Social Democratic Liberal Party leader Viliame Gavoka said news of Prof Brij Lal’s death in Australia was a sad day for Fiji.

“The news of Prof Brij Lal’s passing fills me with great pain,” he said.

“We all know about him, a favourite son of Fiji who was refused permission to return home.

“He lived and hoped that he would one day come home and many of us pleaded for his case.

“But now he dies in a foreign land, away from his people and loved ones.

“How can our hearts be so hardened that we denied someone the right to his homeland and all because he expressed views different from those at the helm of leadership.

“We claim to have democracy, but we still have a very long way to go.

“Prof Brij Lal was loved by many and his legacy will live on in Fiji.”