AUCKLAND (Pacific Media Centre/Pacific Media Watch): A bizarre rerun of the political intrigues of the 19th century South Seas aristocracy is being played out at a stately royal residence on the waterfront of the sleepy Tongan capital, Nuku’alofa.
Consular House was once the home of the British High Commissioner to Tonga and the lion and the unicorn still gaze majestically down from the wall in the foyer.
But now the timber tropical pile with its push out shutters houses the region’s latest and most celebrated political refugee – a Fijian chief who has sought sanctuary with his distant kinsmen, the monocle-wearing King George Tupou V. >>> Read on
Fijians waiting for leader to challenge regime, says fugitive colonel - PMC newsdesk
Monocles and intrigue – Ratu Mara’s modern South Seas tale - Graham Davis
Samoan PM blames ‘global warming’ for Fiji-Tonga storm - Tupuola Terry Tevita
Fiji media tiptoes censorship to report breaking Mara crisis - Alex Perrottet
Chef confirms runaway Ratu Mara presence at Kadavu resort - Stanley Simpson
The strangely fishy story of the fugitive colonel - David Robie
Mara’s defection to Tonga – what now for the Fiji regime? - Crosbie Walsh
* Read other reports at: Pacific Scoop or at Cafe Pacific
Graham Davis
