DEMOCRAT ARREST ACT OF ‘REVENGE’

Campaigners in Swaziland say the Danish consultant arrested by police on his way to a meeting on Monday (12 April 2010) was taken in as revenge because a group in Denmark awarded Mario Masuku, president of PUDEMO, a democracy award.

Morten Koefen, currently on attachment with the Foundation for Socio Economic Justice offices in Manzini, was detained while attending a meeting organised by the Swaziland Democracy Campaign on the anniversary of the day in 1973 that King Sobuza II tore up the constitution and began to rule Swaziland by decree.

Police took Koefen to his home where they searched it without a warrant and confiscated his laptop.

Now, Swaziland Democracy Campaign says Koefen was arrested ‘as revenge by the Swazi regime that the people of Denmark recently awarded president Mario Masuku with a democracy award’.

Masuku received the SWADEWA Democracy Prize 2010 last month from a Danish organisation called Swaziland Democracy Watch (SWADEWA).

SWADEWA said ‘Mario Masuku’s brave struggle for a better future for the Swazi people has made him a uniting figure and a source of inspiration for the numerous movements which are fighting for a free and democratic Swaziland, where the entire Swazi people benefits from national resources’.

MASUKU TELLS EU 'OPPOSE SWAZI KING'

The following is the acceptance speech made by Mario Masuku, president of Swaziland’s People’s United Democratic Movement (PUDEMO) at the Democracy Awards, in Denmark, 15 March 2010.





I am honoured to accept this democracy award as conferred on me today. Due to many reasons, I could not personally make it to be there with you physically.



The giving of this award and my acceptance of the same is a great departure from the way people and the world has viewed the struggle of the people of Swaziland for the past 37 years. Our movement PUDEMO has continued to wage a peaceful struggle against a very violent and brutal regime.



As we speak today, there are many Swazis who are forced out of the country due to the political and economic situation. Our movement and all the democratic forces of Swaziland under the banner of the Swaziland United Democratic Front-SUDF are committed to building a democratic state that respects the will of the majority.



We are aware that Denmark is among the major donors to the kingdom of Swaziland. The very generous donations that you send out there are not used for the benefit of the people but a few corrupt elements within government. We therefore call upon you to use your influence in the European Union to exert political and economic pressure on the ruling elite in Swaziland. We call on you to apply targeted sanctions that will restrict the travel of the oppressive regime to your countries. We call on you to support the voice of the people of Swaziland in their call for democracy. Stop selling weapons to Swaziland. We call on you to support the people’s movement- PUDEMO.



I accept this award on behalf of the million Swazis, 70% of which live below the poverty line, 26.2 % of which are HIV positive, 40 % of which are unemployed and generally a nation in need of immediate serious interventions. My people want democracy, peace and stability. And the current regime gives them more poverty and brutalization. This is their award in recognition of their resilience in the face of harassment. It is in recognition of the struggles waged by the rural people who are evicted from their land. It is in recognition of the humble people who have been deported out of the country for daring to stand up against abuse of human rights, the kids who go to school without food, the patients who go to hospital to await their death, the workers who serve our country yet are not rewarded, the urban poor who occupy the sprawling slums of our towns. This is for them.



Lastly we take this opportunity to salute the people of Denmark for recognising the work done by not myself but the collective struggling people of Swaziland as led by their liberation movement, PUDEMO. We hope this award will inspire us to be more focused and decisive. We will continue to move forward. And as a movement we have always said that our door is open for negotiations but the government refuses to recognise us as the people’s liberation movement instead they have passed a law which declares us as a terrorist organisation. But we are happy that the world cannot be fooled.

Our demands are clear:

Unban political parties

Respect the rule of law

Respect women and children’s rights

Unconditional return of all exiles

Multiparty democratic elections

A democratic constitution for the nation

End to corruption, nepotism

End to the brutalization and killing of unarmed civilians by the state security forces

We thank you for your gesture, and we are confident it will have the desired impact in instilling some sense in the minds of the powers that be in Swaziland.

SWAZI DEMOCRAT HONOURED ABROAD

The following is a media release from Swaziland Democracy Watch

15 March 2010

The SWADEWA Democracy Prize 2010 has been awarded to Mario Masuku by Swaziland Democracy Watch (SWADEWA) in the Danish Parliament.

Among the reasons for awarding Mario Masuku, SWADEWA stated:

"Mario Masuku's brave struggle for a better future for the Swazi people has made him a uniting figure and a source of inspiration for the numerous movements which are fighting for a free and democratic Swaziland, where the entire Swazi people benefits from national ressources".

Danish MP and spokesman on foreign affairs for the currently most well-supported party in Denmark, the Social Democrats, Mogens Lykketoft, presented the award, which consists of a golden megaphone and $1000.

Regarding Swaziland, Lykketoft stated: "It is important to get a government that can introduce general democratic rights such as free elections, freedom of speech, freedom of assembly and freedom of the press and a genuine democracy".

Furthermore, Lykketoft wished for a Swazi government with the ability and will to cooperate with neighbouring countries to fight poverty, take action against the problems with AIDS and the shockingly low average life expectancy age.

The prize was accepted by a friend and representative of Mario Masuku, who is from the Danish NGO, Africa Contact. He read out an acceptance speech from Masuku, who expressed that he was honoured to accept the award.

He added:

"My people want democracy, peace and stability. And the current regime gives them more poverty and brutalization. This is their award in recognition of their resilience in the face of harassment".

The Danish Secretary General of Amnesty International, Lars Normann Joergensen, congratulates Masuku with the SWADEWA Democracy Prize 2010 and says on behalf of Amnesty International:

"Amnesty International has in many years criticized the widespread persecution of the opposition in Swaziland and has especially been alarmed by the consequences of the Suppression of Terrorism Act".

He added:

"Amnesty International will continue to put pressure on the Swazi regime to remove those regulations that undermine the legal rights for political activists, journalists and common Swazi citizens."

Several NGO's, political parties and labour unions were present at the well-attended ceremony.

DENMARK HONOURS PUDEMO LEADER

The Swaziland Government does like to bury its head in the sand when it comes to the irresistible move towards democracy in the kingdom.

The government’s official spokesperson refused to comment on the news that Mario Masuku, president of the People’s United Democratic Movement (PUDEMO), had been honoured with a democracy award in Denmark.

The official spokesperson Macanjana Motsa said government would not comment because PUDEMO was banned and therefore ‘non-existent’.

You can call PUDEMO many things but ‘non-existent’ isn’t one of them.

The world knows about PUDEMO and the struggle for democracy in Swaziland which is ruled by King Mswati III, sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch.

So strong is the support for the democracy campaign in Swaziland that a group in Denmark called the Swaziland Democracy Watch (SWADEWA) has awarded Masuku with its Democracy Prize 2010.

SWADEWA says what Masuku and PUDEMO are doing in Swaziland is very important for the future of the country. ‘We admire Masukus courage to speak up and fight for human rights and a multiparty democracy in Swaziland,’ it says.