NUKU‘ALOFA – A protest in Tonga led by a church group who told gay activists attending a conference they were “evil” has been strongly condemned.

The church members hung a massive banner on the Nuku‘alofa waterfront saying: “Go back to your country with your immorality. Tonga do not want you evil people.”

A dozen members of the Tokakolo Church protested all last week against a meeting at the Fa‘onelua Convention Centre in the town where around 50 representatives were attending a Pacific region conference focused on sexual orientation and gay rights.

The theme of the conference was: ‘Our voices,our communities, our rights: advancing human rights related to sexual orientation, gender identity and expression in the Pacific.’

Tonga’s Leiti (gay men) Association and its supporters took to the media to blast the church protesters as “hypocrites”.

Leiti’s president, Joey Mataele told Kaniva News that when he read the banner the church members were waving he felt like “an outsider in my own society”.

He said he respected the church leaders in Tonga and he “loved” the people who were protesting outside the conference.

But he said it would have been better if the protesters had instead said a prayer for the gay people at the conference.

He said conference delegates were discussing the public abuse they had suffered because of their sexual orientation including cases of bullying and suicides.

They also talked about people who had been murdered because they were gay.

Gay rights supporter Pilinisesi Ohaikula said the conference was about human rights and gay rights was only fraction of the discussion.

He said there were a number of issues such as rape, incest and even inter-college fighting that church-goers should protest against.

“Everybody is sinful, so who are they pointing the finger at? What harm do we do that scares them. We only bring entertainment and cleanliness and civilisation to our island.”

He called the protesters ignorant and heartless.

Matalele said the protesters were trying to tell the public that gay people were evil and that everyone else had not yet committed any sins.

“We are fed up with saying that Tonga is a Christian nation,” he said.

Some commentators took to social media saying the church had a constitutional right to protest and express their opinions.

Others were more critical: “Tonga is a very religious country. It doesn’t necessarily mean it is a Godly country. There is a huge difference between the two.

“Religious people like to condemn and judge others, refusing to look at their own iniquity they are drowning in.”

Another commentator had a bet both ways: “I know gay is a sin, but is also wrong for churches to criticise gay people. Only judge is God. We are all sinners but what this church is doing is wrong. Also, supporting gay is wrong because you’re going against God’s commandment’s.”