career defining.

“It is too much to expect at this late stage that the visas will be withdrawn for the Fijians. Perhaps they and other politicians will at least stay away from the games. If all MPs stay away then that may at least send a message to the racist regime in Fiji.

“I call on fellow MPs to stay away from the game and those that have received invites to politely return them explaining their reasons for doing so. In the end we as responsible leaders must stand up for the principles of racial equality and democratic government,” says Mr Dunne.

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