Update on Tonga Riots

In my previous post I mentioned the events transpiring in the island nation of Tonga. It appears, from reports now arriving, that eight people have perished in the riots there. The Matangi Tonga Online Website was down and the offices of the organization were also on fire, so the information I had at hand was not as accurate as I would have liked.

To view some of these terrible images of the aftermath of destruction in Nuku'alofa, Tonga click here!

In my last post, I said I thought I was going to be okay after the 2006 elections in the U.S. Would that I could say the same for those caught up in the happenings in Tonga.

It's still unclear to me if the riots that are being reported are the work of pro-democracy leaders, or if they are an offshoot of social unrest. There have been reports now that the riots were a result of business rivalry and not as a result of the pro-democracy movement.

There's been a lot of posting on the NY Times Blog site talking about the upheavals there.

Other stuff about this turmoil in Tonga reported by the BBC: Here!