CALL FOR HUMAN RIGHTS SPREADS

Opposition to the human rights catastrophe in Swaziland is growing in neighbouring South Africa.

The Democratic Alliance (DA) wants the Secretary-General of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Parliamentary Forum, Dr. Esau Chiviya, to convene an urgent meeting to discuss the spate of recent human rights abuses occurring in Swaziland.

Swaziland, ruled by King Mswati III, sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch, is in the grip of a reign of terror unleashed by the state against pro-democracy activists.

In May 2010 Sipho Jele, an activist for the People’s United Democratic Movement (PUDEMO), died while in custody. Pro-democracy activists fear he was murdered. An inquest into Jele’s death was opened and has now been adjourned indefinitely.

Jele had been arrested for wearing a T-shirt with a PUDEMO logo. Calls from civil society in Swaziland for an independent investigation into his death, have been met with silence by the Swazi government.

This month, the Swazi police arrested a member of the Swaziland Youth Congress (SWAYOCO), Sibusiso Mhlanga, for possessing a copy of a City Press article, that detailed a sex scandal involving the Swazi Royal Family.

All news of the scandal has been suppressed in the Swazi media, but South African newspapers, which also circulate in Swaziland, have carried reports. DA called this, ‘an ominous action amidst allegations against the Swazi authorities of police brutality of activists whilst in detention’.

The DA said in a statement, ‘Both these instances are indicative of a society that lives under an oppressive regime, that of King Mswati III, who denies his citizens what are, in essence, their most basic of human rights.’

The DA wants South African President Jacob Zuma to discuss these ‘very serious human rights violations’ at the SADC Heads of State meeting in Windhoek. ‘The DA believes that it is time for the South African government to demonstrate its leadership in the region and re-affirm our commitment to human rights.’

SWAZI GVT AIDS TAIWAN EXPLOITATION

All profits made in textile sweatshop factories for Taiwan-owned companies can be taken out of the kingdom, a top Swaziland government minister has boasted.

Lutfo Dlamini, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation, told Taiwan journalists that this made Swaziland a better place to set up factories than anywhere else in Africa.

And Taiwanese ambassador to Swaziland Peter Tsai told the reporters it didn’t matter that Swaziland missed out on getting foreign currency: it could afford it.

Lutfo Dlamini said in Swaziland, ‘we believe in this country. You invest your money. You make profits and you are able to take the profits away’.

Dlamini was quoted by the Taipei Times, which was reporting on a visit to Swaziland last month by journalists from Taiwan.

Tsai told the reporters a distinguishing feature of Swaziland in terms of investment ‘is that it allows full repatriation of profits and dividends of enterprises operating in the country’.

He went on, ‘Not many African countries adopt the measure, mostly because of limited foreign exchange reserves. However, this is not a case in Swaziland,’ adding that Swaziland has sufficient foreign exchange reserves to sustain a liberalized foreign exchange mechanism.

At present 25 Taiwanese factories operate in Swaziland, mostly textile and garment manufacturers, employing about 15,000 people, many at close to slave wages. There have been numerous strikes by workers trying to get decent wages, but the pay is so poor that many women workers have to resort to prostitution to stop from starving.

But wages in Swaziland are still too high, according to Mason Ma, director and vice president of Tex-Ray Industrial Co. He told reporters that recent increases pushed ‘wage levels higher than in some Southeast Asian countries such as Vietnam and Cambodia’.

No one pointed out despite claims made by the ambassador, Swaziland’s foreign reserves are not high. Only last month (July 2010) the Central Bank of Swaziland reported foreign reserves had fallen 23 percent in the past year and would cover the cost of imports for only 3.5 months, far below the six months level recommended by the Southern Africa Development Community.

STOP THE LIES ON SWAZI DEMOCRACY

Lufto Dlamini, the Swazi Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, is getting agitated by the continuing demand across the globe that Swaziland become a democracy.

But the trouble is he is lying to the people of Swaziland and the world in his defence of King Mswati III, sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch and his puppet government.

