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Results for Letters

Friday 10 June 2011
Nuku'alofa, Tonga
In the early morning hours of 16 June 2011, Tonga will experience another lunar eclipse. That is just the moment that the moon sets and the sun rises. The total eclipse, running from 8:22 to 10:22, therefore happens in the morning when it is daylight and nothing is to be seen. - Firitia Velt.
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Thursday 2 June 2011
Suva, Fiji
Bula Matangitonga, I drew this and just thought I'd share it with Matangitonga Online. This is just a view on Lt Col Mara, Tonga and Fiji. Vinaka Saki Vakaciwa saki [at] saki [dot] net [dot] au ( saki [at] saki [dot] net [dot] au)
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Sunday 29 May 2011
Sydney, Australia
I read in the Matangi Tonga that the former Fiji military strongman Ratu Tevita Mara "wants a democratic government back in Fiji". Although I would like to see a return to democratic rule in Fiji, I will not be joining any opposition of which Ratu Mara is a part. - Rajend Naidu.
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Thursday 26 May 2011
Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
Lt. Ratu Tevita Mara should file for a Tongan political asylum status. He is a victim of a repressive dictatorship under Dictator Bainimarama who usurped power in Fiji's 2006 coup de' tat from a democratically elected government. - Sione Mokofisi.
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Monday 23 May 2011
Suva, Fiji
Bainimarama made a televised statement claiming that Tonga had breached Fijian Sovereignty. Remember, breaching a country's sovereignty involves international law. Accusations must be proven, diplomatic channels must be exhausted and above all, the rights of a person must be respected whether chief or commoner . . . - Fredetheon Kava.
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Thursday 19 May 2011
Sydney, Australia
Given Ratu Mara is a close relation of the Tongan Royal Family, it doesn't strike me as odd that the Tongan Navy would assist by rescuing him, given he was living in a military dictatorship. If one of my family members was in strife, I too would do what I could in my powers to help them out. - Natasha Lemoto Hanisi.
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Wednesday 18 May 2011
Sydney, Australia
The extraction of Ratu Tevita Mara from within Fiji waters is a game-changer. If your navy is patting itself on the back at such audacity, then they should realise that breaching territorial waters is nothing, but what they have done will have implications well into the future between our two countries. - Mareko Vuli.
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Friday 13 May 2011
Australia
Virtually all public figures in Tonga, including politicians of any colour, failed dismally to assist or set forward a firm plan of how to achieve better standard of living for Tongans. It was mainly the late King who had a vision to that effect, starting from the Tonga Commodities Board in the late 1950s. The last was the Passport Scheme, a fund raising excercise for the purpose of investing the proceeds. - S. Ma'afu Tupou.
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Tuesday 19 April 2011
Nuku'alofa, Tonga
The hike in the price of fuel is blamed on a drop in the value of the Tongan pa'anga against the US dollar. Not true. - Firitia.
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Sunday 6 March 2011
Los Angeles, California, USA
I write this letter with humble and sincere concern for the future and the development of Tourism in our Kingdom. I am just floored that "private" business owner(s) saw the need to stand their ground leading to the loss of the opportunity for the hit TV Show "Survivor" to be filmed in Vava'u. I do hope that the Producers of Survivor will see that their decision to pull the show from Tonga was based on the myopic view of a few and not the majority of our people. - Paul Tu'ivai.
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Thursday 3 March 2011
Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
Mr. Public wants to see a published list of the directors' salaries, and on down to the meter-person. Have they been offered salary reductions, early retirements, etc., to reduce labor costs? A comparison of those salaries to the public sector's comparable wages should shed some light on how efficient and cost-conscious TPL's management is. - Sione Akemeihakau Mokofisi.
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Wednesday 22 December 2010
Nuku'alofa, Tonga
The Chairman of the Tonga Rugby League can be confident in the knowledge that what occurred to his wine was actually the law of Tonga being rightfully enforced, and not a planned conspiracy against the Tonga Rugby League, as he apparently believes. - Peter Nash, Deputy Commissioner of Revenue – Customs & Trade Division
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Wednesday 22 December 2010
North Carolina, USA
I fear for the future of my adopted country when, after four years of supposed progress, it seems like nothing has really changed. I pray my pessimism is unfounded, and indeed that these elections will usher in a new government and a better future for Tonga. However, from a distance, it seems like the power remains in familiar hands, and that these hands have and will continue to be self serving, without the accountability that elected officials must show. - Scott Yurcheshen.
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Thursday 9 December 2010
Nuku'alofa, Tonga
The CEO of TRL is a business man who is involved in bars and restaurants and must have known the rules around liquor importation yet chose to ignore them and suffered the consequences. Legitimate business owners have a right to complain loudly to Customs if someone is trying to circumvent the system. - Salote Tu'itupou.
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Wednesday 8 December 2010
Nuku'alofa, Tonga
As a Tongan living here, I would rather respect the law than someone who purports to be bringing in something in the guise that it is for Tonga Rugby League. Customs did a good thing by sending out a message that such illegal imports will not be tolerated. - Monalisa Palu.
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Tuesday 7 December 2010
Nuku'alofa, Tonga
Tom Fowler's suggestion for the wine that was seized by Tonga Customs to be sold at ten pa'anga a bottle. What happens to those legitimate importers who bring in identical wine which has a landed cost in Tonga of 15 pa'anga per bottle? Not very fair to honest traders, eh? - Tony Wilson.
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Monday 6 December 2010
San Mateo,California, USA
I read your article regarding Tonga's new "tough" laws against alcohol (over) consumption. What is the legal threshold (legal limit) under the new law that determine a motorist is legally drunk and unlawful to operate a vehicle. - 'Alipate Sanft.
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Sunday 5 December 2010
Papua New Guinea
Tonga's candidate to the Miss South Pacific Pagaent 2010, Mafi Tu'inukuafe was immaculate. She was a real gem for the event and surprised many of the audience with her character, charm, wit and beauty. If ever Tonga needed someone to boost its image at a time like this, she was a godsend and she made me even prouder to be a Tongan in Papua New Guinea. - John Paul Chapman.
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Wednesday 24 November 2010
Melbourne, Australia
My personal opinion is that in 1952 Prince Tupouto'a-Tungï (then Premier of Tonga) arranged for the purchase of the property by the Government of Tonga and that Queen Sālote agreed to the purchase because of her growing family – and the likelihood of grandchildren later being educated in Auckland, as she had been – and because of the promised hostels for Tongan students, in whose welfare she took a great interest. - Besi Wood-Ellem.
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Tuesday 23 November 2010
Auckland, New Zealand
We've done copra, bananas and other agricultural produce. We have plucked and plumbed the depths of our seas and reefs but none appears to be sustainable for long. Our labour exports are at its infancy with potential to address poverty, social issues and to provide economically through foreign exchange earnings. - Sefita Hao'uli.
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