Satish Chand
Captain Cook called Tonga ‘The Friendly Islands’, a well-deserved acclaim unless if you were in Nuku’alofa on Thursday, the 16th of last month. 

This only kingdom in the Pacific has many credits to its name including being ranked top, at 55 out of a total of 177 countries on the Human Development Index (Samoa and Fiji at 75 and 90 come second and third, respectively); the most conservative and religious of Pacific people where Sundays are devoted to prayers and feasting; while, remittances from the Diaspora account for some 20 percent of the total production (GDP), the fifth highest on the planet. 

Why then the riots of Black Thursday?  Was this an aberration or does it herald the beginning of problems over the future?

Could it be linked in anyway to the April riots in Honiara, the June riots in Dili, and the continuing impasse between the military and government in neighbouring Fiji? 

Believe what you may, but let me provide you with my reading of the situation.

The campaign for change leading to greater democracy in this kingdom has been a long one. 

The pro-democracy movement has, for many years, been demanding greater democracy. The petitions and protests, without linking them to the events of Black Thursday, have been peaceful except for a few warnings of violent confrontations.

Change was taking place, possibly a bit too slowly for the like of some, but changes were in train nonetheless. The Pacific, moreover, is not the place for those in a hurry.

I commented to a close friend on my 2005 visit to this beautiful kingdom on the celebratory nature of the then ongoing public servants strike in Nuku’alofa. She—a very senior public servant then—responded in a matter of fact manner that in Tonga, “we sing and dance on any excuse”. Isn’t this the way the world should be?, I lamented.

Clearly, she like many others like me, both within Tonga and abroad, were horrified by the wanton violence of Black Thursday. 

The breakdown in law and order in Nuku’alofa, even if expected, given the build-up in demand for greater democracy, cannot be condoned. 

Some eight people lost their lives, many more were injured, and millions of dollars worth of properties trashed. 

The effects of the above linger on in the form of intermittent power supplies, lost income earning opportunities and thus livelihoods for many families, and in the form of the ghastly remains of charred remains of buildings that once graced this beautiful island capital.

Sure, the incident drew international attention to the pro-democracy cause, but at what cost?

The damage done to the Tongan economy, particularly in terms of lost investments that are critical to the growth of income and employment, is invisible but surely substantial. 

I ask if Christmas that is just around the corner, a period traditionally crowded with festivities, will be the same this year. 

It would be a sad indictment on us all if Black Thursday continues to loom large in this season of festivities in the Friendly Islands.