"Let the people decide" - An interview with Tongan activist E.Zekiel

21.6.08

Since the release of these people, many concerns have been raised about the widespread neglect of standard criminal procedures by security forces. A report released by the Community Para-Legal Task-force on Human Rights (CPLTHR) indicates that of those interviewed, 41% suffered unprovoked violence at the time of their arrest. 19% claimed they were handcuffed while inside their prison cells - length of time varies between 2 hours and 10 days - while all those interviewed complained of being forcibly incommunicado during their imprisonment. This by a government which is not only directly supported by the New Zealand Government via military training and monetary support but at a time when New Zealand troops were in the country assisting these very same troops to 'restore order'.

One of those caught up in this brutality was the well known Tongan political graffiti artist E.Zekiel. I had the chance to ask E.Zekiel a few questions about his experience in prison and about the pro-democracy movement in Tonga. As well as this I had the chance to chat to a number of activists in Tonga about the role they see activists in Aotearoa/New Zealand having in the inevitable democratisation of Tonga.

Ryan Bodman: What is your involvement with the pro-democracy movement in Tonga?

E.Zekiel: I'm involved as much as I am needed, firmly supporting our people's representatives [Of the over 30 members of parliament in Tonga only 9 are elected by the population - known as the people's representatives. 6 of these are staunchly pro-democracy and are in the forefront of the pro-democracy movement. A number of them were caught up in the same net of persecution which is described in this interview].

RB: Were you involved in the 16th November '06 actions 0r caught up in the police crack down which followed?

EZ: I was not involved in the looting though nothing tastes like looted alcohol. I was graffiti-ing a wall of a building that was on fire. A very strange experience. Two days later George the boy [the king] was traveling down staunchly [with police and military escort] and I yelled out 'liliu' [change] at the top of my lungs with a clenched fist in the air. A direct confrontation with the little man [The police/military claimed E.Zekiel swore at the King thus returned shortly after this incident and apprehended him. This was despite numerous eye-witnesses telling them otherwise].

RB: What were conditions like in prison?

EZ: Conditions were really inhumane. The stench of urine was overwhelming. It was very stuffy… My cell was meant to hold 18 prisoners but they jammed in 64 of us. Ass whoopin' [hidings] was a daily occurrence . It escalated when we refused to cooperate or when we resisted. Overseas personnel turned a blind eye to these events.

RB:So abuse of those contained was a serious issue?

EZ: Most of the brutalities were unprovoked assaults both by the military and the police. Some injuries and bruises were caused during interrogation in the pigsty. The severely beaten were then taken to hospital. Like many, I was released after my injuries had healed [in E.Zekiel's case a severe cut to the head] which was after 9 days inside

RB: Despite the atrocious situation did anything positive come from your time inside?

EZ: Coming back from loo [toilet] visits our leading hands [often the people's representative highlighted earlier] would sneak into different cells to empower our commitment. We shared our ideas with those who lacked them and organising support for the movement never ceased in there.

RB: What were you charged with and what was the result of your case?

EZ: They created a lie and charged me with treason. One ticket that has a horrible nature [As elsewhere this is an extremely serious crime in Tonga]. However their prosecutor together with the Crown Law agreed to cancel my case for there was never any evidence formed against me. I survived their poisonous attack.

RB: Where is the pro-democracy movement at now in regards to aims and approaches of securing democracy for the people of Tonga?

EZ: We're gaining momentum as more and more people are becoming aware of our current situation. People are demanding change. We clearly believe that a change in the system will bring unity and other aspects that our present system fails to provide.

RB: I understand the new King's coronation is in early August - does the movement have anything planned in relation to this?

EZ: Not as far as I am aware of. Put it this way - we are boycotting the event. God knows if shit is going to go down but at the moment we have nothing planned [There are estimates that only 40% of the Tongan population will attend the coronation - compared to effectively 100% attendance at the last coronation in 1967].

While in Tonga I also had the opportunity to ask a number of people what role they felt people in Aotearoa could play in Tonga's struggle for democracy. A range of suggestions were made and they are highlighted below.

• "The people of New Zealand should pressure their government to start paying more attention to the people's representatives. At the moment when they [NZ diplomats] visit they meet the King's cronies, play golf and drink with them paying no notice of the 9 people in Tonga who were actually elected by the people. When they leave all the have is their [the Tongan elite's] view of Tonga and have not met the people or tried to understand our movement".
• "They just need to know about the situation here. They can't do much here 'cause they are not part 0f our society but understanding what is happening and not believing how it is shown on the news is the main thing".
• "They need to show their support to Tongan people and protest outside the King's residence in Auckland to show their support. They should also encourage your government to seriously address the matter to the UN and the commonwealth".
• "They should stop the New Zealand Government from financially supporting the regime here with military and monetary support".

As you can see from above many people see the need for support from Aotearoa for their struggle and there are many angles which this support can take. From a palangi's view (Pakeha, Foreigner) I feel that activists in Aotearoa could play a large role in this movement. For one our government is a massive supporter of the regime here and we could build support from within the population against the purse strings for the status-quo. As well, there are many Tongans in Aotearoa who are naturally very concerned about this issue and infact, many of those at the fore-front of the pro-democracy movement gained their experience in Australia and Aotearoa. On top of this we have freedoms to protest more then activists in Tonga which is made even more adventageous by the fact that the King spends so much time in his residence in Mt Eden, Auckland. And finally, like it or not we are Pacific islanders and solidarity across Pacific islanders against those who would exploit and repress is long overdue.

Riots broke out on 16 November 2006 after a pro-democracy demonstration in Nuku'alofa which destroyed large parts of the central city. Aotearoa Indymedia activists smush and slm traveled to Tonga a week afterwards and reported on the situation: [ 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 ] They also made a video.

see also:

Tongan Brother Taken Down by System

US military to move into South Pacific

License

This work is in the public domain.

Labels: Te Moana Nui a Kiwa, Tonga