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Tongan soldiers in question after Taliban attack

By
Kalino Latu
-

UPDATED 10:00pm,  22 Sept: The Tongan contingents deployed to Camp Bastion, one of the largest NATO bases in Afghanistan, are in hot water following a deadly attack by the Taliban that saw two US marines died and a destruction of  eight Harrier jump jets worth US$200 million.

“Several watchtowers at Bastion were manned at the time, but the Tongan soldiers in those posts could not observe the area around the empty tower”, officials told Washington Post

“There was dead space,” one official said.

The Washington Post’s national editor Rajiv Chandrasekaran “confirmed that watchtowers were indeed left to Tongans”. He added that Tongan soldiers are “notorious at the base for sleeping on the job”.

Fifteen Taliban attackers managed to break through Camp Bastion’s perimeter in September 14, 2012 and quickly made their way to the US Marine Harrier flight line.

They disguised themselves as US soldiers and in quick succession, they fired rocket-propelled grenades at eight Harrier jump jets under canvas hangers, destroying six and damaging two.

After a six-hour firefight, the incursion was put down,  ABC7 I-Team investigation  report says.

Chandrasekaran says “Security patrols of the perimeter, which were conducted by the Marines … had been scaled back substantially in the months leading up to the attack”.

“Simply blaming the Tongans, however, is not accountability. U.S. staff decisions made it easier for the Taliban to reconnoitre the compound and then enter without resistance,” according to Chadrasekaran’s sources with direct knowledge of the incident.

ABC7 I-Team asked the military “Why were Tongan soldiers being used for perimeter security?”

The military responded,   “it would be premature to comment on any findings, recommendations, or possible actions related” to the  investigation of the attack.

Tonga Defense Service Brigadier ‘Uta’atu told Taimi Online the Tongan soldiers  “not only participate in force protection and security around the Camp, but part of them provide quick reaction force if something happens inside the camp.”

He described what the Tongan troops are doing at the camp as “highly sensitive and very dangerous.”

A Taliban statement said the attack was made in retaliation for an American–made film insulting the Prophet Mohammed.

Bastion camp was where Prince Harry served and Taliban said that was one of the reasons for their attack.

Tongan government has committed 275 of its soldiers over two years with an initial 55 soldiers in 2010 to Afghanistan.

A further three rotations of 55 marines sent to  form part of the guard at the main British base, Camp Bastion, in Helmand Province where the attack by Taliban took place.

NOTE: An earlier version of this article said the Taliban entered the Bastion Camp on September 24, 2012. That was not correct. It was on September 14, 2012.

Featured image:  Sgt Corrine Buxton/ UK MOD

China gives Tonga million dollar grants despite legal action

By
Kalino Latu
-

A court case to be reviewed by the Supreme Court in Tonga next week could not deter the Chinese government from giving the Pacific kingdom  million of grant money.

Tonga’s Opposition Party Leader ‘Akilisi Pohiva has taken Her Royal Highness Princess Pilolevu,  Prime Minister Lord Tuʻivakano,  Minister of Justice Hon Clive Edward and Tongasat Company to the Supreme Court in an appeal regarding a US$49.9 million grant previously donated to Tonga by the Chinese government.

The Tongan government transferred the US$49.9 million grant to Her Royal Highness Princess Pilolevu and her Tongasat company in 2008 and 2010.

Pohiva claimed the transference was illegal. The Chinese Ambassador in Tonga was made aware of the issue.

However in September 12 a TOP$30 million grant agreement was signed  between the government of Tonga and the government of China.

Prime Minister’s Office says “The aid shall be used for the project (s) to be agreed upon between the two governments.

“This grant was the outcome of bilateral talks during the visit of the Prime Minister, Lord Tu’ivakano to China in July.

“Furthermore, the agreement will continue to develop friendly relations and economic cooperation between the two countries.

“The disbursement of the fund from the grant aid will be concluded subsequently between the Ministry of Finance and National Planning of the Government of the Kingdom of Tonga and the China development Bank.

This agreement was signed in Nuku’alofa  between the Tongan Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Lord Tu’ivakano and the Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to Tonga, His Excellency Mr. Wang Donghua”

Tongan Magistrate's decision over China’s million grant to be reviewed by Supreme Court

By
Kalino Latu
-

A magistrate ruling that handed down in favour of Princess Pilolevu and her co-accused after a court of inquiry made its decision in May would be reviewed next week Friday 27 in the Nuku’alofa Supreme Court.

At the request of the appellant, MP ‘Akilisi Pohiva, the Supreme Judge will revisit a decision made by Magistrate Salesi Mafi acquitting Princess Pilolevu, Tongasat Company, Minister of Justice Hon Clive Edward and the PM Lord Tu’ivakano after they were charged with crimes of larceny and receiving stolen property.

