PACIFIC ISLANDS REPORT

Pacific Islands Development Program/East-West Center
With Support From Center for Pacific Islands Studies/University of Hawai‘i

By Kelepi Masa

There could not be a better indicator of a desperate need for a totally new government and governing system in Tonga than you and your "editorial comments." There is no free press in Tonga and therefore a government that is not accountable to anyone. Not once have you in your editorials looked to a root cause of the people’s anger. Who did most of the "rioting?" The youth. Why? The royal family has failed to govern well providing any hope or a future for them. What do the majority of them have to look forward to?

I do not excuse violence but history has shown a need for it on occasion to rid a people of oppressive rulers. The royal family has plundered and ripped off Tonga and its people to the point that there is no hope. There is no "economy" in Tonga; period! Tonga only exists due to three main reasons: One; overseas Tongans that give to their relatives sacrificially in Tonga; Two; foreign aid, assistance and grants; Three; the LDS church that educates a large number of students and provides jobs and other sources of income (what if the government had to pay to educate them?).

Over 25 percent of our people live below the poverty line. The health care available to us alone is an indictment of the government’s failure to lead. The educational standard is poor. Jobs are non-existent. The future is grim. All this while the royal family takes tens of millions of dollars a year from sources that belong to the Tongan people.

Tonga’s data code, .to, was taken by then the Crown Prince simply because he wanted it and believed he was entitled to it. This makes him millions and millions of US Dollars a year. Where was your outrage then Mr. Fonua? Shoreline took over, got government to guarantee loans; pocketed some of it while they raised the rates far beyond what was needed for increased fuels costs. Now the King says he is going to sell it; for $81 million? Where is your total outrage over this? It belongs to the people! Next he will sell .to, Tonga’s internet signatory. This will earn him another $80 million or more. Will that outrage you? Look at the other projects (SeaStar, etc.) where the King profited and the government picked up the tab. King George has made tens of millions of dollars off the backs of the Tongan people he referred to once in an interview in your magazine as "squatters!" Meanwhile, Princess Pilolevu has made tens of millions of dollars off of Tongasat. Again, that money belongs to the people. The royals make millions off of switching allegiance to China from Taiwan yet the people faired better with Taiwan’s assistance. But you recall the logic the princess suggested for the change; she said "I just want to send missionaries to China." We will let God deal with her on that manipulation.

By the way, where do these people pay their taxes? The princess is not exempt nor was the Crown Prince. Where does Feleti Seveli pay his taxes? What about the $500,000 judgment against him that he signed an agreement with the court to pay, etc., etc., etc. Now we see the government throwing out huge figures to "rebuild Nuku’alofa." Just when the royals thought that they had bled the country dry of sources of funds and were willing to walk away, now a potential new source to plunder. Watch what happens now. The million dollar homes of the Ramanlal brothers in New Zealand as well as the Tonga sat employees will all grow but not nearly as much as the bank accounts of the royals.

Go ahead and point your finger at Clive Edwards, Akilisi Pohiva and others. They are nothing more than a by-product of a government that has been corrupt for years. They are the symptom of the problem, the royal family and its greed IS THE PROBLEM! Rulers rule by moral authority or power. The royal family has lost all moral authority. They can only now rule by power or threat. There will be no peace in Tonga until they are gone!