Leaving Tonga's fate in the hands of God

Falesiu Vea

"I believe God will arrange everything," says Falesiu Vea of the troubled times his homeland of Tonga is experiencing.

Mr Vea is the assistant steward of the Tongan Methodist Church in Grey Lynn, which he says the King sometimes visits for the Sunday service when he is in Auckland.

Yesterday, the King was back in his kingdom - on a quick visit to celebrate his 88th birthday before returning to Auckland, where he is receiving medical treatment.

They are troubled times for the kingdom - the King is ill, his son has been replaced by a commoner as Prime Minister, the pro-democracy movement is bubbling along and the International Monetary Fund is warning of economic collapse, exacerbated by its recent settlement of pay increases from 60 to 80 per cent for its civil servants.

Not everybody is content to leave it to God.

Activist Alani Taione drove his car into the gates of the King's Auckland home early on Saturday and set it alight, hoping the fiery protest would provoke an uprising in Tonga - to echo that in East Timor - in a bid to move power from the monarch to an elected government.

This idea upsets Mr Vea. "It's only a small group of people doing those things. Most of the people, they really love our King. He's doing a good job for the Kingdom of Tonga. It seems [that] before everything was running smoothly, but when they try to change the constitution of the kingdom, that's when trouble starts."

Outside the United Church of Tonga in Grey Lynn, one woman believes things will run smoothly only if that change happens.

She reluctantly agrees to talk, but refuses to give her name.

"Many younger ones are more critical of the King, and the older ones are pro-King."

She herself is somewhere in the middle. She said there had been concessions to the democracy advocates, including the appointment of Dr Fred Sevele as Acting Prime Minister - only the second commoner ever to hold the post - and more appointments of commoners to positions of power. "If the Prime Minister was still the King's son, then I could see much, much more passionate protests, but I think we have moved already.

"The nobility are aware that the people are more than dissatisfied and that if they don't start making changes, the people might rise up and they might be dethroned. So they are moving towards it. It will change.

"With the King's illness it will happen. I cannot see a new King with those constitutional powers."

But violence in the streets of Tonga?

"I don't necessarily agree with the tactics of Mr Alani Taione and I don't think we will go that way. It's not the way of the people to retaliate with violence. My sister works there and she doesn't see any impending violence.

"Sure, people are dissatisfied but I don't think Tongans would be roused up to such a degree that they would resort to violence or burning, because the culture is more Christian-like, more peaceful. If we got so angry, the most we would do is march."

Mr Vea does not envisage the monarchy crumbling any time soon.

"I still believe it will be all right. His son will command the same respect. The King is doing a good job for the Kingdom of Tonga. When I was there last, there were some people from Japan who came and built some school buildings. That was arranged by the King."

But he believes it is up to Tonga to sort out the troubles.

"Even though some of my family are there, I am here and I think they will try to solve their own problems."

His views are echoed by an elder at another Tongan church in Grey Lynn, who would not be named.

"We still regard him as the King of Tonga and support him. But we are tied up with New Zealand. We live in New Zealand and respect the New Zealand Government. We have nothing to do with Tonga; they run the country.

"Our concern is for our families and our church here."