Pohiva claimed the accused involved in an illegal transference to Tongasat of US$18 million which was part of a grant from the Chinese Government to Tonga.

The magistrate discovered that ‘Akilisi could not substantiate his claims, and therefore declared that there was no prima facie case against the defendants.

A Tongan government statement revealed the grant was US$49.9 million and the bulk of it was paid in two lots to Princess Pilolevu and her Tongasat Company.

The Former Prime Minister of Tonga, Lord Sevele claimed  there were negotiations made for the part of the money to be given to Tongasat.

Chinese Ambassador to Tonga,  Xiao Fei Sun told ABC news the grant was for “the development of the local society and economy, for the benefit the people.”

Pohiva said he is confident the Supreme Court would consider his appeal. He said one of the evidences he resubmitted to the Supreme Court was the copy of the grant’s agreement between the two governments.

There is nothing in the agreement  to say the money was meant to be shared between the Tonga government and the Princess’s Tongasat, Pohiva said.

Hon Clive Edwards who was acting for Princess Pilolevu and his company in the magistrate court wrote to Pohiva and told him he should not appeal the magistrate’s decision, Pohiva said.

Kaniva News understands a Australian lawyer will represent the princess and his company in the Court of Appeal.

China builds St George Palace in Nuku'alofa

By
Kalino Latu
-

The construction of a Tonga Government Office Building complex named St George Palace that was predicted since 2010 had its signing ceremony on September 12 in the Prime Minister’s office in Nuku’alofa.

The construction is set to start in July 2014 and this new building Complex will be situated at Pangai Si’i.

The contract for the construction was signed by representatives from the China Northeast Architectural Design and Research Institute Co., Ltd and the authority from the Government of Tonga.

Statement from Prime Minister’s office in Nuku’alofa says, “This project was first initiated in 2010, a vision of His Late Majesty King George Tupou V. In April 2012, the two Governments have confirmed available funding to undertake this project and launched a mission to work on the designs for the new Government Office Building Complex.

“Last week, the team from the China Northeast Architectural Design and Research Institute Co. Ltd, made a second visit to Tonga to consult on the conceptual designs with relevant Ministries prior to the Design Agreement Contract being signed at the end of their mission”.

“The new Government Office Building Complex will accommodate the proposed tenants – the Prime Minister’s Office, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade including the Immigration Division and the Ministry of Finance and National Planning.

Following the signing of this contract, the Chines contractor will proceed with the preliminary design for the project”.

 

Aus$140,000 worth of fundraising cheques written out to Tokaikolo Church bounced

By
Kalino Latu
-

A Tongan pastor at the centre of a Aus$21 million financial scandal that brought his church in Sydney  to its knees has been accused of passing bad cheques.

The Reverend Sione Pinomi of the Free Wesleyan Church of Tonga has been accused of issuing three cheques worth Aus$140,000 as donations to fundraising dinners for the Tokaikolo Church in Sydney.

The Rev Pinomi is alleged to have written a Aus$60,000 cheque after a group of dancers performed at a church fundraising dinner last month.

He is also alleged to have written a cheque for Aus$30,000 to bolster a donation made by another pastor on the same night

The cheques raised the amount of money raised on the night to Aus$170,000, news that was spread on Facebook

A source from the Tokaikolo Church told the Kakalu ‘o Tonga newspaper that the cheques had bounced.

The newspaper also reported claims that a cheque for Aus$50,000 written by Rev Pinomi at a similar function last year had also bounced

Kaniva Pacific was unable to get comments from the Tokaikolo Church or Rev Pinomi.

Rev Pinomi told Kakalu ‘o Tonga he was not authorised to release any information regarding the Tokaikolo or Pulela’a.

The leader of the Tokaikolo church in Sydney, Rev ‘Otuhiva Mapapalangi had this week  in a Tongan news website  warned  the public about Rev Pinomi’s action.

Rev Mapapalangi said he was really disappointed with Rev Pinomi.

The Tongan Free Wesleyan Church in Australia, or  Pulela’a, built a Aus$10 million church in Sydney, but the venture collapsed, leaving the church owing Westpac and a local loan company Aus$21 million.

According to the Sydney Morning Herald, the Tongan community in Australia raised Aus$3 million to help build the church, but the money ran out before it was opened.

The church had a loan from Westpac, but when the money ran out it borrowed money from a private finance company that charged 72 percent annual interest.

Members of the church’s executive committee signed on as a personal guarantors for the loan.

Many church members have lost their homes and suffered financially because of the crisis.

At one stage Rev Pinomi said he hoped a trust fund registered in the Cayman Islands, would donate Aus$10 million.

