Clashes between students from rival church schools in Vava'u erupted in the early hours of Sunday, April 2, with gangs smashing windows and damaging church property in Neiafu.

The schools involved were the Saineha High School of the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints, and the Mailefihi-Siu'ilikutapu College of the Free Wesleyan Church of Tonga.

Chief Police Inspector Pesalili Kailahi of the Vava...’u Police Force said today that at around 1 am on Sunday April 2, a group of Mailefihi students were alleged to have thrown rocks and damaged the windows of the Mormon Church at Pouono.

Then about 1.30 am a group of people whom Pesalili claimed was made up of Saineha High School students and ex-students damaged windows at the Neiafu Free Wesleyan...’s Church Maamamo...’onia Hall.

The damage of the Maamamo'onia Hall was reported to be extensive, because the 8 feet by 8 feet class windows were smashed, compared with only a few louver windows at the LDS Pouono church.

Tensions

Pesalili said that the tensions between the students began on Friday March 31 when two Saineha students went to Mailefihi College during school hours to pick a fight with the students there. They were chased away.

On the following afternoon, April 1 in downtown Neiafu groups of students from both schools were facing up for a brawl, but the police intervened and broke them up. But a few hours later on Sunday morning students allegedly smashed up church properties.

Pesalili said that it was unfortunate that even though it appeared that initially it was a dispute between students, but it had escalated to be a dispute between two churches, because students were damaging church properties and not school properties.

To calm things down, Pesalili said a Reconciliation Program will be held tomorrow, Tuesday, at the Saineha College between the two high schools, students, teachers, parents and the members of the two churches.

Pesalili said that the police were currently investigating the two incidents and had so far arrested and questioned a few alleged suspects in regards to the damaging of properties.