Tonga: Defying the monarchy

Last week, Tonga's unelected inbred monarch over-ruled the elected government, decreeing that the country should not ratify the UN Convention on the Elimination of All forms of Discrimination against Women. The government's solution? A referendum:

The Prime Minister of Tonga says the issue of signing a United Nations Convention which recently led to protests in the country, will be put to the public to be voted on, after the coronation celebrations end.

[...]

'Akilisi Pohiva, who supports CEDAW, says the decision is up to the people.

"It is a matter for the people to decide and since the public is split, there's a split amongst the people of the country, I think the best thing to do is to give it to the public to make the decision."

Tonga is priest-ridden, and its priests are willing to lie about the effects of CEDAW to boot, so I suspect they'll lose. But it does send a clear signal to Tonga's king who is in charge: the people.