Kiwi turns against Tongan royals

Clive Edwards

One of the highest-placed insiders in Tonga's royal-controlled Government has turned on his former masters, claiming he was sacked because the royal family suspected he was plotting a coup.

The revelations from Clive Edwards, a former prominent Auckland lawyer, come as the kingdom prepares for general elections on March 17.

The poll is unable to produce a change of government, but is being keenly fought among commoners in the nation of 110,000.

Edwards, a candidate in the elections, was a staunch defender of 85-year-old King Taufa'ahau Tupou IV, but last August he and several other ministers were sacked in the wake of the collapse of the state-owned Royal Tongan Airlines (RTA).

As Police Minister he controlled the Tongan Special Branch, a type of secret police.

In an interview with Matangi Tonga magazine, Edwards revealed for the first time the troubled world of the Tongan royal family and their struggle to stay in power despite a growing democracy movement and declining economy.

Edwards said trouble came at a meeting of the Privy Council, headed by Crown Prince Tupoutoa, the King's eldest son and, at that meeting, Prince Regent in the absence of the King. "When we were ready to start, Tupoutoa turned around and said, 'There are certain ministers here that I have received reports who are attempting to carry out a coup'," Edwards told the magazine.

"I laughed. I could not restrain myself, because no such information had come before me from the Special Branch. That is what the Special Branch looks at.

"Tupoutoa looked at me, very upset, and said, 'Not funny', and I said, 'Sorry, sir'. He replied, 'And I am going to deal with them'."

Tonga has a 30-seat Legislative Assembly. The King, who has held power since 1965, appoints 12 of the members, who serve for life terms in the Cabinet without election, including his youngest son, Prime Minister Prince Ulukalala Lavaka Ata, 43.

The kingdom's 33 nobles decide who will sit in their nine seats in the assembly, while the commoners hold general elections for the other nine seats. A record 64 commoner candidates are standing this year.

Edwards, who has never won an election despite his Cabinet service, is seeking a commoner seat.

He said he believed the King no longer knew what was going on. This was illustrated by the collapse last year of RTA owing A$11.2 million ($12.3 million).

The Crown Prince started his own domestic airline after the collapse, using chartered World War II DC3s, while a commoner group used modern aircraft for domestic services. The Government then changed the rules to give Tupoutoa exclusive rights to run an airline.

Edwards revealed that the royal-appointed Cabinet opposed the one-airline policy.

"I felt that I had done nothing wrong and we were still playing the role of trying to protect the royal family, and here we were trying to protect them, particularly Tupoutoa, but we were accused of something that has not been proven," he said.

As other members of Cabinet were sacked, Edwards decided to resign, but by chance met the King, who told him he could not resign because he was needed.

He was then summoned to see the Prime Minister, the King's youngest son.

"He mumbled, and I could not hear very well what he was saying. He was speaking in Tongan, saying, 'I want you to resign - you are the leader of a rebel group against the Government'."

Edwards told the Prince he was not about to stage a coup, but warned him that it was members of the royal family who were challenging the power of the King.

- AAP