5 Tongan lawmakers face trial

Five lawmakers were ordered Thursday to stand trial for sedition stemming from rioting in the South Pacific kingdom last year in which eight people died and the capital's business district was burned to the ground.

Magistrate Peau Pifeleti said the case against the five defendants was based on the damage caused by the riot and the loss of life, ruling that they should face trial at the Nuku'alofa Supreme Court.

"This is a very serious case for the people of Tonga and the government," the magistrate said.

The five, including veteran pro-democracy activist 'Akilisi Pohiva and former police minister Clive Edwards, have been campaigning for the government and the king to speed up political reforms in the semi-feudal monarchy. The other defendants are 'Isileli Pulu, Lepolo Taunisila and 'Uliti Uata.

The Nov. 16 riots followed a political rally demanding more democratic reforms and led to the torching of many buildings in the capital's business district and the looting and destruction of more than 100 businesses.

The magistrate said that on the evening of Nov. 16, after the worst of rioting, the five lawmakers went on national radio to ask the people "to stop the damage because what they were trying for has been achieved."

The five face separate charges of unlawful assembly.

Pohiva, Edwards and Uata face a second sedition charge for speeches they made at a public rally on Nov. 14.

The five are among nine legislators elected by popular vote in a 32-seat parliament dominated by nobles' representatives and Cabinet ministers appointed by King Siaosi Tupou V.

The island nation of 108,000 people halfway between New Zealand and Hawaii depends on agriculture, fishing, remittances from Tongans abroad and foreign aid to support its people, half of whom live below the poverty line.