Saturday 18 November 2006

Tangled up in Tonga

Idiot/Savant has it right on Tonga:
....Tonga has apparently asked New Zealand for military assistance to restore order. I am deeply uneasy about this. It's one thing to stop people from killing one another, but this smacks of propping up a corrupt feudal regime. And if that regime fails to deliver on its promises of democratic reform, and another riot happens, will we see New Zealand soldiers gunning down Tongans to keep a kleptocrat in power?
Good question. Tonga, Timor, Solomons ... Fiji? And given that the democratic reformers themselves appear to be in favour of the rioting -- Akilisi Pohiva, for example, says "the violence that erupted in Tonga on Thursday was a natural consequence of many years of fighting for democracy"! -- rioting that has reportedly almost wiped out most of Nukualofa's businesses -- it seems to me like a situation to keep out of, doesn't it?

UPDATE: Robert W states it plainly in the comments:
Is there a credible alternative to the King? That is, is there an effective, organised opposition who is dedicated to peacefully transforming Tonga from monarchy to (for argument's sake) a constitutional Republic?

Because if the choice is just the Kleptocrat vs The Mob, we don't want to get in the middle of it unless we are prepared to annex Tonga -- and I'm not.

8 comments:

Oswald Bastable said...

So.. has the rioting involved angry peasants storming the palaces of the monarchy?

Or has it just been confined to sacking bottle shops and electronics stores...

Anonymous said...

...it just been confined only to sacking bottle shops and electronics stores...

Anonymous said...

Is there a credible alternative to the King? That is, is there an effective, organised opposition who is dedicated to peacefully transforming Tonga from monarchy to (for argument's sake) a constitutional Republic?

Because if the choice is just the Kleptocrat vs The Mob, we don't want to get in the middle of it unless we are prepared to (and I'm not) annex Tonga.

Our armed forces are being diluted away to nothing. What happens (in this benign security environment) if a military emergency arises in our country?

Anonymous said...

The NZ army is protecting infrastructure that NZ taxpayers paid for. Burn down hospitals, schools the airport whatever guess who has to pay for the replacement.

The rioters would have been initially targeting the Royal family’s businesses but decided to move on.

KG said...

will the lefties be criticising Helen for post-colonial adventurism? Or is this merely humanitarian aid, given the "incredibly benign" strategic environment we live in?
As for all those brutal military types--couldn't she have sent a delegation of Greens to um..negotiate or something?

Anonymous said...

Simon, I went to Tonga a few years ago and I noticed that many things were built with the help of Japan. NZ is not the only country who pays for things to be built in Tonga.

The question of course is why should NZ taxpayers pay for anything in such a corrupt country ...

phil_style said...

I haven't got a problem with our troops securing an airport so our nationals can get out.

As far as I am aware there aren't NZ troops roaming the streets, enforcign law with Tonagan Police at their side . . . however I am happy to be proved wrong.

-jnnbb

Kane Bunce said...

The biggest problem with this Tonga incident is that the alternative to the monarchy is no better. The people attacked businesses such as ANZ and supermarkets! They aren't the cause of the problem! By doing that they proved they are just as bad. To attack a government that denies your rights is one thing, but to attack innocent business is quite another! I am enraged by the mobs of Tonga. They have no grounds to complain about their rights being violated when they violate the rights of others.

Simon, they attacked innocent businesses not the one the government owns. The government doesn't own ANZ. ANZ National Bank Limited do.