Home Blog Page 443

Tongan victim’s family in Australia said they forgive his killers

By
Kaniva Staff
-

Mourning parents of a Tongan teen in Australia who was attacked by a group of youths said that despite their grief, they forgive their son’s killers.

The 15-year old was allegedly attacked outside the Brimbank Shopping Centre at Deer Park, in Melbourne’s west, about 4pm on Tuesday, Daily Mail reported.

The teenager died at the scene, and Victoria Police arrested six male youths nearby over the attack, the report said.

Police have now charged six boys aged between 13 and 16 with affray and violent disorder in relation to the teen’s death. They are due to face court in Melbourne on Wednesday.

Friends of Solomone continue to leave flowers at the crime scene. Many have broken down in tears

‘We don’t want any justice,’ Solomone’s mum Salome Taufeulungaki said tearfully.

‘We want our son back home … we don’t need any justice’

The mother’s call came amid fears the stabbing death could trigger a gang war on the streets, with the victim’s friends vowing to retaliate.

‘No revenge,’ Mrs Taufeulungaki said. ‘We do (forgive them). It’s a blessing. Dying is a blessing for our family.’

Solomone’s father Atunaisa Taufeulungaki said perhaps his deceased father in heaven needed his son too.

‘Everyone dies. We all die in a different situation. But our father in heaven needs us to come back,’ he said.

‘We feel sad (about) the situation … but that’s his plan.’

Solomone’s parents said their son had died just across the road from where they congregated at church.

Arrests made in connection with Māngere East school disorder incident

By
Kaniva Staff
-

Police have made four arrests in connection with a disorder incident in Gray Ave, Māngere East on Friday last week.

The stabbing of a student outside De La Salle College in Māngere on Friday afternoon involved students from another school, police said.

A 16-year-old boy was taken to hospital with stab wounds after a group of about 30 male youths attacked school students outside the gates of the college on Gray Ave at 4.20pm.

Four teenage boys, aged between 14 and 16, have now been arrested and charged.

All four have also been charged with wounding with intent to injure and are due to appear in the Manukau Youth Court this afternoon.

For privacy reasons Police will not be commenting on the school that these teenagers are from.

The person injured in last Friday’s disorder has since been released from hospital and is recovering from their injuries.

“I would like to thank the community members that came forward and provided information to assist our investigation,” Inspector Matt Srhoj, Area Commander for Counties Manukau West Police said.

This assistance clearly demonstrates that the wider community has, like Police, zero tolerance for this sort of violent behaviour.

The public will have noticed an increase in Police presence around the Māngere East and Ōtāhuhu areas over the past week.

Our presence has been for reassurance and for prevention of any further disorder.

This will remain in place for the time being.

I would like to acknowledge members of our Criminal Investigation Branch who have worked tirelessly since Friday to investigate this incident.

Today’s arrests send a message that Police take these matters seriously and we will hold any persons responsible to account.

Given matters are now before the Court, Police will not be able to comment further.

New Zealand pays Covid-19 tests cost for stranded Tongans who want to return on repatriation flights

By
Kalino Latu
-

The New Zealand government has “promised” to pay the Covid-19 medical examination expenses Tongans stranded in the country have to financially bear before leaving for the kingdom in three weeks time.

The Prime Minister of Tonga Pōhiva Tu’i’onetoa has made the revelation in Parliament and said Tongans in New Zealand found it difficult to pay the more than NZ$300 for a person’s Covid-19 test if they wanted to return to the kingdom.

He said he has asked Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern during a phone call to consider the medical costs.

Responding, PM Ardern told him she will look at it before contacting her High Commissioner in Tonga about the payments, Tu’i’onetoa said.

Meanwhile, about 1,000 Tongans stranded overseas who want to fly home have registered online for repatriation.

Only Tongan passport holders, valid residency visa holders, valid working visa holders, and international travellers as approved by the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will be boarded on the flights and granted entry into Tonga.

All travellers are required to have undertaken a COVID-19 test and a Medical Report done within three days before arriving in Tonga

Yesterday a mock repatriation drill held in Tongatapu as part of the government’s  endeavour to ensure its staff are well prepared to handle the arrival of its repatriated citizens.

The drill exercise which involved teams from health, law enforcement sectors  and hotel staff was described as successful.

