Political reforms suffer blow on death of Prince

Samisoni Pareti

The people’s prince... Prince Tu’ipelehake.

Ancient rituals rarely observed in Polynesia were revived at last month’s entombment of the royal couple—Prince Tu’ipelehake and Princess Kaimana—15 days after they and their driver were killed in a horrific car crash in the West Coast of the United States.

Mourners painted Nuku’alofa black at their memorial service inside the capital’s Free Wesleyan Centenary Church before their caskets were carried to the ancient tomb atop a kingly catafalque by Nima Tapu, a group of men wearing black with traditional mourning mats wrapped around their waists.

The men held the “traditional responsibility” matangitonga.com reports “to make sure the Prince and the Princess will have a comfortable journey to Pulotu, the abode of the dead.”

Many see the symbolism in the decision of Prince Regent Tupouto’a to lift the ancient taboo placed on Langi Na Moala at Lapaha, the sacred burial ground of Tonga’s original dynasty, to allow for the internment of the royal couple. Even at his death, Tu’ipelehake, dubbed by many as the people’s prince for his deep support for democratic reforms in the kingdom ruled by his uncle, was still setting a royal precedent.

To be fair, he was not the first in the royal family to have acknowledged the need for reforms, and neither had he ever made the claim that he was.

That ‘honour’ lies with Tu’ipelehake’s senior first cousin, Crown Prince Tupouto’a, who had from time to time expressed publicly his disapproval of some of the policies of his father’s government.

Tupouto’a has been credited for example for the removal of his younger brother Prince ‘Ulukalala Lavaka Ata as prime minister in 2005 and the appointment of successful businessman and pro-democracy supporter Dr Feleti Sevele as replacement. But the popularity of Tupouto’a is dampened somewhat by his many business deals, unlike Tu’ipelehake who until his death had only his family estate including a beach bungalow on Nuku’alofa to his name.

It was Tu’ipelehake, not his senior cousin who wrote to Australia’s Foreign minister Alexander Downer in 2003 to seek his government’s support for political change in Tonga. That triggered claims that his letter bordered on treason. To show his support for the cause of reforms, the prince agreed to become patron of the kingdom’s Human Rights and Democracy Movement (HRDM) and took the unprecedented move to lead a protest march of striking civil servants on Nuku’alofa’s main street last year.

When the Tongan government wanted to impose media restrictions through draconian legislation, Tu’ipelehake sided with the uproar that this caused around the island. He not only voted against the bill in parliament where he was then chair of the powerful House Committee, but he also added his name to the successful legal challenge against the media law proposals.

An HRDM senior member believes it was his deep belief in temokalati (democracy) that got him ostracised by fellow noble representatives in parliament which led to his failure to win re-election in the kingdom’s 2005 general election. He only got in during a by election two or three months later.

“I am not aware that as a member of the royal family I am to be deprived of my constitutional and human right to express my beliefs,” Tu’ipelehake told me in an interview  in Nuku’alofa in February 2004.

“When I was sworn in as a member of the Legislative Assembly, there was a part in the oath whereby I am sworn to righteously and perfectly conform to and keep the Constitution of Tonga.

Setting a royal precedent...the Nima Tapu carrying the Prince and Princess’ caskets to the ancient tomb. Photo: Ken Brown

“It is doing what you know to be right. So please do not make the mistake of saying that I caused a split in the royal family as each member thus far still has the right to express their own opinion and be respected for it.”

In that interview, Tu’ipelehake admitted he had thought long and hard before deciding to side with the people of Tonga in pushing for democratic changes. And whilst he believed  the time for change was right, he felt it would be unrealistic to expect changes to be implemented straight away.

“I would like to see nobles being elected by the people, all of them, on a national election rather than a district one. In that way, immediately you should in theory get accountability from two thirds of the house or over half of the house. Eventually, I do admit we will have to elect all 100 percent of them. But to do that straight away, you got to be realistic.”

In October 2005, parliament gave Tu’ipelehake the opportunity to test his view with the formation of the National Committee for Political Reform (NCPR), a national consultation exercise he chaired, seeking the people’s views about political changes in Tonga. Apart from leading his committee in consultations around the kingdom, Tu’ipelehake wanted to include Tongans who live overseas, specifically New Zealand, Australia and the US mainland.

It was while they were in the Bay area of San Francisco to meet with the Tongan community there when they met their death and that of their driver, Vinisia Hefa.

Political observers in Tonga will tell you that the prince was not a political reformist all his life. They believe it was the influence of his wife, Princess Kaimana, of noble birth and highly educated in New Zealand and Australia, that got the prince to understand and to side with the people.

“Prince Tu’ipelehake has not always been a reformist,” a political commentator in Nuku’alofa told the magazine. Prior to his entry into politics in 2002, he was not a prominent public figure, nor was he closely identified with the people’s issues. Princess Kaimana no doubt had a positive effect on him in that she was more socially active and closely allied with people’s issues.

“She definitely was as politically active as he was, and she would also have been a prominent feature in Tongan politics in the future.”

With the royal couple gone, Tonga now wonders who will take up the mantle. As for the family title, the next Tu’ipelehake many believe will now go to his only other brother, Honourable Mailefihi who has led a colourful life when he decided some years ago to renounce his right to the throne (and his princely title) when he married a commoner. As for the NCPR, work had continued under the guidance of deputy chair and Hawaii-based political mediator and economist Dr Sitiveni Halapua. The committee has pledged to meet the work schedule the prince had set by submitting their report to the King by August 31st.

And will there be someone in the royal family to take up the cause for political reforms?

In that 2004 interview he gave this magazine, the Prince seemed to think that someone else in the family would have done what he was doing if he hadn’t. Tu’ipelehake’s sister, Princess Mele Siu’ilikutapu could be convinced to return to the kingdom to keep the ‘flame’ of political reforms in the royal family alight and burning.