NUKU'ALOFA (Pacific Media Watch): With news of the death of Tonga’s King George Tupou V, the island country was in mourning today, and preparing to farewell a monarch who enjoyed a relatively short reign.
The King died in Hong Kong yesterday afternoon, with his heir and younger brother, Crown Prince Tupouto'a Lavaka at his bedside. The Crown Prince is a former Prime Minister of the country.
The King had suffered from several illnesses and last year had a kidney removed. He had succeeded his father, Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV in 2006.
The Dominion Post quoted New Zealand Prime Minister John Key who paid tribute to the “architect” of the new democracy in Tonga.
The King stepped back from royal control over the government and executive power in 2010 when he relinquished his right to appoint 12 members of Parliament, from which the cabinet would customarily be formed. The people of Tonga were able to directly choose 17 members of Parliament under the new system, instead of the nine they previously had been allocated.
Former publisher and campaigner for democracy ‘Akilisi Pohiva, who came close to being chosen as Prime Minster from among the elected representatives told Radio New Zealand International the democratic steps under the King were “historic”.
“And although political reform is not yet complete, his willingness to start is a very significant event.”
Chairman of the Tongan Advisory Council Melino Maka told TVNZ he was the “mastermind” of the new democracy, but was also concerned that there will be another lavish funeral in his honour. The one for his father was costly and attended by New Zealand’s then Prime Minister Helen Clark, as well as the Sultan of Brunei.
Michael Field reported in Stuff.com that Pohiva said the death came as a “shock” and that the government was not ready for the expense of the funeral. While the nation’s concern when his father died was the long-delayed move to democracy, now it is the fact of the government’s dire economic situation.
TVNZ also report that his body will be flown back from Hong Kong to Auckland before finally returning to Tonga.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 New Zealand Licence.
Alex Perrottet
