By Pesi Fonua

Tonga’s ailing Prime Minister Hon. 'Akilisi Pohiva described the sheer determination he mustered to attend what he said was his “last Pacific Islands Forum meeting” while he was still under intensive medical care this month. He related his struggles to the Tongan media in a press conference he called in Nuku'alofa on August 20.

The Prime Minister confessed that he was not feeling well when they left Tonga, enroute for Tuvalu via Fiji, but they left anyway. In order to make the journey he was discharged from Vaiola Hospital, where he was a patient under observation.

After two nights in Fiji, he called his Forum contingent and announced that they would have to return home. He was not feeling well.

However, when he woke up in the morning, he said he felt better, and told them, “Lets go.”

Because of the PM's poor state of health, they put him on a separate aircraft, which jetted from Fiji to Tuvalu in an hour and a half, whereas the others travelled on regular aircraft, which took three hours to get to Tuvalu.

The Prime Minister was describing to reporters how he risked his life to attend the 50^th Pacific Island Forum where he intended to present two papers.

One paper on Regionalism was read, while the other [subject unknown] was not read.

The Prime Minister's only memorable contribution at the Forum Meeting was a paper on Regionalism, in which he highlighted the importance for Pacific Islands countries to be united and work in unity.

He said he used the situation in West Papua to drive the theme of his paper on Regionalism.

Hon. Pohiva then pointed out that there is a division in the Pacific, and reminded Pacific Leaders that “we have nothing . . . our only weapon is Unity and Solidarity. Now we are controlled by Indonesia.”

“Where is Regionalism, is it real or a myth?” he asked.

He claimed there is already a division among the 18 members of the Pacific Island, and some have already formed their own affiliated groups.

The members of the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) are: Australia, Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, French Polynesia, Kiribati, Nauru, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Republic of Marshall Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.

Foreign Affairs

However, the Prime Minister appeared to be conflicted in his comment that the Pacific Island countries “are controlled by Indonesia.”

The PM is Tonga’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, and according to a spokesperson from the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Indonesia and Tonga have had diplomatic relations for a number of years.

Climate change

The big issue was how the Forum is going to tackle the issue of Climate Change and predicted sea level rise. The talks between the world’s biggest island Australia, and the small islands nations of the Pacific had their own conflicts.

On the final day of the meeting, a proposal for the Forum to endorse a clause of the meeting’s communiqué, limiting world temperature increase to only 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial era levels became the hottest topic of the gathering.

According to Hon. Pohiva the 15 Pacific Islands countries of the Forum supported the proposal, but Australia was against it. The Australian Prime Minister wanted to make a few changes to the communiqué.

In the communiqué, it was stated that Climate Change and the sea-level rising is a crisis. But Hon Scott Morrison wanted to replace “crisis” with “challenge” and he said that Australia did not accept the limiting of the world’s temperature to only 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial era levels.

The Tongan PM's view of the Climate Change issue, however, was obscure, apart from fact that he voted in support of the 1.5c above pre-industrial level proposal.

Hon. Pohiva told the press conference that his stance on the issue is that Climate Change is a natural occurrence, “it is a by-product of the industrial revolution, that is still going on.

“We want Australia to stop mining, but Australia says No. We accept the 1.5 degrees, but Australia is against it.”

So what are Forum Islands Countries going to do about it, considering that a majority of the members support the 1.5c but Australia was against it?

According to PM Pohiva, the Pacific Islands Forum countries have not made a decision yet, “but we have to meet and decide what we are going to do about it.”

Free Trade

So what is going to happen to the Free Trade Agreement with Australia and New Zealand PACERPlus?

“We are importing their exports duty free, but we have very little to export. So fruit picking [in Australia and New Zealand] props up the islands’ foreign currency earnings.”

When he was asked for his response to a reference that the Pacific Islands Countries are “a bunch of beggars,” the PM admitted, “When we go to a meeting, that is what we are doing, begging. We are beggars. We allow people to come and dominate our country. It is a colonial process...”

Ownership

On issues closer to home, the PM commented on how he believes that the King in Privy Council makes decisions, that he should make himself as the Cabinet Minister for Foreign Affairs. He gave an example of the recent appointment of ‘Akau‘ola as Tonga’s Ambassador to the Dubai.

“To appoint an ambassador, I have to be involved, but I no longer have that authority,” he said.

PM Pohiva said that he believed that he should meet the King once a month, but recently there had been no response to his request for an appointment. He queried if his request went to the right place or not. He said he sincerely wished that His Majesty would give him and his Cabinet “the authority to run the country.”

Meanwhile, the PM said the beautification of the country was the prime working program of his government “building roads, and keeping public roads and public places clean.”

They have planted flowers.

“We want the people to have the sense of ownership of the roads, the parks, the markets and other public places. They belong to the people, we want the people to feel that they own the country. We could see that a majority of the people are happy with it.”