Reg.: Feb 2004
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Posts: 41

Nuku'alofa Up In Smoke:

Nuku'alofa Up In Smoke: Nuku’alofa is an inferno. Shoreline headquarters is gone, the Leiola Duty Free Store, Cowley’s, Pacifica Royale, and major Chinese outlets are up in smoke. All flights into and out of the Kingdom have been cancelled. Since late in the evening, the Prime Minister Hon Feleti Sevele’s message urging people for peace and order has gone practically unnoticed by the rioters. Only Tongan-owned stores in the Kingdom are open.

On the road, traffic looks like an 8am Monday morning, it is difficult to access any place. From town to Tofoa (as far as RIO went), the Chinese shops are completely looted. Even at 7pm all Chinese stores were shut tight. RIO visited town at 9pm and from town to Tofoa (where we ended) Chinese stores were smashed and empty, save for angry mobs carrying booty of everything from toilet paper to boxes of chicken.

From Tofoa, we can hear gun shots, and in daylight we could see the thick black smoke from town. As I write, the town is burning to the ground the feeling of insecurity is new to anyone who has grown up in Tonga. The question is then: is this the democracy that people wanted. If so, there is no sense in being a part of it.


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