CEO for Health Dr. Siale ‘Akau’ola was reported as saying the objectives of the drill were to “ensure that all the logistics and coordination processes are properly in place, and that all officials involved fully understand their respective roles and responsibilities and to also identify gaps in the process.”

Finance Minister sidesteps question over Tongatapu 5 “lion’s share” of nobles’ constituency fund

By
Kalino Latu
-

The Minister of Finance did not give a direct reply to a question from a Democrat MP about whether the Nobles’ access to the constituency fund would give Tongatapu 5 an extra financial benefit.

Tongatapu 5 Democratic MP Losaline Ma’asi said in the House that her constituency had two Noble MPs in Parliament.

These were Lord Tu’ivakanō and Lord Vaha’i.

“Does that mean, Tongatapu 5 will receive a bigger share?” she asked of the government bench.

Finance Minster Hon. Tevita Lavemaau asked the Chair of the Whole House Committee to give him 30 seconds to “enlighten” the situation.

He said this funding was under the control of the Speaker of Parliament.

He said the funding was discussed last year when it was pointed out that Tongatapu had only three MPs representing the Nobles.

Hon. Lavemaau said the People’s MPs and the Nobles’ MPs would work together in using the money.

He said the situation in his constituency, ‘Eua 11, was simple because it had only one MP from the Nobility.

The Constituency Funding

As Kaniva News reported last night, each of the nine members of the nobility in Parliament is expected to begin distributing TP$50,000 among their constituents in the next Parliamentary visit.

Hon. Lavemaau said the TP$1,260,000 package to support the community was an excellent move by the government.

Within the budget an additional TP$306,000 funding had been allocated for the 17 people’s MPs to pay their office staff. This gave each of the MPs another TP$18,000 each.

Another TP$850,000 to be equally distributed among the people’s MPs as an addition to their constituency funding brought each MPs share to a total of TP$250,000.

Conflicting messages

The Speaker of the House, Lord Fakafanua, said the funding allocated for the three nobles in Tongatapu was meant for all of its 10 constituencies (“vāhenga fakalukufua ‘a Tongatapu kātoa.”)

However, the Whole House Committee Chair Lord Tu’i’āfitu , who is from Vava’u 15, explained it otherwise.

He said his TP$50,000 fund was for the whole of Vava’u, which has three constituencies, while Tongatapu Noble MPs funding was meant for the Noble’s constituencies only (“Ko moutolu homou constituency ‘oku ngata pe homou fakangatangata.”)

Noble MPs’ estate first

Lord Tu’iha’angana said in the first year of receiving the money he would use it to help his estate Ha’ano.

Ha’ano is in Ha’apai 13 constituency which included the islands of Nomuka, Mango, Fonoifua, Haʻafeva, Kotu, Tungua, Tofua, Fotuhaʻa, Matuku, ʻOʻua, Fakakai, Pukotala, Muitoa, Moʻungaʻone, Fotua, Fangaleʻounga, Lotofoa, Faleloa, Haʻateihosiʻi, and Haʻafakahenga.

Noble MPs’ not accountable to constituents

During the last administration of the late ‘Akilisi Pohiva last year it was suggested in Parliament  that if the noble MPs were given the money they would not be bound by an obligation to their constituents  because they were not elected by the people.

Opposition

There was not much opposition from the PTOA MPs while the constituency support package was deliberated in the House.

Democrat frontliner Mateni Tapueluelu, who fiercely attacked the noble MPs move last year to get a share of the constituency funding, has given a very muted response about the declaration by the government that all constituencies budget would be increased by another $50,000 each.

The government’s failure to give a logical explanation as to why the funding appears to have been unfairly distributed recalled the comment made by late Prime Minister ‘Akilisi Pohiva that if the Nobles’ request was approved it would cause problem.

As Kaniva News reported last night, the Late Hon. Pōhiva rejected the Noble MPs’ request to allow them to access the funding.

He said not every constituency in Tonga had a noble MP to make sure they would have a share of this taxpayers’ money.

Hon. Pohiva said the distribution of the money among the 17 people’s MPs was fair as every constituency in Tonga would have the same opportunity to benefit from the funding through their MPs.

He said if the nine Nobles in Parliament were given an allowance, this would set them apart from other Nobles who were not in the House and would not get the same benefit for their estates.

