Demand real freedom by rewriting Tonga's Constitution [1]
Thursday, May 19, 2005 - 15:49. Updated on Saturday, May 3, 2014 - 20:25.
A Methodical and Calculated Move Inspired by Greed
After reading the "Tongan Constitution", I cannot hold myself back from speculating on the state of affairs of our kingdom. A few things are now becoming clear from that reading.
Do you remember when the Crown Prince announced his retirement from Civil Service a couple of years ago? I did wonder what was so bad in the system that the Crown Prince himself was turning his back on his own government.
My suspicion arose after I read Clause 24 of the Constitution, which states:
“It shall not be lawful for anyone holding any office under the Government whether of emolument or otherwise to hold any appointment under or receive an emolument from another Government without first obtaining permission from the King. And it shall not be lawful for anyone holding an office of emolument under the Government to engage in trade or work for anyone else, except with the prior consent of Cabinet.”
This clause clearly forbade the Crown Prince from engaging in another business while he was a Cabinet Minister as well as the offices he held at the time.
The Crown Prince has now retired into a private enterprise. This reminds me of an old saying, "The Good Lord helps those who help themselves." After helping himself, by making sure the transition of the public power source would be in private hands (his own), he is now working behind the scene to ensure there is very little resistance from the Cabinet or the government regarding this transition.
This brings me to Clause 41 of the Constitution. It says,
“The King is the Sovereign of all the Chiefs and all the people. The person of the King is sacred.”
Clause 48 states,
“The lands of the King and the property of the King are his to dispose of as he pleases.”
Finally, Clause 104 says,
“All the land is the property of the King...
.”
To sum it all up, it comes to this one statement, "The king is the Sovereign, of all Chiefs and all the people in the kingdom, who owns all the land and all properties thereof, and he can dispose of them at his pleasure."
If we are truly independent, how can the king own our properties at will?
The People
Before all two of us, "The People", line up to protest about corruption and mismanagement at highest level of the kingdom, let us take a moment and regroup. Let's refocus our concerns on the Constitution that gave us our so-called "Freedom". Apparently, under the Constitution, the king, at will, decides what can happen to you and me, and any property in the kingdom, whether private or public. With that conclusion, it seems "THE KING" is the only one with the "Freedom" to do whatever he wishes.
Therefore, I strongly suggest to both People's Parties to go back to the villages. Tell them their idiot is in the U.S. writing this article. However, they must petition for change, or raise their voice in unison and demand real freedom by rewriting the Constitution to provide "EQUAL PROTECTION" as well as "SEPARATION OF POWER".
Clause 4 of the Constitution states,
“There shall be but one law in Tonga for chiefs and commoners for non-Tongans and Tongans. No laws shall be enacted for one class and not for another class but the law shall be the same for all the people of this land.”
This clause does not apply to the Royal Family. We all know they are neither Chiefs nor commoners. This clause should be written to include them. As long as they are the exception to the rule, in my court, sad to say, they are not guilty. As long as the King can, at will, change the Constitution, we "THE PEOPLE" do not have a fighting chance. We must push to put a process in place where the only time the Constitution can be changed is when 75% of the voting public approves. Otherwise, we will continue to protest something the Constitution is supporting the Royal Family to do. We may call it corruption; the Royal Family will continue to call it their "Constitutional Right".
TamaFoa