A copy of a letter in Tongan purportedly sent from the Nuku’alofa Royal Palace office with incorrect dates has been mocked on social media.
The letter, which appeared to have come from the king’s secretary Sione Fifita, thanked the Tū family group for visiting the palace recently.
The members of the group identify themselves as royalists and have regularly clashed with supporters of the global online democratic movements and party known as PTOA.
Tū leader Pita Pua went live recently and challenged some democratic frontliners in Tonga to a physical fight.
In response, democratic activist ‘Asiata Masima went live on Facebook and told his supporters he was looking for Pua. The video showed Masima and his associate Vilison Tauelangi driving in a blue pick up van.
On the same day, Police arrested Masima and charged him with attempted murder. Police later arrested Tauelangi and also charged him with attempted murder.
The Police said at the time they made the arrests and the charges after they gathered evidence from the streamed video.
In a rare case, a livestreamed video was shared on Facebook this week which appeared to show Pua and some of his followers meeting with Masima and Tauelangi at a police station in Tonga.
The video appeared to show the meeting being chaired by a senior Police officer in what appeared to be an attempt to reconcile the two parties.
The people at the meeting were showed shaking hands and hugging.
The Tū group is based in Australia. They went to Tonga last month to join the commemoration of the Tuku Fonua ki Langi or the ‘Giving of Tonga to God’ service which King George I proclaimed in Vava’u in 1837.
Pua repeatedly announced that their attendance at the ceremony was part of their political agenda to urge the king to scrap the democratic reforms of 2010 and return political power to His Majesty.
Yesterday the Tū members took pride in the letter and shared it on Facebook, telling their critics the king was happy with their recent visit to Tonga.
However, the letter was dated December 12, 2023, which does not fall until next week.
It also thanked the Tū family in Tongan for visiting the palace on December 27, 2023, a date that occurs in three weeks.
Critics of the Tū have been poking fun with the letter, with many doubting its authenticity.
“Is this letter truly from the palace office or not?” a commenter wrote.
“What a silly mistake”, another wrote.
Some commenters suggested that His Majesty’s secretary intentionally misdated the letter to make fun of the Tū family.
The palace office could not be reached for comment.