Kaniva News says:

The conflicting and ambiguous responses from government and its backbenchers regarding the funding make it difficult to determine what is going on and could cause some people to think  that only the noble MPs’ estates would benefit from the money and not the constituencies in which they live.

The government must be absolutely transparent about how the money is spent and under what guidelines the Nobles will  be held accountable for their spending.

Gov’t finally approves Noble MPs’ plea for constituency funds under TP$1.2 million “new initiative”

By
Kalino Latu
-

Each of the nine members of the nobility in Parliament is expected to begin distributing TP$50,000 among their constituents in the next parliamentary visit.

The Minister of Finance Tevita Lavemaau has revealed the $1,260,000 package to support the community saying it was an excellent move by the government.

Speaker Lord Fakafanua has described the funding as a “new initiative” and said this was part of a budget allocation the government had submitted to Parliament for approval.

Within the budget an additional TP$306,000 funding has been allocated for the 17 people’s MPs to pay their office staff. This gave each of the MPs another TP$18,000 each, the Speaker said.

Another TP$850,000 to be equally distributed among the people’s MPs as an addition to their constituency funding brings each MPs share to a total of TP$250,000.

READ MORE:

An increase of TP$15,000 to the town wardens’ (polisi fakakolo) budget will put their shares from the package at an annual TP$40,000 for each village and town warden.

Opposition 

The revelation in the House comes after heated debates erupted in Parliament last year after the nobility pleaded with the late ‘Akilisi Pōhiva’s government to allow them a budget of TP$900,000 from the constituency fund.

The Late Hon. Pōhiva did not believe the Noble MPs should be allowed to access the funding. He said in the House if the nobles were given the money it could cause problems.

He said not every constituency in Tonga had a noble MP to make sure they would have a share of this taxpayers money.

Hon. Pohiva said the distribution of the money among the 17 people’s MPs was fair as every constituency in Tonga would have the same opportunity to benefit from the funding through their MPs.

He said if the nine Nobles in Parliament were given an allowance, this would set them apart from other Nobles who were not in the House and would not get the same benefit for their estates.

The pleas

Three of MPs who were instrumental in moving for the former government to approve the budget were Lord Nuku, who is now the Minister of Police, MP Samiu Vaipulu who is now the Minister of Trade and Economic Development and Lord Tu’ilakepa who is now the Minister of MAFF.

Education Minister says Council must be allowed to resolve dispute at USP, backs Samoa’s call in support of Vice Chancellor

By
Philip Cass
-

Tonga’s Education Minister says a special online council meeting may be called to resolve the ongoing dispute at USP.

Hon. Siaosi Sovaleni said he hoped “common sense” would prevail.

In a letter to Pro-Vice Chancellor Winston Thompson posted on the Facebook page of veteran Pacific affairs reporter Michael Field, who has been covering the saga, Hon. Sovaleni criticises Thompson for his “antagonistic attitude towards the Vice Chancellor, Professor Pal Ahluwalia.

“The quarreling  between the Pro Vice Chancellor and Vice Chancellor must end immediately as the [University] Council demands professional behaviour and responsible leadership and management at all times,” Hon. Sovaleni wrote.

The Minister said the Vice Chancellor was responsible to the University Council.

“The Council is therefore duty bound to ensure that it provides and fosters an environment that is conducive to strong leadership and management and high morale for all persons in the employment of the University, including the VCP.”

The Minister said Tonga strongly supported the position of the Samoan Minister of Education to cease the investigation against the VC.

He told Thompson the current situation was “an untimely and ill-conceived attempt to force [the Council] to make impulsive decisions.”

He said the Council was hampered  by being unable to convene a Council meeting because of the ravel restrictions imposed  by the Covid-19 epidemic.

As Kaniva News reported this week, Tonga is one of the Pacific Island nations which has come out in support of Professor Ahluwalia, who commissioned a report which uncovered highly questionable payment and management practices at the regional university, which is based in Suva.

The report, by accountants BDO, found multiple breaches of policy had led to questionable payments worth millions of dollars.

Field said documents also existed relating to an ongoing scandal over allegations that some staff had demanded sex in return for good grades.

