Letting Tonga burn is criminal negligence [1]
Sunday, January 7, 2007 - 16:30. Updated on Sunday, April 13, 2014 - 19:39.
Editor,
Having read "The attempted coup of 16th November 2006" by Lopeti Senituli, I would like to ask the Matangi Tonga if it is possible to publish Dr Taufe'ulungaki's report in full so that the readers can have the full benefit of what she is writing about without prejudice.
I hope that Senituli has given a statement to the Police Investigation Team regarding his accidentally witnessed part of the preparation of the PCPR Petition on 15th November 2006 which was carried out by 'Akilisi Pohiva, 'Uliti Uata and Lepolo Taunisila in the Legislative Assembly's office. This act of preparation confirmed that the PCPR had a master plan with an agenda and a mandate. 16/11 was not an accident but an evil act initiated by this group and it can never be justified. The Police must carry out their investigation thoroughly and I hope that they have not let the leaders of the PCPR off the hook.
However, questions must be raised as to how the Tongan Government conducted its business before, during and after 16/11. The sequence of events given by Senituli, in parts, reads like a comic sketch from another planet. According to Senituli, on the afternoon of 16/11, there was a meeting between the PM, some members of his Government including the Minister of Police, Akilisi Pohiva and his supporters. Pohiva aggressively laid bare his soul by demanding this, that and the other (well, shouting to be precise) and the Minister of Police mumbled something about obeying the law or words to that effect. The PM tried to calm down Pohiva and his supporters by agreeing to all their demands and while this was going on, the mob outside started smashing things up. Would you credit it, the future of Tongan Government, the constitution, the political future of the Tongan Parliament, all of which should only be debated in Parliament, were actually debated during a shouting match in the Prime Minister's office!
If you think that this shouting match between the Government and the PCRP was sad, well, think again. According to a Government press release last year shortly after 16/11, it was safer to let the riot run its course rather than making the Police do their job. Safer for whom I wonder? If this type of decision occurred here in Britain, the British public would demand a public enquiry to be carried out immediately and those who were responsible would be held accountable for their actions. Letting Tonga burn on the night of 16/11 is nothing less than criminal negligence. Sad to say, this whole mess occurred during this Government's watch and the PM together with the Cabinet Ministers should be forced to explain to the people why they allowed it to happen.
A public enquiry should run alongside the criminal investigation and should be carried out by an independent body, say from the Commonwealth. A report should then be properly constructed and put out to the public domain. Normally, a Judge would head this type of enquiry, and within the remit of his power, he can call anyone from the King to the lowest rank in the land to answer questions put to them. This of course means that those who were in the meeting in the PM's office will be called to make a statement. If the enquiry found anyone, regardless of who it might be, responsible directly or indirectly for the sad events on 16/11, then the information should then be passed over to the police for further investigation.
May I just say this as well: the gap between the rich and poor in Tongan Society is too wide. Address this problem and everything else will fall in place. Giving members of parliament and top civil servants a massive pay rise is not the answer. Investing money in the Fishing Industry will go a long way. Why not build a fish factory in Ha'apai? The Pacific ocean is massive, surely Tonga can successfully export fresh and canned fish to Japan, China & Europe. Just a thought.
May you all have a happy and a prosperous New Year.
'Ofa atu
Senolita Swan