Related links: Tonga

Websites:

Government of Tonga

Tonga Star

(Government-backed newspaper)

Taimi 'o Tonga (Tonga Times)

(NZ-based newspaper)

Documents:

Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières):

Tonga 2003 Annual Report

International Federation of Journalists:

IFJ Condemns the Banning of Times of Tonga

Committee to Protect Journalists:

CPJ concerned by ban on independent newspaper

Government of Tonga statements

Tonga bans Taimi 'o Tonga newspaper

Tongan Government criticises Taimi 'o Tonga

Full text: Brian Smythe's report on Tonga

Constitution of the Kingdom of Tonga

Location:

20 deg S, 175 deg W

(about one third of the way from New Zealand to Hawaii)

Tonga is an archipelago consisting of 3 main island groups: Vava'u, Ha'apai, and Tongatapu. The capital, Nuku'alofa, is on the island of Tongatapu.

Land area: 718 sq km

Population:

106,137 (July 2002 estimate)

Languages:

Tongan, English

Government:

Taufa'ahau Tupou IV has been king since December 1965. The king appoints, without election and for life terms, his cabinet and they take 12 of the 30 seats in the assembly.

The kingdom's 33 nobles control nine seats. Among the nobles are members of the royal family, including Crown Prince Tupoutoa who is heir to the throne.

The 100,000-strong commoner population elects nine representatives. There are no political parties, although there is a pro-democracy group of commoner MPs, the Tonga Human Rights and Democracy Movement, led by Akilisi Pohiva.

History:

The archipelago of "The Friendly Islands" was united into a Polynesian kingdom in 1845 and became a constitutional monarchy in 1875. In 1900 it became a British protectorate but independence was regained in 1970.

Restrictions on media freedom:

(Source: Society to Protect Journalists):

1998

In October, Tavake Fusimalohi, the general manager of government-owned Radio Tonga, was acquitted of charges of defamation brought by two senior government officials who alleged that an announcement broadcast by Radio Tonga in April had damaged their reputations. The station had accurately reported that the two men had been demoted and transferred to new jobs.

The views of 'Akilisi Pohiva, a pro-democracy politician and the publisher of The Kele'a newspaper, have frequently provoked the government. In March, he was found guilty and fined several hundred dollars on two counts of defaming the minister of police through comments he made in his newspaper in 1997. Also in March, Pohiva was acquitted of criminal defamation stemming from a 1994 Kele'a article in which he called the king "a dictator" and accused him of "financial legerdemain" over a scheme to sell Tongan passports to foreigners.

1997

The Tongan government has repeatedly tried to intimidate and restrict the Times of Tonga, whose editor in chief, Kalafi Moala, was denied re-entry to the country in January on the pretext that he holds dual citizenship. As a result, he is exiled in New Zealand. The paper’s business license was held up by Tongan authorities and appeared headed for revocation in February before authorities bowed to international pressure and renewed the permit. Tonga’s pro-democracy movement holds six of nine elected seats in the parliament and has proposed a more democratic constitution for the country, but change has been slow. Crown Prince Tupouto’a issued a warning to democracy campaigners in August, telling parliament that those MPs who want democracy would suffer reprisals.

1996

On September 20, Kalafi Moala, editor of the weekly Taimi 'o Tonga, and Filokalafi 'Akau'ola, deputy editor, were sentenced to 30 days in prison for contempt of Parliament. The two were convicted of libelling the legislative assembly under Article 70 of the Tongan constitution. The charge stemmed from their September 4 publication of the text of an impeachment motion against Justice Minister Tevita Tupor before it was tabled in Parliament. 'Akilisi Pohiva, the member of Parliament who had drafted the motion and provided a copy of it to Taimi 'o Tonga, was also found guilty of contempt of Parliament and sentenced to 30 days in prison. Moala, 'Akau'ola, and Pohiva were released from prison Oct. 14 after serving 24 days of their prison term. Nigel Hampton, chief justice of the Tongan Supreme Court, ruled that the legislative assembly had breached several constitutional provisions in convicting the three men of contempt of Parliament, and ordered their immediate release.

On July 16, Police Minister Clive Edwards, who is in charge of immigration matters, denied a written request from Agence France Presse correspondent Michael Field to enter Tonga. Edwards claimed that Field, a New Zealand-based correspondent, had referred to the king of Tonga as a baboon. Edwards failed to substantiate his claim but warned Field that if he entered Tonga he would be charged with defamation, a criminal offence. Field had applied for permission to attend the Pacific Islands News Association (PINA) convention from Aug. 6-9. Tonga normally permits journalists to enter freely without obtaining visas in advance. But after Field did a series of reports in 1993 on Tonga's pro-democracy movement and the sale of Tongan passports in Asia, then-police minister Noble 'Akau 'Ola informed him that he would have to apply in advance whenever he wished to visit Tonga.

On February 23, Filokalafi 'Akau'ola, deputy editor of the weekly Taimi 'o Tonga, which is published in Auckland, New Zealand, and distributed in Tonga, was arrested after the newspaper published letters to the editor on Feb. 21 that were deemed insulting to Tongan Minister of Police Clive Edwards. 'Akau'ola was charged with inciting violence against an officer of the government under Section 57 of the Tongan Criminal Code. 'Akau'ola was released on bail after two days in custody. On April 17, he was convicted and given an 18-month suspended prison sentence.