Pro-Vice Chancellor Thompson, backed by Fijian interests, has had Professor Ahluwalia suspended and appointed Professor Derreck Armstrong as Acting Vice Chancellor.

Armstrong is one of the USP staff named in the report.

Australia has suspended aid to USP until the university is cleaned up.

The main points

  • Tonga’s Education Minister says a special council meeting may be called to resolve the ongoing dispute at USP.
  • Siaosi Sovaleni said he hoped “common sense” would prevail.

For more information

USP staff took millions of dollars in questionable payments;  policy breaches rife says secret accountants report

Secret report reveals widespread salary and allowance rorts at USP

Government U-turn over decision to bury Fiji-Vava‘u deceased  in Tongatapu

By
Kalino Latu
-

The Tu’i’onetoa government has reversed a controversial decision to bury a Vava’u deceased in Tongatapu after strong reactions from the public and a request from her family.

The deceased, Natania Camellia Sanft, died in Fiji but since Tonga declared a national lockdown starting in March her body was held in the neighbouring country weeks after her death.

Sanft’s body had been finally repatriated early this week by His Majesty’s Armed Forces to Nuku’alofa.

Her parents, who were with her in Fiji studying under a Tonga government scholarship prgramme, weren’t allowed to travel with her body because of the Covid-19 restrictions.

The Minister of Health announced the deceased would be taken and buried by relatives in Tongatapu and not in her hometown Tu’anekivale in Vava’u.

The Minister reportedly said the decision was made according to the law which says the only borders allowed for vessels and aircraft from overseas during the Covid-19 lockdown were Fua’amotu in Tongatapu and capital Nuku’alofa.

However, the government went back on its decision and said in a press conference yesterday the deceased’s body will be returned and buried in Vava’u next week.

It said the gathering restrictions for funeral services still stood and the bereaved families were not allowed to mour​n their dead.

Sanft’s funeral services would be all handled by government officials, it said.

The decisions met with mixed reactions from the public online.

Critics asked why the Voea Neiafu did not stop in Vava’u on its way back from Fiji to allow the deceased’s immediate family there to take her body home.

A number of critics said they felt for the deceased’s parents and that the government should have allowed them to bring their daughter home.

Some described the decisions as heart of stone.

However, a number of commenters said the Minister has made the right decision to protect the country as a whole from Covid-19.

Online register open for Tongans who want to fly home, but other restrictions remain in force

By
Kaniva Staff
-

An online register has been set up for Tongans stranded overseas who want to fly home.

Only Tongan passport holders, valid residency visa holders, valid working visa holders, and international travellers as approved by the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will be boarded on such flights and granted entry into Tonga.

All travellers are required to have undertaken a COVID-19 test and a Medical Report done within three days before arriving in Tonga.

While Tonga’s State of Emergency has been extended until July 8, aviation restrictions have been eased for a flight of returnees.

Tonga’s borders remain closed to passenger flights until September 12, but a group of 50 Tongans who have been stranded in New Zealand will be flown home next week, local reports said.

The government regards the flight as a test case.

The first passenger repatriation flight will leave from Auckland on June 16.

If the repatriation works, there will be another flight.

Travellers will have to pay for their CoViD-19 tests before leaving New Zealand.

Passengers on the return flight will be quarantined at the government’s expense at the Tanoa hotel.

Tonga remains free of the coronavirus.

The existing Flight Diversion Order ended today, but has been renewed until September 12. The order affects flights from Fiji, New Zealand and Samoa.

Samoa

Meanwhile, Samoa, which is also virus free, began repatriation flights from Auckland on May 29, with a further flight this week  and others scheduled for June 26 and July 9 and 23.

All passengers will need to take a Covid-19 test three days before travel and have to carry proof of a negative result. They are also required to hold a medical certificate advising fitness to fly and show no symptoms of illness.

On arrival in Samoa, all passengers will be required to enter a 14-day quarantine.

“Will England punish poor Tonga?” King Tupou II and the 1900 Treaty of Friendship

By
Philip Cass
-

This is the second of our articles marking Emancipation Day.

On May 7, 1900, King Tupou II wrote to the Special British Commissioner agent in Tonga, Basil Thomson.

“I desire,” the king wrote, “to know how treaties are made by the great Governments of the world, especially England.

“First. Are Treaties made when two Governments are of the same mind, or only when it is the mind of the stronger of the two?

