Tonga seeks foreign help, 8 killed in riots

NUKU'ALOFA, Nov 17 (Reuters) The death toll from violent riots in the Tongan capital rose to eight today as the government asked Australia and New Zealand to send forces to protect the airport and boost security.

A spokesman for Tonga's Prime Minister Fred Sevele said Nuku'alofa was calm today a day after pro-democracy protesters torched and looted up to 80 per cent of the buildings in the city's business district.

Rescue workers found two more bodies late today, believed to be members of a mob that attacked a supermarket.

Firefighters had earlier recovered six badly-burned bodies from a building in Nuku'alofa.

Tonga today requested about 150 police and troops from Australia and New Zealand.

''They are to back up the civil defence services and the Tonga police force,'' spokesman Lopeti Senituli said, adding about 20 New Zealand troops would be asked to secure the airport, while 40 specialist Australian police would also be sought, along with about 90 troops.

However, a spokesman for Australia's Defence Minister Brendan Nelson said no decision had been made to send Australian forces to the South Pacific kingdom, although plans were in place if Tonga made a formal request for help.

New Zealand's Defence Minister Phil Goff told Radio New Zealand no formal request for troops or police had been made.

Soldiers and police cordoned off streets in central Nuku'alofa today as the government enacted emergency powers to secure government offices, oil depots, shops and the hospital.

''We're in control of the situation,'' Senituli said.

''Thankfully, nothing serious has happened today. It's all calm.'' Among the buildings damaged yesterday were the prime minister's office, the financial department, offices of power company Shoreline, which is partly owned by King George Tupou V, the town's only bank and Chinese-owned shops and businesses.

ELECTORAL CHANGES The rioting in Tonga began after parliament went into recess for the year without voting on proposals for sweeping democratic reforms to Tonga's semi-feudal system.

Prominent pro-democracy campaigner Akilisi Pohiva said the authorities had made a mistake in delaying reform and needed to act.

Late yesterday, the government bowed to the protesters and agreed to new elections in 2008 in which a majority of the parliament would be directly elected by popular vote. Under the current system, nobles and appointed MPs outnumber elected representatives.

New Zealand and Australia have condemned the violence and warned their nationals in Tonga to stay away from large gatherings.

Air New Zealand said it had cancelled flights to Tonga for a second day today, and would cancel flights scheduled for Saturday and Sunday.

Tonga, a group of 170 coral and volcanic islands about 2,000 km north of New Zealand, saw unprecedented protests in May 2005, when 10,000 people -- a tenth of the population -- took to the streets demanding democracy and public ownership of key assets.

REUTERS PDM RK1505