Editor,

THERE has been a lot of controversy about the sale of 'Atalanga by Tupou V.

According to a "Biography of Queen Salote" written by the daughter of Rev. Wood, 'Atalanga is a private and a summer home of Queen Salote. This property was purchased by the government as a property and/or a gift for Queen Salote. Queen Salote used this property as a home when the summer is too hot in Tonga.

This has been a well-established and known fact to most Tongans in Tonga and New Zealand for decades.

Because Queen Salote loved her people so much, she offered her home, 'Atalanga, to house the students that the government of Tonga sent to New Zealand on scholarships.

Queen Salote loved to educate her people. She wanted good and intelligent citizens to help poor kingdom progress. she knew that education was and still the best bet for her people.

There also has been a lot of controversy about the maintenance of 'Atalanga. Sione Fonua and Joe Fotu are alleging that 'Atalanga is a property of the Tongan Government because its maintenance had been paid by the Tongan tax payers' money. This allegation could be right, but I would think
that the Government of Tonga has to pay something for its students in New Zealand. Education in New Zealand is very expensive. I think that the Government of Tonga got a great deal from its Queen, and hundreds of Tongans were able to study in New Zealand because Queen Salote offered her home for them. Therefore, paying for the maintenance of 'Atalanga by the Government of Tonga was, in my opinion, really the latter's legal and/or moral obligation to Queen Salote.

Given the facts in the media, I honestly believe that 'Atalanga is a personal property of Queen Salote and her heirs.I hope that Sione Fonua and Joe Fotu will go on to better and useful things and leave the royal family alone.
Stop exploiting people for political goals and objectives. Falsehood has no place in our world.

Yours sincerely,

Siosaia Fatani.

sstuakoi [at] yahoo [dot] com ( sstuakoi [at] yahoo [dot] com)