MISA ATTACKS SWAZILAND CENSORSHIP

Swaziland’s main media rights organisation has condemned the Swazi Government for bullying an independent newspaper the Times Sunday into dropping a regular column written by Mario Masuku, a human rights activist.

The Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) called it a ‘blatant act by the government to censor both Masuku and the Times newspaper’.

As I reported earlier this month (January 2010) Majahenkhaba Dlamini, the Attorney General, told Innocent Maphalala, the editor of the Times Sunday, he will face jail time for supporting Masuku (who the Swazi state has branded a terrorist) if he doesn’t stop publishing the articles.

Even though Masuku was acquitted of a trumped up terrorism charge in September 2009, Dlamini says the People’s United Democratic Movement (PUDEMO), the organisation he leads, is a terrorist organisation.

In a letter to Maphalala the Attorney General accused him of dealing with a terrorist and in doing so ‘you and your newspaper cannot avoid being identified with the entity or its member (s).’

This is a reference to the Suppression of Terrorism Act which makes it illegal for anyone to offer any kind of support to terrorist organisations. If charged and found guilty of such an offence the editor could face up to 25 years in jail.

The MISA Swaziland chapter in a statement said it ‘strongly condemns the act by the government, and notes with great concern that the government action not only perpetuates the state of fear and censorship in the Swazi media, but also violates the basic principles of freedom of expression, a fundamental human right also guaranteed in the Swaziland constitution. The government action also greatly interferes with the editorial independence of the newspaper.

‘MISA-Swaziland has therefore appealed to the government to allow Masuku and any other Swazi citizen to exercise their right to free expression and further allow the Times newspaper to exercise its editorial independence without undue interference and threats. ‘

MISA commended the Times Sunday ‘for coming out to expose the government for its bullying action to censor the newspaper and not choose to suffer in silence’.

ANGER AT SWAZILAND CENSORSHIP

The following is a statement issued by the People’s United Democratic Movement (PUDEMO), an organisation banned in Swaziland, today (5 January 2010).

PUDEMO STATEMENT ON THE BAN OF COMRADE MARIO MASUKU

FROM THE SWAZI MEDIA

We wish to address ourselves to the recent outrageous abuse of human rights by the Swazi regime.

Through the Attorney General, who happens to be a prince, the regime issued a stern instruction to the Editor of Times Sunday, a local publication, to stop publishing articles authored by the PUDEMO President [Mario Masuku]. This was an unfortunate incident indeed.

It is only a state that still languishes in backwardness and survives through oppression and suppression that can come to such a stupid decision. In modern societies, all human beings enjoy the right to freely express their opinions.

That the Swazi regime at this day and age still dictates as to who should or should not freely express their opinions is a direct challenge and an insult to the world community as represented by the United Nations Organization. An organization that unapologetically promotes the fundamental rights of humans that include the freedom to express one’s opinion. PUDEMO strongly condemns such and urge the international community to take the Swazi regime to task and be harshly disciplined for undermining the rights of its citizens.

It must be noted that this does not only undermine the rights of citizens, also the rights of the media itself. In many instances, the Swazi regime has come out to deceive its people and the world that its press is operating in a free environment, but this has proven to be an untruth! It must further be noted that this is not the first time that the press in the country has been threatened and intimidated for publishing stories and ideas that are perceived by the state to be in ‘bad taste.’

The people of Swaziland under this oppressive regime urgently need a free media that will inform as well as educate them on critical issues and situations around them. However, this is impossible in Swaziland where the media is constantly intimidated, harassed and threatened by the state.

We feel it makes no sense why the international community should still recognizes the Swazi regime as part of it when the same regime continues abusing human rights with impunity. Surely this must be condemned and the regime be disciplined for the sake of the oppressed people of Swaziland.

However, as PUDEMO we remain unfazed by this senseless ban for we know that our ideas have long permeated into all sectors of Swazi society and no amount of political trickery will by the regime will reverse the situation.

GOVERNMENT LEANS ON FREE PRESS

The Swaziland Attorney General has told one of the kingdom’s independent newspapers it must stop publishing articles from Mario Masuku, president of the banned People’s United Democratic Movement (PUDEMO).

In a veiled threat Majahenkhaba Dlamini, the Attorney General, has told Innocent Maphalala, the editor of the Times Sunday, he will face jail time for supporting a terrorist if he doesn’t stop publishing the articles.

Even though Masuku was acquitted of a trumped up terrorism charge in September 2009, Dlamini says PUDEMO, the organisation he leads, is a terrorist entity.

In a letter to Maphalala the Attorney General says the Swazi Government cannot understand why the Times is supporting terrorism.

He writes, ‘This is the same PUDEMO which was declared a terrorist entity last year. The entity or anybody on its behalf has never denied or challenged the declaration.’

The Attorney General went on, ‘And there you are, giving all the publicity and support as if the entity or its members are legitimate persons. In any effort to deal with the entity or member of the entity, you and your newspaper cannot avoid being identified with the entity or its member (s).’

He said he had no doubt that the newspaper was fully aware that promoting or giving support to terrorists remained a crime in this country.

This is a reference to the Suppression of Terrorism Act which makes it illegal for anyone to offer any kind of support to terrorist organisations. If charged and found guilty of such an offence the editor could face up to 25 years in jail.

Maphalala said he would stop publishing Masuku’s articles for now pending consultation on the matter.

SWAZI TERRORIST BAN ‘NOT LEGAL’

The Swazi Prime Minister’s branding of four political formations in Swaziland as terrorists is illegal, it has been revealed.

Barnabas Dlamini did not bother to follow the proper legal requirements before declaring that members and supporters of the four organisations were terrorists. Mario Masuku, president of the one of the groups – the People’s United Democratic Movement (PUDEMO) - was immediately arrested (and is on remand in jail) following the prime minister’s announcement.

The Times Sunday reported yesterday (30 November 2008) that Dlamini’s pronouncement has no legal basis because there is no ‘legal instrument’ for the proscribing of PUDEMO, Swaziland Youth Congress (SWAYOCO), Swaziland Solidarity Network (SSN) and Swaziland Liberation Army (Umbane).

The ‘legal instrument’ would be a formal publishing or ‘gazetting’ of the decision.

Investigations made by the newspaper discovered that government printers had not yet received a sample of the gazette for printing purposes. The verbal pronouncement by the premier, the Times Sunday said, cannot outweigh the legal significance of the gazette.

Attorney General Majahenkhaba Dlamini said he was aware of the legal requirement to legitimise the pronouncement in the Gazette.

Legal sources within government said the prime minister’s pronouncement of 14 November 2008 had created uncertainties within the office of the attorney general as the Suppression of Terrorism Act, 2008, under which the parties were specified or alternatively banned, could be rendered meaningless if the banned entities were to appeal to the High Court.

Investigations by the Times Sunday revealed that the problem was worsened by the fact that the Suppression of the Terrorism Act allowed prescribed entities like the banned political parties to apply to the High Court for a review of the decision.