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In an address to mark the World Press Freedom Day, May 3 the Minister of Justice Hon Samiu Vaipulu assured local journalists that Clause 7 of the Constitution, which guaranteed Freedom of Speech and Media Freedom, would not be touched while government is drafting legislation to implement political reform and to hold a general election on November 25.

To achieve a better quality of education for Pacific Island countries was the aim of a meeting of the Advisory Board of the Institute of Education of the University of the South Pacific that was held at the Loumaile Lodge, Nuku'alofa, from April 28-29.

Two seasoned Tongan soldiers who had served in international peacekeeping missions in Iraq and the Solomon Islands pleaded guilty to housebreaking and common assault in the Nuku'alofa Supreme Court on April 27.

Mr Lopeti Senituli must know that the present system of which he speaks (The King appoints the judges . . . 03 May 2010) makes King George Tupou V an "Absolute Monarch" instead of Tonga being a "Constitutional Monarchy." Inquiring minds are asking: With the King appointing judges, doesn't it subject the Judiciary to the will of the King and Cabinet? With due respect, Mr. Senituli knows very well that the days of the status quo are numbered - six months. This is why the "democratic transformation" is taking place: to follow the mandate of the Constitution. - Sione Akemeihakau Mokofisi.

Decades of deregulation, greed and free-market speculation have plunged the world into deep economic recession, with appalling impacts on working people and their families across the planet. 34 million jobs have been lost, and the end is not in sight. With a further 64 million people pushed into extreme poverty, the quest to end global poverty is yet further out of reach.

The right to know is central for upholding other basic rights, for furthering transparency, justice and development. Hand-in-hand with the complementary notion of freedom of expression, it underpins democracy.

With only months to go to the election, the people's representatives as a power bloc are divided and incoherent. It lacks the cohesion that is required of a serious contender for the whip hand the new system has on offer. It is unlikely that they will be able to address these divisions in time for November and it is reasonable to expect the next PM and Cabinet to be mandated primarily by the nobles' united influence. - Sefita Hao'uli.

I have had difficulty having that independent role accepted to the point where the Government has removed most if not all of my responsibilities. These have been allocated to either the Cabinet or the Minister of Justice. This is not the independence the Government said it wanted to achieve when it created the new Attorney General's position. The Minister of Justice is not the Attorney- General. - Office of Attorney General

Our culture and traditions has strong ties to the "Land" and our history is defined by this. We can not simply say - let's mix things up in order to come up with equal number of constituents. The votes of the nobles on this bill was a good indication, even themselves know that we can't simply mix up people of Vava'u and Ha'apai like that or worse yet, mix up with Tongatapu. - Thomas M. (Soni) Uata.