KEY POINTS:
Of the hundreds of photos taken the night Tonga burned last week, the one I'll remember is of a group of young men smiling while Ton Fon, the telecommunications company owned by the King, blazed behind them. The men, clutching what appeared to be looted goods, seemed pleased
with themselves.
I imagine the smiles will have gone by now, in the wake of police arrests and King Tupou V's determination to "track down and prosecute the perpetrators and those who incited and agitated this mindless criminal destruction".
Some of it was certainly mindless and criminal. Much of it was alcohol-fuelled, courtesy of the pillaged Molisi, the store owned by the Prime Minister, Dr Feleti Sevele, that was trashed by the mob.
Some of it appears to have been planned, with vanloads of youths bused in from outlying areas, and the businesses owned by the royal family and their business partners picked out for destruction.
Some of it may have been motivated by commercial jealousy, like destruction of the shops of Chinese immigrants, the object of resentment and suspicion because they bought their citizenship with money that disappeared into the royal coffers.
They own more than 70 per cent of Tongan businesses and a few have been implicated in illegal business dealings. At least 200 now want to leave the country, armed with their Tongan passports.
It seems clear that what began as a show of force to put pressure on a reluctant Government took on a life of its own. But it would be a mistake to dismiss the real source of the discontent which sparked the riots.
The pro-democracy movement is blaming the Government, the Government blames them back. Here in New Zealand, the Tongan Advisory Council issued an angry press release condemning the rioters, and then quickly issued a more conciliatory one, saying the council wasn't unanimous in its anger and calling for unity and "brave leadership" instead.
Was this the "culmination of years of anger at arrogance, corruption and monopoly" (Tongan Advisory Council). Or a criminal act by unscrupulous individuals with their own agendas?
The Government and King (G5 or H.M. to his less reverent subjects) seem to be taking the latter line. H.M.'s post-riot statement sounded a little vengeful and made no mention of democratic reform.
And the political concessions made to pro-democracy leader Akilisi Pohiva by Dr Sevele, as thousands rampaged through Nuku'alofa, looked doubtful - though after several days of refusing to be drawn on the subject, a spokesman was at pains yesterday to reassure Tongans the Government wouldn't go back on its word.
Given the reaction by many Tongans to the presence of the Australian-New Zealand force, which rushed to Tonga at Sevele's invitation to quell an already spent uprising, it's just as well. Sevele and his Government haven't done well at reading the mood of many of their fellow countrymen.
Two months ago, a pro-democracy businessman, Dr Tevita Tui Uata, warned in the Herald that Tongan patience was running out and there would be "an explosive reaction" if the demands of Tongans for a fully democratic country weren't met soon. (Uata's father is one of six pro-democracy MPs.)
There were signs of that simmering discontent during the public service strike last year.
It didn't go unnoticed that, after a house belonging to the king was burned down, the Government seemed more ready to negotiate a settlement.
How had the Tongan Government missed the warning signs this time?
All last week, a crowd had been gathering at the Pangai Si'i square across the road from Parliament, called by pro-democracy leaders who were worried that Parliament would rise for the year without adopting the recommendations of a report by the National Committee for Political Reform.
The committee had spent six months talking to Tongans around the world about how they wanted their country to be governed. The fact that its work had the royal imprimatur and the blessing of Parliament and Cabinet lent it credence. The report's author, Dr Sitiveni Halapua, said that while most Tongans still wanted to hold on to the monarchy and the nobility they were united in their desire for democratic reform.
His committee proposed a legislature of 26, with 17 of those elected by the people and 9 elected by the country's 33 nobles.
Importantly, the Cabinet and Prime Minister would be drawn from the 26, in contrast to the present system, where the king appoints the entire Cabinet, from outside Parliament if he chooses.
So it didn't help that the Government seemed to be dragging its feet on what was meant to be the definitive "roadmap to democracy" - before coming up with its own less democratic roadmap, which allowed the king to continue to appoint ministers from outside Parliament.
This week, the mood darkened as it seemed clear that Parliament would finish the year without adopting the reforms. When OBN, a private television company which broadcasts Parliament's proceedings, was threatened with eviction by its royal landlords, pro-democracy MPs led the march in protest.
That march took place on Thursday morning, while thousands (10,000 eventually) gathered at Pangai Si'i, waiting for Parliament to sit. When that was cancelled, the mood started to turn ugly.
It was a bitter end to a week that had begun with good news for Tonga - the nation with the highest human development measure in the Pacific, according to the United Nations, its 98.9 per cent literacy rate helping it to a ranking of 55 out of 177 nations, ahead of more developed countries.
Now, if they can just get the democracy right...
