Tonga's Pro-Democracy Movement

Abstract

SINCE 1986, several government ministers of the kingdom of Tonga in the southwest Pacific have been increasingly subjected to criticism and threats of legal action for alleged irregularities, particularly in regard to their disbursement of public finances. At first, the criticisms came from a minority of the nine people's representatives in parliament. Now, the moves for reform come from a majority of the people's representatives, all of whom are commoners. The cabinet is dominated by ministers personally appointed by the king, most of whom are titled nobles and holders of landed estates. The criticism of social superiors, though mild in comparison to the personal attacks that take place in parliamentary debates in other countries, has at times sent nothing short of shock waves through a nation that holds dear the notions of personal sacrifice, deference to rank, and loyalty to the crown. The situation in Tonga may be compared with semi-democracy in Malaysia, despite the ethnic divisions and greater political complexity of that state, where economic growth and urbanization enlarge middle-class populations, while heightened educational levels modernize their attitudes, leaving them less in awe of ascriptive statuses and patterns of deference.'I This paper will discuss the background to the current tensions in Tonga, which have led to the attacks by commoners upon the government and to the emergence of the prodemocracy movement. Tonga is the last remaining Polynesian kingdom in the Pacific. It has been a constitutional monarchy since its constitution was promulgated in 1875. A great deal more power remains in the hands of the Tongan monarch, however, than, for example, the British monarch. The neighbouring polities of Fiji and Western Samoa are modelled more on the Westminster two-party system and have to contend in parliament with a loyal opposition. The Tongan king regards this institution quite simply