RIOTS IN TONGA; AMCITS HUNKER DOWN

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 SUVA 000500

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/16/2016
TAGS: PGOV MARR KDEM ASEC CASC TN
SUBJECT: RIOTS IN TONGA; AMCITS HUNKER DOWN

REF: SUVA 480

Classified By: Amb. Dinger. Sec. 1.5 (B,D).

Summary
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1. (C) Rioters in downtown Nuku'alofa, Tonga, this afternoon
(Nov. 16) trashed properties of PM Sevele, King George Tupou
V, and some Indian and Chinese businesses. They may have
been responding to a reported decision of the Tonga
Parliament, that has been discussing political reforms, to
end its sitting without voting for a particular plan. We
hear no people have been hurt, though there has been
considerable property damage. The Embassy Suva Consul, by
happenstance, is in Tonga. She is fine and has confirmed all
Peace Corps Volunteers are OK, too. Overwhelmed police
sought assistance from the Tonga Defense Service (TDS),that
has entered the streets unarmed. Given Tongan sensibilities,
observers expect things to calm quickly. If that does not
happen, we will coordinate with CA immediately on revised
guidance for Amcits. We comment that today's events will
undoubtedly cause the various elements in Tonga to reevaluate
their judgments on the pace of reform. End summary.

Dueling megaphones in Nuku'alofa
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2. (U) Per reftel, Tonga's Parliament is in the midst of
discussion about political reforms. A National Committee on
Political Reform (NCPR) proposed changes in September to
begin a transformation from monarchy to democracy. Prime
Minister Sevele offered his own suggested reforms, that would
move at a somewhat slower pace. A group of democracy
activists offered yet another formulation for faster-paced
changes. In the midst of such discussion, pro-democracy
protesters have gathered daily at the Pangai Si park in
Nuku'alofa, across from Parliament House, for the past
several days. Today, Nov. 16, the crowd was expected to be
larger, around 1000 people. Actually, according to police
sources, the crowd was around 3000. Until around 2:30 p.m.,
the crowd reportedly was noisy but peaceful. Some
pro-government demonstrators also were present. Tonga police
reportedly formed a line to keep the groups separate; but
during taunts via dueling megaphones, something triggered a
pro-democracy throng of around 500 to lose control.

Motive may be fear of slow reform
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3. (C) Reports of the motivation are sketchy. Some suggest
the trigger was the taunting. Others suggest the trigger was
a political development. We hear that Tonga's Parliament, in
the end, did not meet today. The pro-democracy elements had
expected Parliament to be in session and had hoped for a vote
on reforms. A rumor reportedly spread that, in fact,
Parliament had decided to adjourn its sitting without taking
any action on reforms except to refer the issues to a
recently formed committee. That may have been seen as simply
"not good enough."

500 rioters target property of PM and King
--------------

4. (U) The unruly group rapidly proceeded through downtown
streets to overturn a number of government vehicles, trash
the Prime Minister's office, trash the major grocery store
(owned by the PM and managed by his daughter),torch the
offices of Shoreline (one of the King's major commercial
enterprises),and target foreign-owned businesses, especially
Chinese and Indian businesses, including the Pacific Royale
Hotel (owned by the Ramanlal brothers, close business
associates of the King). According to reports received by
COB, nobody was injured; but many people were scared. The
police were not immediately able to subdue the situation, so
they asked for the Tonga Defense Service (TDS) to assist.
The TDS has entered the streets, unarmed. Sources presume
the situation will calm, though as of COB instability
continued. Police are already working to identify the
perpetrators.

Embassy Consul on the scene; PCVs safe
--------------

5. (C) Embassy Consul Debra Towry, by serendipity, has been
in Tonga this week on routine consular business, working out
of the Peace Corps office in Nuku'alofa. We have confirmed
she is fine, and she confirmed that Peace Corps has
instructed all PCVs to hunker down. She will also seek to
ensure that the very modest number of Amcits in Nuku'alofa
are staying off the streets for now. We informed the
Operations Center. We have also attempted to call PM Sevele
and Foreign Minister Tu'a to express our concerns about the
riots. We could reach neither, though the DCM did reach

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Foreign Secretary Tone, who seemed only loosely aware of
events.

Comment
--------------

6. (C) A riot like this is unprecedented for Tonga.
Political pressures have been high ever since a big
pro-democracy demonstration in September 2005 graphically
illustrated popular frustration. Around that time, a few
cars were burnt and one royal building was set afire in a
rural area, but all that happened surreptitiously at night.
Presumably, normal, quite conservative instincts will
reappear rapidly. If not, we will coordinate with CA
immediately on an update for Amcits. How today's events will
influence political developments will be fascinating to
observe. Some Tongan conservatives will surely see the riots
as an example of all that can go wrong when the system is
opened up. Some Tongan activists will surely call for more
openness, now and more quickly, to fulfill the people's
aspirations.


7. (C) The PM and King, both of whose assets were targeted
today, will need to gauge the public pulse and act wisely.
PM Sevele has expressed worries that the conservative
elements might resist strongly if reforms come too quickly.
He has downplayed the possibility of instability if reforms
move too slowly. We hope the PM, in consultation with the
King, will opt for openness at the fastest sensible pace.
DINGER