Editorial: Tongan royals in danger of world censure

Bending before the chilly wind of change is rarely countenanced by those accustomed to ruling in the warmest and most alluring of conditions. They are far more inclined to cling to power and privilege, no matter how antediluvian its nature. Tactics, strongarm or otherwise, will be used to cement their position and to try to suffocate the chorus for reform. Such is the case in Tonga. The Tongan Government has introduced a bill to Parliament changing the constitution to restrict press freedom and remove from judicial review laws and ordinances passed in the kingdom. As the royal family and its supporters dominate Parliament, only international condemnation can stop its passage into law.

There can be no question about the origin, intent and effect of the legislation. It is aimed specifically at the outspoken Taimi 'o Tonga (Times of Tonga) newspaper. The publication's sin has been to expose the inner workings, and the irregularities, of the country's power structure. It has gone where few Tongan media have dared. The public thirst for such information, and for opinion columns on Tongan affairs, has made it popular - and a considerable irritant. Thus, Taimi 'o Tonga was banned in February, a decision deemed unconstitutional by the Tongan Chief Justice, Gordon Ward. The King then imposed a new ordinance again banning the newspaper, a law the Chief Justice has again declared illegal. Quashing press freedom and stopping the Tongan courts' ability to question the King would, therefore, kill two birds with one stone. It would also equate to a reversion to despotic rule. A legal opinion by Auckland lawyer Rodney Harrison, QC, says as much. In sum, he says, the changes would "amount to an effective overturning of the current constitutional regime" and "effectively put an end to the rule of law".

Clearly, the planned legislation breaches the Commonwealth's Harare Declaration on Human Rights. Three years ago, Fiji was suspended from the Commonwealth when a putsch violated the same declaration. Although Tonga's case is somewhat less dramatic, and does not involve the violent overthrow of democracy, it is no less serious. The Commonwealth, and the New Zealand Government, cannot stand by as basic rights and freedoms disappear. Tonga must be left in no doubt that the proposed changes, if enacted, will lead to its suspension from the Commonwealth.

The other major plank of international action must be to support the Chief Justice. In upholding constitutional rights, Justice Ward has demonstrated a resolve worthy of the highest praise. It is a measure of his effectiveness, and of the obsequiousness of most of the Tongan media, that he has become the subject of an impeachment campaign orchestrated by the Tonga Star.

Some critics have suggested that New Zealand should also cut its $5.6 million of annual aid to Tonga. But it is too early for such action, particularly since ordinary Tongans would bear the impact. Rather, Wellington should be at pains to tell the Tongan Government of the error of its ways, and to point out the inevitable short-term consequences if the law changes are passed.

Tonga has flirted with international pariah status through shambolic immigration policies and dodgy tax haven activities. These practices had one underlying motive: the propping-up of the royal family's control of power. The flipside, when that authority was threatened by the stirrings of democracy, was always likely to be attempted strangulation.

This week, the Tongan Government removed the gloves - and all pretence. Its action bears the hallmarks of a dinosaur flailing at the agents of its inevitable demise. The royal family will survive only if it accommodates the democratic impulse. Should it proceed along its present path, it invites both odium and, ultimately perhaps, the demise of the dynasty.