Samoa's Prime Minister, Tuila'epa Sa'ilele Malielegaoi, has called on the leaders of Tonga's pro-democracy movement to exercise restraint and to promote peace and reconciliation among its supporters.
In a statement, Tuila'epa said he did not expect a military and police deployment by New Zealand and Australia to have taken place.
But he added that he also did not expect the situation in Tonga to deteriorate to such an extent that the government would feel compelled to call on foreign help.
The prime minister has also called on the pro-democracy leaders to work together with the government and church leaders to stabilize the situation before it gets any further out of control.
