(From Swazi Media Commentary 1 September 2009 www.swazimedia.blogspot.com)
Swaziland is slowly sinking backwards towards the era of the lack of respect
for the rule of law, democracy and human rights.
And there is very little political will on the part of the Swazi state to
listen to and engage political dissenters.
Meanwhile, on the economic front, Swaziland continues to decline yet
government’s spending on unnecessary and non-priority areas remains unchecked.
These are just some of the
conclusions in yet another report on Swaziland’s appalling record of
human rights, civil liberties and political mismanagement.
The report just released by the Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa
(OSISA) studied
Swaziland for the period May – July this year (2009) and concluded that
‘events of the last three months reflect a continued state of emergency
in Swaziland as the State has scaled-up its defiance of the rule of law
and effected numerous acts of intimidation and violations of human
rights. Of notable importance are the arrest of human rights lawyer, Thulani
Maseko in June and the further arrests of political activists, Mpandlana
Shongwe and Norman Xaba of the People’s United Democratic Movement (PUDEMO) in
July.’
The
11,500-word report continues, ‘on the surface the sporadic arrests by
the State may seem to the larger public – as the media is made to
report – aimed at curbing or discouraging acts of terrorism. In
retrospect, these have demonstrated a systematic targeting of political
dissenters in line with the infamous King’s mandate to government and
Parliament when installing the current Prime Minister [Barnabas Dlamini] last
year.
‘This
view has been cemented by the State’s capricious harassment and raids
visited upon members of PUDEMO, the Swaziland Youth Congress (SWAYOCO) and
the Foundation for Economic Justice’s offices, a non-government
organization that has amongst other things supported the Swaziland
Ex-Miners Association in the issue of Free Primary Education (FPE).
‘The
arrest of Thulani Maseko came across as a direct onslaught on Human
Rights, particularly in view of the sterling role he has played in
putting to the test the constitution of the country in the courts. It
should be recalled that Maseko is also representing the President of
PUDEMO, Mario Masuku, in his case where he is incarcerated for contravening the
Suppression of Terrorism Act.’
The report is just one of many recently to highlight the decline of human
rights and civil liberties in Swaziland.
To read the full OSISA report click here.
Link http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2009/09/swaziland-sinking-backwards.html
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