Tonga sends troops to Afghanistan to ease unemployment

The tiny Pacific kingdom of Tonga has agreed to send troops to Afghanistan after retreating from Iraq in 2008, saying "it looks safer than Iraq" and that the fight against the Taliban will provide much-needed jobs.

A contingent of 55 Tongan soldiers is expected to begin service in Afghanistan in November, the first of 275 soldiers committed over a two-year period following a request from Britain to get involved.

"It looks safer than Iraq. Our soldiers will not be doing street patrols where there have been a lot of deaths," Tongan Defense Services (TDS) commander, Brigadier Tauaika 'Uta'atu, said Wednesday.

However, 'Etuate Lavulavu, one of the few popularly elected legislators, expressed misgivings about the government's stated advantage of the deployment providing jobs.

"If it is to find employment, the unemployed can get jobs if they are given skilled training, rather then sending them out to the battlefield to get killed," he said, adding that he was also not happy a soldier would only be paid 30 pounds sterling ($45.50) a day, which he said was not enough, "considering he is risking his life."

'Uta'atu said he was happy with the decision made by Parliament, which voted 22-0 in favor of the deployment.

The troops will be doing the security work on the boundaries of a camp in the desert and the British government will pay 2.6 million pounds to cover all the costs over the first year, 'Uta'atu added.

According to Wikipedia, the TDS has a total of 450 soldiers who are trained by the US military. The county's population is around 120,000.

Agencies