On one occasion the members celebrated after Rev Pinomi told members their debts had been paid off by the Trust.

However, in January 2012, the church went into voluntary administration and later into receivership.

The financial crisis led to the loss of church property in Melbourne known as ‘Evangelio and one in Brisbane known as Tukulolo, which were sold by liquidators.

The Sydney church has now been sold to an Indian religious organisation, the Sant Nirankari Mission.

The loss of the church has forced members of the Tongan Wesleyan community to look for new church communities.

Talo Fifita: Mineva Reef hero dies

By
Kalino Latu
-

A Tongan shipwreck survivor, Talo Fifita died after 51 years when a ship he was one of the crew members hit Minerva Reef on July 7, 1962.

Fifita was 25 years old at the time and his father Tevita Fifita was the captain of the ship,  known as the Tuaikaepau or Slow-But-Sure.

All ten passengers and seven crew members on board survived the shipwreck but only twelve returned to Tonga following their rescue 102 days later.

In an interview with the Kaniva Tonga Online in 2011 Fifita emotionally recalled how four of them died in the reef as a result of homesick and deep anxiety.

A pack of match they unexpectedly found in a Japanese ship dumped in the reef enabled them to start a fire that gave them warmth and distilling water before they were rescued on October 18, 1962.

They survived on a diet of octopuses, fishes, seabirds and shellfish.

The rescue attributed to the bravery of Talo’s father, Captain Fifita after he managed to sail with two others to Fiji  in search of help on a home-made raft they built in the reef.

Two others who went with Captain Fifita were his son Sateki Fifita and a crew member Tevita Uaisele.

Sateki died just before the raft reached Nacomoto Village on the shores of the Kadavu Island, in a trip the trio had no food and water for 8 days

Captain Fifita and Uaisele went ashore on a Sunday and were reported to the Fijian authorities the following day.

The government of Tonga marked the rescue with a celebration that saw thousands gathered in the Capital Nuku’alofa on October 22, 1962 to welcome the survivors.

Primary school children  lined up when the survivors arrived by aircraft from Fiji. The survivors went straight to the palace and met Queen Salote Tupou III before they were taken to hospital.

Fifita is survived by his wife Latu Lesieli Fifita and their 12 children. He died on August 27 and was buried on August 31 in the Kalevalio’s Cemetery in the village of Ma’ofanga, Tongatapu.

He was born on April 8, 1937.

The One Hundred Fathom Square launch

By
Kalino Latu
-

Associate Professor Malakai  Koloamatangi, Director Pasifika at Massey University  proudly invites all Tongan communities,  interested individuals and organizations to the launch of the  One Hundred Fathoms Square authored by Bruce Alexander and Larry Wordsworth.

Bruce and Larry were surveyors in Tonga in the mid-1950s having been invited by the Tongan Government of the time to formally survey landholding entitlements resulting in the legalisation of the allotment of the 8.25 acre to every Tongan male over the age of 16 years.

The book is the result of their experiences in Tonga, presented in both texts and coloured photographs.  It will be of interest to Tongans, researchers and general readers.

The Book is to be launched by Her Royal Highness Princess Mele siu’ilikutapu tomorrow Thursday 12th September 2013, 6:00pm at the Staff Lounge, Study Centre, Massey University,Albany Campus.

Found guilty: Editor of Kele’a Newspaper apologizes for contempt of court

By
Kalino Latu
-

The Nuku’alofa Supreme Court in August 30 ruled that the Kele’a Newspaper, its editor Mateni Tapueluelu and the publisher Laucala Pohiva Tapueluelu have disrespected the magistrate court.

The Tapueluelus did not appear in court and Justice Michael Scott adjourned their sentencing until this Thursday September 12.

The court ruling stemmed from an editorial published by the newspaper in June 24 titled: “ʻE li e tuʻutuʻuní ʻi he tasipini veve hisitoliá”, literally translated into English as – “The court order would be thrashed in the history’s rubbish bin”.

It referred to a court case in  June this year where Magistrate Paula Tatafu ruled that the Kele’a Newspaper together with the Tapueluelus and a writer to the editor of the paper Solomone Palu have defamed the Prime Minister and six other cabinet ministers.

The magistrate ordered the defendants to pay damages of TOP$124,000 to the plaintiffs within 150 days effective from June 13.

However in June 24 Tapueluelu in the said editorial claimed the legal proceeding was a “fakamanavahē kalae” or a scare tactic referring to how they were at one stage  repeatedly served with a number of different notice of proceedings including the notice of proceeding for the legal proceeeding with the Prime Minister and the six cabinet ministers.

He further referred to the many court cases where the Kele’a Newspaper was found guilty by the magistrate court but later on overturned by the Supreme Court.

