Tongan king pledges to hand power to the people

0 Comments | AFP, July, 2008

NUKU'ALOFA (AFP) — Tonga's king, who presides over one of the last absolute monarchies in the world, has confirmed he is ready to start handing power over to the people, his spokesman said Tuesday.

Tongan King Siaosi Tupou V, whose official coronation takes place on Friday, "is voluntarily surrendering his powers to meet the democratic aspirations of many of his people," said a statement from Lord Chamberlain's office.

It was the strongest statement yet from the king on the devolution of power after he had pledged to make "appropriate changes" in the small South Pacific kingdom of 115,000.

Siaosi Tupou, who assumed the monarchy after his father Taufa'ahau Tupou IV died two years ago, sees himself as an architect of change in Tonga.

He views the royal...