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Foreign Minister Winston Peters said last night it was too soon to know if New Zealand would become involved in the latest Pacific crisis in Tonga, where pro-democracy rioters have burnt and destroyed buildings in the capital Nuku'alofa.
"Maybe they will wake up [today] with a giant hangover and realise their behaviour but frankly it can't go unchecked, It can't go unpunished," he told reporters in Hanoi, Vietnam, at the Apec minsterial meetings.
Mr Peters was due to meet Australian counterpart Alexander Downer on the matter last night.
Australian Prime Minister John Howard arrived in Hanoi last night and Prime Minister Helen Clark arrives this morning and they will undoubtedly hold their own talks on the Tongan situation.
Mr Peters said the Pacific neighbourhood had a right to be shocked by the violence which put it "not too far from the Solomon Islands".
Australia and New Zealand boosted their military presence there after riots in April. Both countries responded to requests from East Timor this year for further military help to secure peace.
Asked if New Zealand might send assistance to Tonga, Mr Peters said: "We have got to contemplate all options that are first of all appropriate and are at the request of the Tongan government.
"We are shocked by what's happened in Tonga. It is disastrous for their reputation. It is disastrous for their economy and people who purport to be on a political reform march who turn to acts of arson and criminality, arson and larceny simply debase their cause."
The riots occurred after Parliament rose without addressing democratic reforms recommended in a recent review.
"The Government of Tonga hasn't had a long enough time to deal with the results of that reform review," Mr Peters said.
He said the New Zealand Government had a great deal of confidence in Prime Minister Fred Sevele, the first commoner appointed to the post by late King Taufa'ahau Tupou IV, who died in September.
"All I would say to the Tongan people is give us a chance to shape a change in a way that would be in the character of Tonga's history and its character and its culture.
"Democracy has many shapes and many forms. We've always believed that political reform would be appropriate for Tonga but it has to be a Tongan solution, not one that is imposed by a democratic template from outside. It simply won't work."
