Editor,

I would like to address several recent letters along with a few thoughts for your readers

The first letter is by Andrew Fifita. I must respectfully disagree with this gentleman on his point that Tonga is already free and democratic. That is nonsense. If that were so Tonga would be eligible for U.S. foreign aid. The U.S. government recognizes Tonga's government as constitutional monarchy. That doesn'’t have to be a bad thing. As Mr. Fifita describes there are many significant past achievements that have been accomplished by Queen Salote III and King Taufa'’ahau Tupou IV. Even King George Tupou V has done much to improve Tonga'’s telecommunication infrastructure. The King has a very loyal following. Democratic leaders around the world would give their right arms to have loyal subjects who can'’t even pay their water bills, get down on their hands and knees to crawl up to them with an envelope full of money.

The second letter is by Sione Kava. While I have the greatest respect for a fellow warrior whose service in the USMC Force Recon was quite distinguished and honorable, I must criticize some points in his letter. First, your passion and emotions are clouding your judgment to the point you would feel physical violence is necessary to settle a discussion. Second, your idea about using the TDS to reinforce security would only increase tensions by militarizing a civilian problem and waste precious resources. I would like to refer to Field Manual 3-24, Counterinsurgency. Everyone should read a few pages. It was written for Soldiers and Marines, so even a PhD should be able to learn a few things. I do agree with Sione'’s solution, only that the military should not be involved. The local leadership must be engaged. The TDS would be put to better use doing corrosion control on their sorry looking landing craft and patrolling Tonga's waters for illegal fishing. The seizure of illegal boats and their catches could be an effective form of revenue along with protecting Tonga'’s valuable resources.

The King and his advisors should read the counter insurgency manual. No so much on how to suppress the democratic movement but on how to prevent an insurgency. The easiest way to stop an insurgency is to prevent it from happening in the first place. The King could do a lot to remove the issues from the table which would reduce the power of the democratic movement. Change, even in Tonga, is inevitable. By getting out in front of the issues and effective communicating with the people, he could do a lot to strengthen his position. Transparency is the key. Without it the people will think that his actions are only more lies. Telling the people that there will be more discussion on change is not going to help, tell them what is going to change and when. The recent arrest of two pro-democracy MPs will not harm the opposition but give them strength. The move by the government will be viewed by many as another act of suppression.

For those who don'’t believe a civil war is possible, you probably didn't believe there would be riots that would destroy the capital. There are hot headed passionate people on both sides that have extensive military training from service in armies overseas. A few people with a little bit of training could set off improvised explosive devices and snipers could shot the country'’s leadership. The Tongan military and police force is not big enough, trained or equipped to deal with an insurgency. If you think the present situation is bad, look around the world, it could get much worse. The King holds the true power to change the direction of Tonga.

Here is another thought that has been bothering me for some time. Why does the Chinese Embassy have such a large satellite communication antenna? It is as large as the one at TCC. The size of an antenna is direct proportional to the amount of data that it supports. Even at C-band they have quite a system. Where could all of that data be coming from? Why do they feel the need to have a $2 million satellite communication terminal? My paranoid mind keeps coming back to Signal Intelligence (SigInt). That means they are spying on someone. For all users of the telephone or email coming from or going to Tonga, here is something you should consider: Don...’t say or write anything you would not be willing to stand up in front of a room full of strangers a scream out loud. How about if China pack up their SATCOM terminal and lease their communications from TCC? They can use an INMARSAT terminal for emergency back-up. This would provide additional revenue to Tonga and would not violate its rights as a sovereign to control its radio frequency usage

In closing I would like to comment that I didn'’t have call people names, question their manhood, argue that mine was bigger than theirs or who is more Tongan. Part of effecting a positive change is to be respectful of others even though you may disagree. I thank my fellow writers and the Editor for our discussions in this open forum that is hopefully free of censorship.


Respectfully,

Joe Smith