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Tonga |
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King
Taufa'ahau Tupou
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King
Taufa'ahau Tupou is trying to modernise
Tonga |
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The Kingdom of Tonga's attempts to
enter the 21st century have transformed
the South Pacific monarchy, with changes
that are sometimes unexpected, sometimes
inadequate and sometimes unwanted.
One modern trend can be seen in the
person of His Majesty Taufa'ahau Tupou
IV. When he ascended the throne in 1965,
he was officially named the world's
heaviest monarch (in a country of hefty
people). Over the years, however, this
designation has changed. The king, responding
to modern medical knowledge, is now,
at 87 years old, considered trim.
An archipelago of 169 islands, 36 of
them inhabited, Tonga - once known as
the Friendly Islands, reaches 800 kilometres,
north to south. The largest island is
Tongatapu, where the majority of the
population of slightly over 112,000
live and where the capital city of Nuku'alofa
is located.
A member of the Commonwealth of Nations
since 1970, Tonga is the only country
in the Pacific to have a monarchy, and
even more unusual, a monarchy that has
changed very little even with exposure
to colonial forces.
Along with Samoa and Fiji, Tonga is
considered the cradle of Polynesian
culture and civilisation. Over 900 years
ago, Tongans were well known across
the Pacific, not so much as conquerors
but as navigators and traders.
When Tonga was weakest, however, during
civil wars in the 15th and 17th centuries,
Europeans began arriving, first the
Dutch, then the English. They, especially
the Methodist missionaries, left their
stamp on Tongan culture. Missionaries
even helped King George I, who was descended
from the line of kings reigning from
at least the 10th century, to establish
a hereditary constitutional monarchy
in 1875.
To modernise the country, Taufa'ahau
Tupou IV has followed the precedents
set down by his mother, Her Majesty
Queen Salote Tupou III. He has monetised
the economy, internationalised the medical
and education systems, and provided
commoners with access to material wealth,
education and overseas travel.
This modernisation has turned into a
double-edged sword. Today, Tongans are
well educated; they enjoy fairly good
health thanks to a socialised medical
system; they are assured of land tenure
since their land is constitutionally
protected from non-Tongan ownership.
On the other hand, in what some journals
call a diaspora, more than half the
Tongan population lives abroad, having
emigrated to Australia, New Zealand
and the United States to seek employment
and a higher standard of living. The
country, as a result, has lost some
of its best-educated and most active
people and is heavily dependent on remittances
from outside the country.
The king, his family, some nobles and
an elite caste possess most of the country's
wealth, while the majority of people
live in relative poverty.
Some of the king's attempts to help
diversify the economy and to introduce
potential sources of income have been
successful but require more work. Other
efforts have not brought in revenue
but rather cost the country in financial
terms.
The government continues to look for
ways to support the country's natural
resources - its fishing and tourism,
for instance - but still more needs
to be done.
The Tongan people, nevertheless, hold
their king in supreme reverence and
consider those who criticise him to
be acting against Tongan culture. Even
the growing pro-democracy movement avoids
direct confrontation with the monarchy
but instead advocates better representation
in the parliament for commoners and
improved government accountability.
In response to the movement, a constitutional
commission is currently studying proposals
to modernise the constitution, which
was last revised in 1967.
Tonga's progress into the 21st century
has been slow, as the kingdom - and
its king - respond to the changing needs
of the people.
By Laurie Rosenthal
The Nation |
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