2006 Nuku ‘ alofa riots The 2006 Nukualofa riots started on 16 November , in the Tongan capital of Nukualofa . The Legislative Assembly of Tonga was due to adjourn for the year and despite promises of action , had done little to advance democracy in the government . A mixed crowd of democracy advocates took to the streets in protest . Some people in the crowd starting tipping over cars , then progressed to looting and burning buildings . Targets of riots . Riots broke out around 3 : 30 pm TOT as rioters threw stones , broke windows , and looted . By about 6 : 00 pm , rioters started setting buildings on fire . The first targets of the rioters were government buildings . Then they attacked enterprises , including some that were leased to ANZ Bank and those owned by the Prime Minister Feleti Sevele . A private shop selling mobile telephones and advertising for Tonfön ( part of the Shoreline Group of Companies owned , at the time , by the royal family ) was next . Rioters also attacked and burned the main office of the Shoreline Group of Companies , which was located one kilometer away from the small central business district . Several of the larger Chinese shops were targeted for looting and burning . Other shops , including one owned by ethnic Indians , were burned as well , but it is not clear if they were intentionally set on fire or caught fire from surrounding buildings . At about 6 : 00 PM TOT rioters torched the Royal Pacific hotel ( owned by the Shoreline Group of Companies ) . The hotel was located on one of the main roads into the city . There are many commercial buildings on the thoroughfare , and the fire spread to some of those buildings as well . According to an article in " Tonga Now " , normally law - abiding Tongans of both sexes and all ages were participating avidly in the looting . However , some photos would seem to indicate that the car - tipping and arson were the work of young men . This conception would be reinforced after a destroyed Chinese shop was vandalized with graffiti . At nightfall , the police and the Tonga Defence Services regained control of the central business district and were turning away anyone who tried to enter . Aftermath . Estimates of the damage varied . Some estimates said that 60 to 80 % of the central business district was destroyed . 17 November . It was announced that eight bodies had been found in charred ruins . Since most of the employees of the affected businesses managed to reach safety , news reports speculated that the dead were likely looters . It is not clear if the deceased have been identified or if identified , when their names will be released . The Tongan government declared a state of emergency . Only firefighters , police , utility workers , etc . were allowed inside a perimeter defined by Vuna road , Alipate road , Mateialona road , and Tupoulahi road . Residents of that area could enter only after being searched . For the next month , gatherings of more than five persons were illegal in that area . Emergency laws gave security forces the right to stop and search people without a warrant . The Tongan government promised reform . Popular elections are to be held in 2008 , in which a majority of the Legislative Assembly will be elected by a popular vote . The Chinese embassy chartered an airplane to evacuate Chinese nationals . 18 November . 110 soldiers and 44 police officers from Australia and New Zealand arrived to help the local police to establish order . The New Zealand army was to be in charge of airport security and the police were to protect the High Commission . The Australian contingent were to assist and relieving exhausted Tongan police . 19 November . Restrictions on entry into town were relaxed . Citizens were again allowed into town , but on foot only , in order to attend church services . Airlines are said to be operating with special flights on Sunday ( an exception to the strict laws prohibiting commercial activity on the Christian Sabbath ) . Electricity has been restored to all parts of Nukuʻalofa . A leader of the Tongan pro - democracy movement , MP ' Akilisi Pohiva , has criticised the intervention of Australian and New Zealand peacekeepers following the riots . 20 November . Some businesses had temporarily relocated to the suburbs . Some looted items were returned . Police were guarding the telecommunications center and investigating mobile call logs . According to the " Matangi Tonga " newspaper , twenty - six arrests had been made and the number of deaths had been revised down to six . 22 November . Nukuʻalofa was by now largely peaceful . The town center was still cordoned off and heavily patrolled , but local shop owners and the like could easily get permission to enter the restricted area . Some Chinese shops which escaped damage were now open again . Major shops and banks , however , were still operating from temporary locations in the suburbs . 1 December . Peace was believed to be restored and foreign forces began leaving . The forbidden area in town was reduced . Police had made 571 arrests . Maintaining the state of emergency . In late January 2008 , the Tongan authorities renewed a Proclamation of Public Order for the sixteenth month running , a lingering aftermath of the riots . The statement reads : " It is hereby proclaimed that there continues to exist a state of danger " in central Nukuʻalofa . According to the Proclamation , the area will remain " controlled and maintained by the Tonga Police Force and Tonga Defence Services for the sole purpose of maintaining public order for all people of the country " . Tongan information minister Afualo Matoto announced that the state of emergency would probably be maintained for another three months ( i . e . , until the end of April ) . This was criticised by Tongan pro - democracy advocate Akilisi Pohiva : " I don ’ t see any reason for government to continue to hold on to the emergency power . " The state of emergency was lifted in August 2008 . Member of Parliament ' Akilisi Pohiva noted that the government had probably chosen to wait until after the coronation of King George Tupou V to put an end to it . It was , however , re - imposed in September , despite the objections of pro - democracy members of Parliament . Operation Kaliloa . A joint investigation into the riots by the Tonga police , Australian Federal Police and New Zealand Police , codenamed Operation Kaliloa , has begun . Tongan MP and former Police Minister Clive Edwards claims that Tongan soldiers have beaten hundreds of people and then refused them treatment for their injuries . Edwards claims he was attacked by soldiers himself . An official of the Tongan Defence Force said there was no evidence to back up Edwards ' claims . He would not give his name . On 2 February 2007 , Edwards was arrested and charged with two counts of sedition arising from the riots . The state of emergency declared on 17 November 2006 was extended several times . It was finally ended in January 2011 once the new Prime Minister took office following the 2010 election . Rebuilding . The first business to rebuild and reopen was the Fung Shin supermarket , which opened in new premises on 19 December 2007 .