The editor also wrote:

“Ki muʻa pea fakahoko ʻa e hopó ni naʻa ku ui ha fakataha mo ʻeku kau ngāue ʻo fakahā kiate kinautolu ko kimautolú te mau moʻua ʻi he hopo ko ʻení. Naʻa ku tala kiate kinautolu ko ha hopo ʻi he vahaʻa ʻo e Keleʻa mo e kau takí ʻi he fakamaauʻanga polisí kuopau pe ke moʻua e Keleʻa ia”

Translated into English as:

“Before this legal proceeding took place I called a meeting with my staff and informed them that “we must be found guilty”. I told them  any legal proceedings between Keleʻa and the government leaders that brought before the magistrate court “Keleʻa must be found guilty”.”

This week on page 5 of the newspaper the editor regrettably says, “Kuo ma ‘oatu heni ha kole fakamolemole kiate kimoutolu kotoa ‘oku ha atu homou hingoa ‘i ‘olunga ‘i he to nounou mo e ma’uhala kuo ma fakahoko ‘o malava ke faka’uhinga’i ai ‘oku ne holoki ki lalo mo uesia ai e falala ‘a e kakai ‘i he fakamaau’anga polisi mo e ‘eiki sea ni kae pehe ki he fakamaau’anga kotoa”.

Translated into English as:

“We hereby apologize to all of you whose names have been mentioned above for the shortfall and misrepresentation we made that (they) could have been interpreted as they degraded and influenced the public’s view of the magistrate court, the magistrate  and the judicial system as a whole.”

In June 2010 Tapueluelu published an article accusing the former Prime Minister Lord Feleti Sevele for his direct involvement in the purchasing of the MV Ashika that sank in Tonga in 2009 killing 74 passengers.

Lord Sevele sued the newspaper along with the editor and publisher demanding them to pay compensation as the article was  a clear breach of Tonga’s Royal Commission of Inquiry’s  Laws.

Editor Tapueluelu eventually retracted his claim, paid Sevele’s legal costs and published an apology in the Kele’a.

The Kele’a Newspaper was founded by ‘Akilisi Pohiva, the leader of Tonga’s Opposition Party in 1986.

George Tau'atevalu is in police custody

By
Kalino Latu
-

UPDATED 10:00PM 9 SEPT – The man who bashed a police officer in South Auckland last Saturday night at about 11:20 pm has handed himself in according to police.

Walter George Tauatevalu, 36, from Otara, was on the run after an attack in which a  42 year-old Sergeant was kicked and beaten unconscious.

Detective Inspector Jim Gallagher said the injured officer was in Middlemore Hospital with serious facial injuries, including fractured eye sockets, fractured cheek bones and significant damage to the throat after being subjected to an unprovoked attack in Sandrine Ave. He has been transferred to Auckland City Hospital for special treatment.

“From the information I have, our officer is very lucky to be alive and will likely need several months of medical attention after being attacked from behind, knocked to the ground and repeatedly kicked in the head while down.

“The officer had followed a car from outside a function at the velodrome and it stopped in Sandrine Ave which is where the driver was spoken to. The victim then went to speak with the passenger and it was then that he was attacked by the driver who had got out of the vehicle.

“ Thankfully, two women who had followed the officer’s patrol car from the function stopped and intervened during the attack and could well have saved his life.

“Our officers are trained to Police in a civilised society yet we are increasingly encountering nothing short of barbaric behaviour which is a significant concern to us all. These attacks should not be accepted by the wider community as ‘occupational hazards’.”

Cricket: Tonga suspended by ICC

By
Kalino Latu
-

UPDATED 12:00PM SEPT 7 – The International Cricket Council (ICC) has suspended the Tonga Cricket Association (TCA) because it did not make any efforts to obey  the  ICC rules and regulations despite being warned.

The suspension was made effective following a resolution passed by the international body during its annual conference in London in June 25 – 29 this year.

Kieran Mcmillan, the ICC East Asia Pacific Regional Development Manager told Kaniva News today Tonga has been voted out as an Affiliate Member of the ICC.

“This is due to them not meeting the membership criteria, in particular not having an appropriate administration.  In line with ICC regulations, the TCA has 12 months to rectify this situation or they risk having their membership of the ICC being removed,” Micmillan said.

ICC sent letters to TCA early this year reminding them of their responsibility to adhere to the ICC requirements but TCA did not respond.

The president of TCA, Hon Sangster Saulala responded to our email and said he will be available for an interview next week regarding this matter as he is now in China for a meeting.

During the suspension period TCA is given up to June 2014 a chance to fulfil ICC requirements so that its membership could be reviewed.

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