Tonga official defends extension of state of emergency

The government of Tonga has extended the state of emergency for a third time because of a report which states there is still a threat to public safety and the rule of law, a government official said Monday.

The Tonga government extended last Wednesday the Emergency Powers for another 30 days, effective from Feb. 16.

According to Matangi Tonga, a local news service, the Prime Minister's adviser, Lopeti Senituli, said the Privy Council took the decision after a report from the Tonga Defense Service and the Police which stated that "circumstances weren't that different from those which warranted the state of emergency in the first place."

The state of emergency was issued on Nov. 16 last year when rioting crowds trashed property in central Nuku'alofa, capital of Tonga.

Senituli said since the riots there were two recent incidents, one involving a firearm and the other bush knives.

He said those were only part of the reason for the extension.

"Police investigations into the violence and the deaths on Nov. 16 are still continuing and the court cases are starting to be heard, and therefore, there is still the need for securing the central business district where most of the court houses are located," said Senituli.

Senituli was unwilling to comment on whether the government believed there were still troublesome elements or violence could flare again.

A group of more than 170 islands spread over an area of the South Pacific roughly the size of Japan, Tonga is the last Polynesian monarchy. Political reform has been a grave issue and caused conflict between the monarch and reformers.

Source: Xinhua