Second. If a great and powerful State wishes to make a Treaty with a small and weak State, is it right that the small and weak State should be punished by the strong State because it does not wish to make the Treaty?

Third. Does a great and powerful State seek occasion to quarrel with a weak State for seeing that a portion of its powers will be taken away from it by a Treaty?

Fourth. Will England punish poor Tonga for wishing to keep the existing Treaty of Friendship she made with England?

I send my love.

Your affectionate friend,

Tupou II.”

Less than a fortnight later, Thomson, accompanied by a 50 strong guard, marched into  Mala’e Pangai, the main square of Nuku’alofa and proclaimed a protectorate.

Britain wanted the king to sign a new treaty handing over control of Tonga’s foreign relations and to put Europeans under the jurisdiction of a British court. It also wanted exclusive rights to establish coaling stations in the harbours of Vava’u and Tongatapu and the right to build a fort.

The Colonial Office was keen not to give any formal pledges that Britain would not annexed the kingdom.

Thomson was ordered to find out how the king was likely to react to a direct takeover and whether there would be active resistance.

Tupou II had ascended the throne when he was only 18 and found himself surrounded  by hostile chiefs, under constant pressure from palagi traders seeking privileges and trying to deal with the effects of drought and cyclones at the end of the 19th century.  The kingdom’s finances were unsettled and the government had borrowed £500 loan from the German firm Deutsche Handel’s und Plantagen-Gesellschaft.

Tupou II  had ruled for eight years when Thomson arrived. He made it clear that he believed Tonga should remain independent and rejected the draft treaty that Thomson presented.

Thomson warned Tupou II that Britain would regard any rejection of the treaty as hostile and take action. He told the king that if he signed the treaty Britain would recognise him as ruler in the event of civil disturbance. However, he made no promise to keep Tupou II on the throne.

Tupou II would not sign unless the restrictions on the conduct of  foreign relations were removed. Thomson blamed the King’s renewed resistance on Fr Father Oliert the acting head of the French Roman Catholic mission, who, he claimed, wanted to make Tonga  French protectorate.

Thomson reluctantly agreed to modify the treaty and remove the offending sections. The replacement section was meant to strengthen independence.

Tupou II appeared to have prevented a protectorate and kept control of his own foreign relations, but Thomson would not give up. Thwarted by the king, he decided to go ahead and proclaim a protectorate anyway.

On May 19 Thomson and an escort of 50 armed men marched to the palace, rebuked the king and made more threats. Accompanied by other British officials and his escort, he marched to the square and read out his proclamation in English and Tongan:

“Whereas His Majesty the King of Tonga has been pleased to sign an Agreement, dated the 2nd May, 1900, and a Treaty, dated the 18th May, 1900, wherein he agrees that his relations with foreign Powers shall be conducted under the sole advice of Her Britannic Majesty’s Government, and that her Majesty shall protect his dominions from external hostile attacks, it is hereby proclaimed that a Protectorate by Her Britannic Majesty has been established accordingly.”

Two years later, in his book Savage Island: an account of a sojourn in Niué and Tonga, Thomson declared: “For political, strategic and geographical reasons England could not afford to tolerate a foreign Power in possession of the best harbor in the Pacific islands within striking distance of Fiji . . . . the Germans had ceded all their treaty rights to us, we had either to take what was given to us, or leave the field open to others. In extending our protection, therefore, to the Tongans we were serving their interests even more than our own.”

Unsurprisingly, King Tupou II took a different view. He noted that at least Thomson had  not raised the British flag over Tonga, but wrote sadly: “Our  minds are stirred at the thought of our land being taken by one of the Great Powers . . . for our land could not be justly seized for having wronged any State, or for having broken any Treaty, but only for having wished to keep ourselves independent.”

For more information

Penelope Lavaka. The Limits of Advice. Britain and the Kingdom of Tonga 1900-1970. PhD thesis. Australian National University, 1981.

Amanda Lee (2019) Tau: A brief history of the Tongan military from the late nineteenth century to the present. MA thesis. University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, 2019.

