(From Swazi Media Commentary 3 February 2009 www.swazimedia.blogspot.com)
Swaziland’s illegally-appointed Prime Minister Barnabas Dlamini met
editors and senior journalists last week at what is promised to be a regular
monthly ‘editors’ forum’ meeting.
The
forum is billed as an opportunity for journalists to question the Prime
Minister (and any other senior politicians he chooses to invite along).
To some people this ‘openness’ demonstrates how much he believes in
freedom of speech and freedom of the media.
The
forum is not a new idea; the most recent Prime Minister Themba Dlamini
also held such meetings. There was some doubt about whether Barnabas
Dlamini would carry on with the ‘tradition’ because he has a
well-deserved reputation as a hater of freedoms, including freedom of
the press and freedom of association. Since he came to power in October
2008, Barnabas Dlamini has branded four political formations as
terrorists and announced that anyone who is a member or supporter of
the organisations will be deemed a terrorist. Under the Suppression of
Terrorism Act, this could result in up to 25 years in jail.
I suppose Barnabas had nothing to worry about meeting the journalists. At
his final editors’ forum meeting in July 2008, Themba Dlamini praised the
editors for all the support they had given him and his government over the
previous five years.
The forum is billed as an
opportunity for the media to question the Prime Minister and his
Cabinet colleagues on matters of interest to the nation, but in his
speech the PM was very open about the fact that he would only answer
the questions that he wanted to.
He told the editors, ‘You
will recall that the initial breakfast meetings were very difficult and
tense even though I had given you the rules of engagement.
‘I think you will remember rule number one, which says, “I am not
under any obligation to answer all your questions and I reserve the
right to refuse to answer any question” This has been the rule of thumb
for our breakfast meetings and I am happy that we have kept it alive
throughout our sessions; and our interaction has matured over time.’
This, of course, doesn’t represent
an open dialogue. A real interaction would only take place when the
Prime Minister and senior politicians were forced to answer questions
they did NOT want to answer.
In view of the recent controversy surrounding Mfomfo Nkhambule, who was
threatened with jail for the articles he has written in the Times of Swaziland,
it is instructive to note that in his speech Themba Dlamini told
editors, 'I am glad that in Swaziland people have constitutional rights
to express themselves freely I am also happy that there is no one that
has been reprimanded because of expressing himself or herself through
the media or any other medium.’
Following Barnabas Dlamini’s first
editors’ forum, the civil society group Swaziland Coalition of
Concerned Civic Organisations (SCCCO) wrote a media release critiquing the
Prime Minister’s contribution.
It covered the PM’s views on the Swaziland Constitution, the controversial
constitutional commitment to free primary school education, the attempts at
influencing the press and the diplomatic corps, the government’s disregard for
‘International Human Rights Norms’ and the use of performance incentives for
cabinet ministers.
The release did not get widespread coverage, so I have posted it on the blog
here.
Link http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2009/02/swazi-pm-and-free-speech-farce.html
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