Dlamini’s latest outburst came yesterday (28 March 2010) after news spread across the globe that democrats in Swaziland and their supporters across the world were demanding targeted sanctions against members of Swaziland’s ruling elite. One suggestion is that the European Union and others should stop paying for Swaziland’s leaders to travel outside the kingdom.

Dlamini reacted loudly and dishonestly to this suggestion. He told the Times Sunday newspaper, an independent newspaper in Swaziland, that the ‘current government was legitimately voted into office’.

He also said, ‘the Southern African Development Community (SADC) observers and other international organisations liked Swaziland’s election system.’

Let’s look at Dlamini’s statements. First, the government was not elected by the people. Barnabas Dlamini, the prime minister was not elected by anyone.

King Mswati ignored the Swaziland constitution and gave the job to Dlamini.

More than half the cabinet ministers were appointed by the king, along with 10 members of the House of Assembly and 20 senators. The other 10 senators are chosen by MPs – none are elected by the people. That’s not what I call a government ‘legitimately voted into office’.

The king also chooses members of influential committees and councils in Swaziland. The Times of Swaziland, the kingdom’s only independent daily newspaper, reckoned that in total at least 20 princes and princesses and 16 chiefs have been appointed to highly influential decision-making positions that they will occupy for five years.

In his outburst Dlamini also said the SADC and ‘other international organisations liked Swaziland’s election system’.

That statement is a distortion of the truth. The Commonwealth Expert Team (CET) that monitored Swaziland’s last election in 2008 was so unhappy with the system that it advised Swaziland to look again at its constitution, this time ensuring that there is full consultation with the people, civic society and political organisations.

The CET said that the elections were not entirely credible because the constitution banned political parties and members of parliament had few real powers.

The Pan-African Parliament (PAP) also denounced the poll because political parties were not allowed to take part.

Immediately after the election amid many accusations that MPs had bribed voters, the Times of Swaziland called many new MPs ‘cheats’. It said, ‘We no longer have an election; we have a selection of those who were able to buy their way into power.’

Even Swaziland’s Attorney General (AG) Majahenkhaba Dlamini has said that candidates bribed voters to win parliamentary seats.

After the elections, the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) criticised the Swaziland Supreme Court for siding with the Swaziland state and confirming a constitutional right to ban political parties in the kingdom.

Then it was the Swazi gender activists who were angry that King Mswati III betrayed their hopes, and the Swaziland Constitution, by not appointing more women to the House of Assembly and the Senate.

And it goes on. All of this is no secret. Lufto Dlamini knows this and we should not let him get away with telling the international community that all is well in Swaziland.

SWAZILAND KING ‘TOPS IN AFRICA’

Here’s a story to warm the cockles of the heart of any Swazi Royalist. King Mswati III is reckoned to be the most influential monarch in Africa.

But once you go beyond the headline, things aren’t quite so rosy.

A report just published by Stakes Capital Limited’s International Corporate Research

(ICR) under the trade name Research Intelligence, puts King Mswati top of the pile based (mostly) on the fact that he is an absolute monarch. Or put another way the research model was skewed in favour of dictators.

In the report called Powers That Be researchers used three criteria (i) the size of the territory the monarch reigns over; (ii) is his word law and if so over how many people? and (iii) the amount of recognition the monarch gets and the respect he is held by in by the international community.

King Mswati wins by virtue of being sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch (his word is most definitely law) and the inflated role he took this year in the activities of the Southern African Development Community (SADC).

I can’t quite see what the point of the research is. The ‘institute’ that produced it seems to be an outfit from Nigeria. Not to be confused with the International Corporate Research organisation in the United States.,

The report published on the Internet is riddled with spelling mistakes and bad grammar (I know signs of pot calling kettle black here), but it doesn’t read to me like a professionally produced report.

Anyhow, to wipe the smile of the faces of the Royalists and to pre-empt any crowing the Swazi media might do - here are some quotes about King Mswati from the report

· Today he is described as Africa's last absolute monarch in the sense that he has the power to choose the prime minister, other top government posts and top traditional posts.

· He is ranked 17th on the list of richest heads of government with a net worth of $100m. [Actually 200 million US dollars according to Forbes].

· Is currently ranked 18th on Parade Magazine's 2009 World's Worst Dictator list.