Tue, 27 Oct 2009 6:44p.m.
The captain of the Tongan ferry which sank more than two months ago says he is prepared to go to jail over the tragedy.
Hearings begin at the end of this month into what caused the sinking of the Princess Ashika on August 5 - resulting in the loss of at least 75 lives.
Captain Maka Tuputupu’s life was marooned by the tragedy that continues to haunt him. He passes the time at home with his family but has no job and little money.
And over the next few months the former captain of the Princess Ashika must face a Commission of Inquiry into the sinking.
Tuputupu has always maintained that the government was aware of the ship's poor condition but pressured him into sailing anyway.
But Maka says he too failed in his duty and accepts he may go to jail over the incident.
“They give me the boat and so I sailed the boat. But I think we both failed”
“Wherever I am standing, I am standing with god. He is bigger than those people willing to put me in prison,” said Maka.
The Tongan government appointed an Australian Supreme Court judge, a naval architect and a master mariner to take charge of the inquiry.
Prime Minister Feleti Sevele says his administration will not influence the investigation findings.
“Our role is to facilitate the appointment and the work of the commission. We have no other role in it,” says Mr Sevele.
But many doubt such assurances. Mele Amanaki – president of the National Woman's Congress says she is worried by the conflict of interest.
“My concern first is how can you be your own judge, how can you be your own investigator? Secondly, there have been Royal Commissions set up in the past where we have never seen the results,” says Amanaki.
Amanaki hasn't eaten for days. She’s on a hunger strike to draw attention to her demand that Sevele should stand down as Prime Minister, until his Government is cleared.
And what does Prime Minister Feleti Sevele think about the claims?
“I think that's totally absolutely rubbish. Why do you think that? We’ve handled this according to law,” says Sevele.
Whether the inquiry can heal the scars of the living and bring justice for the dead will become a little clearer when its findings are delivered at end of March.
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