The Tongan people must be set free from a 1,000-year-old bondage, says Laki Niu, a Tongan lawyer, who will camp at Pangai Si'i with a loud speaker tomorrow morning demanding that the Tongan government agree to a new proposal for constitutional change.

On Friday, October 14, he presented to Cabinet his proposed amendment to the Tongan Constitution, to make it possible for the people of Tonga to elect all members of their government.

"“I will stay at Pangai Si‘i with a loud speaker until Cabinet signs my letter, agreeing to present my proposal for a constitutional amendment to parliament," he told a press conference on Friday.

Laki believes that Tonga has been living under a tyrannical form of government for the past 1,055 years. He said that since the first Tu'itonga, 'Aho'eitu, in 950 up until today, "the law of the land has been made by a few, who enforce them on the rest of the population, and the people must be set free from this bondage."

Ultimatum

To add some urgency to his proposal Laki gave Cabinet an ultimatum that he would camp at Pangai Si'i, starting on Monday October 17 until all members of the Cabinet signed a an attached letter, saying that they supported his proposed amendment to the constitution for the people to elect 24 members of parliament and for the nobles to elect six.

He called for the supporters of the call for a political reform in Tonga to come and join him at Pangai Si'i.

Laki said that he was acting alone, a Lone Ranger in Tonga's quest for political reform, but he felt obligated to fulfill a dream he had when he was a member of parliament during the early 1990s and spoke of the need to amend the Tongan constitution and to introduce political reform.

Laki expressed his frustration with how the process of a political reform was taking place. He said that three models of government had been presented, one by Lopeti Senituli, a second one by Clive Edwards, and a third one by himself.

"But unless we set aside our differences, we will die and nothing will have been done."

Laki emphasized the urgency to end what he claimed to be tyrannical rule in Tonga. He said that the people have no say in the drafting of laws and the running of government, "they are obeying the laws out of fear, rather than being law-abiding citizens."

Laki said that it was important for the people who have proposed models of government to compromise their ideas so that a reform can take place soon. He said that he had given up his proposal for a two-house legislature, to go along with Clive's proposal, but he preferred a 30-members parliament to the 39 that was proposed by Clive.

Laki is proposing 20 amendments to the Tongan Constitution, and was confident that his approach of presenting his proposed amendment to Cabinet first, and then letting them present it to parliament would guarantee success, because an amendment of the Tongan Constitution has to be passed with a majority by the House, and unanimously by both Cabinet and Privy Council.