Fakamatala faka-Tonga:

Ko e ‘ātikolo ‘eni hono ua ‘a e Kaniva’ he uike’ ni ‘i hono  fakamanatu e uike ‘o e ta’u’atāina ‘a Tonga mei Pilitānia’. ‘Oku taukave foki ha ni’ihi ‘i he fo’i hisitōlia faka-Tonga  pehē na’e ‘ikai pule’i ‘e Pilitānia ‘a Tonga ko e malu’i pē ko ā. Ko e fo’i fananga ia ne toutou malanga’i ‘e he kau pukepuke fonua’ ki he hako tupu’ tautefito hili e tau’atāina’ he 1970 ke ‘oua na’a nau ‘ilo ki he pango ko ia na’e hoko’ i he kuonga e pule ‘a e Tu’i II. Ko e hisitōlia ko ‘eni ne ‘osi  lekooti maau ia ‘e Pilitānia pea ‘oku tauhi ia ‘i he ngaahi ‘univēsiti lahi pea mo e ‘Emipasī ‘a Pilitānia ‘i Fisi’. Kuo ma’u ‘e he Kaniva ‘a e pepa ko ia’ pea ‘e hokohoko atu heni ‘a hono fakamatala’i’ ‘o e lekooti ko ia’. Ko e fo’i lea ko e protectorate ‘a ia ne ngāue’aki ki he talite ‘a Tonga mo Pilitānia ko ‘eni’, ko hono ‘uhinga faka-Pilitānia’ ko e pule’i mo malu’i pe controlled and protected. Pea ko e me’a totonu ia ne hoko’. ‘Oku lave leva ‘a e ‘ātikolo ko ‘eni ki he ‘aho ne  laka atu ai  ‘a e Komisiona Makehe ‘a Pilitānia ‘i Tonga  ‘i Mē 1900 tangata ‘eni Basil Thompson mo ha’ane kau ka’ate mo ha kau ‘ofisiale Pilitānia kuo nau ‘osi fakamahafu ki Palasi ‘o fekau ki he Tu’i II ka ‘ikai ke ne fakamo’oni ki he talite ke pule’i ‘e Pilitānia ‘a hono fakalele ‘o e pule’anga Tonga’ tautefito ki he Potungāue ki Muli mo e Fakamaau’anga’ pea ‘e pau ke fakamālohi’i ‘e Pilinitānia ‘a hono fakahoko e talite’ pea ko e me’a ia ne iku ki ia’. 

Supreme Court overturns appeal, orders former Customs Ministry CEO to be extradited to Fiji

By
Philip Cass
-

The Supreme Court has ordered that Kulu ‘Anisi Bloomfield, the former CEO of Tonga’s Ministry of Customs and Revenue, be extradited to Fiji to face trial.

Bloomfield, from Neiafu, resigned from his position to stand for  the Vava’u 15 constituency in the November 2017 election.

He was Head of Secretariat Oceania Customs Organisation based in Suva when the crimes of which he is accused were committed.

The Fijian government had asked that Bloomfield be returned to Fiji to be tried for the alleged offences which occurred between 2011 and 2014.

A warrant for his arrest was issued in the Magistrate Court of Fiji on March 27, 2018.

He was accused of using a credit card belonging to the Oceania Customs Organisation to make unauthorized purchases with intent to dishonestly obtain a sum of $161,506.66 from the OCO.

He was also charged with dishonestly obtaining computer equipment belonging to the Oceania Custom Organisation worth $17,757.77.

The application for extradiction was heard before the Magistrate’s Court on February 17, 2020. The Principal Magistrate ruled that Bloomfield be returned to Fiji for trial only on the theft charge.

He held that the charge of dishonesty could not be proceeded with because the alleged offence was committed at a time when the accused had diplomatic immunity because of his position with the Oceania Custom Organisation.

Bloomfield appealed against the ruling on the grounds that he also had diplomatic immunity at the time the alleged offence was committed.

At the same time the Tongan government appealed the decision on the grounds that the matter of diplomatic immunity was matter for the court in Fiji.

The government argued that all that the Magistrate only had to be satisfied that there was sufficient evidence to commit the accused for trial.

Judge Niu said the Magistrate’s decision regarding diplomatic immunity was wrong.

“I uphold the appeal of the Crown and I order that the accused is committed to be returned to Fiji to be tried on both the two offences of which he has been charged,” the Judge said.

1...442443444...958Page 443 of 958