EU NOT FOOLED ON POLITICAL PARTIES

Nobody needs to worry that the European Union (EU) is being fooled into thinking that King Mswati III is about to allow political parties to operate in Swaziland, the kingdom he rules as sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch.

The idea that the EU is being misled surfaced after news that David Matse, the Swazi Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, met with members of the African United Democratic Party (AUDP) surfaced in the Times of Swaziland, the kingdom’s only independent daily newspaper.

The Times reported, ‘Political observers we cannot name said the government meeting with AUDP was a smokescreen as it was solely convened to lead the EU into believing that there was a genuine dialogue over the registration of political parties.’

AUDP has been pressing the Swazi Government to unban political parties in time for the next election in 2013. Parties have been banned since 1973 following a proclamation by King Sobhuza II, after Swazi people dared to elect a political party that King Sobhuza didn’t like.

The EU became involved because Matse and some of his colleagues met with an EU delegation the day after his meeting with the AUDP.

If it really was Matse’s intention to fool the EU, he is wasting his time. The meeting he had with the EU was a regular ‘Article 8’ meeting that is held every six months. The EU delegation members are old hands at dealing with the Swazi Government. They have been around long enough to know that you can’t trust a word the government says.

The government can make as many promises as it wants, but it’s what it actually does that matters. And as we all know Barnabas Dlamini, the illegally-appointed Prime Minister of Swaziland, who is presently embroiled in a corruption scandal about government land, is not a man to be trusted.

As an example, just think of all the international conventions Swaziland has signed on subjects such as human rights, civil rights and gender rights. All signed, but not implemented. And as for the Swaziland Constitution – we all know that’s not worth the paper it’s printed on.

Meanwhile, what about the AUDP? It wants political parties to operate in Swaziland, but it supports the present Tinkhundla system of government. Like the Imbokodvo National Movement, that has been in the headlines for the past three weeks after news emerged there were attempts to reform it, AUDP seems to pose no threat to the established order.

Or maybe it does. One source told me of being approached by a leader of the AUDP who wanted to know where he could purchase weapons. Leaders of the AUDP have also been approaching foreign embassies seeking to raise funds. The Times reported that Canada had been approached for E5 million (about US$ 450,000).

I hear that the AUDP has had its approaches to embassies rebuffed. This is hardly surprising because no foreign government could be seen to be openly financing an opposition party in Swaziland. It was naive of the AUDP to make the approach. Even more naively, I am told, upon being told that it could not be openly supported, the AUDP, asked to be funded ‘indirectly’.

The AUDP has also angered the People’s United Democratic Movement (PUDEMO), the best known of the opposition groups in Swaziland (and one that wants to see the present political system in Swaziland changed radically). The media constantly refer to AUDP as a ‘breakaway’ from PUDEMO.

In a statement yesterday (23 January 2011), PUDEMO said, ‘PUDEMO has neither links nor history with the AUDP. We share nothing in common ideologically and otherwise. The formation of the AUDP has got nothing to do with PUDEMO – period! We cannot recall in our history where the founders of the AUDP decided to walk out of PUDEMO and announce they were breaking away to form their own organization.’

That seems clear enough.

PUDEMO NOT LINKED TO AUDP

The following is a media statement from the People’s United Democratic Movement (PUDEMO) denying that it has links with the African United Democratic Party (AUDP) and criticising the Swaziland media for reporting that it has.

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PUDEMO SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT

23 January 2011

We wish to correct the unfortunate, incorrect and highly misleading assertion by the media in Swaziland, in particular most recently the Times Group of newspapers that the African United Democratic Party (AUDP) “is a breakaway wing of PUDEMO.”

No matter how many times this can be repeated, it will not distort the truth. PUDEMO has neither links nor history with the AUDP. We share nothing in common ideologically and otherwise. The formation of the AUDP has got nothing to do with PUDEMO – period! We cannot recall in our history where the founders of the AUDP decided to walk out of PUDEMO and announce they were breaking away to form their own organization.

We humbly request the local media to therefore, correctly identify the AUDP and allow it to do its operations without the media linking it to PUDEMO, especially its formation and history – lest this be accepted as truthful when in fact it is not.

We may never know what the intention of the media is by constantly reporting and misleading its readership on this matter. If it is not intentional and deliberate, then we forgive them with the understanding that this will not happen ever again in the future.

However, if this is deliberately done by the media in general or by individuals within the media, then we have no choice but to conclude that there is a deliberate ploy to undermine PUDEMO, a very unfortunate scenario journalistically. Such negative and incorrect reporting on PUDEMO and its members has been happening in the past and were forced to approach the former Managing Editor Martin Dlamini to correct with his reporting staff. Such incorrect and misleading captions were:

‘PUDEMO hijacks…”

“PUDEMO turns … into a political rally.”

We are also aware that at times the local media does not publish the correct information that we give it on the pretext that we are a banned organization. Surprisingly we would find incorrect and negative information on PUDEMO splashed in the media without verifying with us on the true position. PUDEMO is always available and does not shy away from the media.

This humble advice is not only directed to the Times Group, but to all media houses in Swaziland. We urge the media in general and individual journalists to report fairly and in a balanced way not only on PUDEMO, but on any issue that is of interest to the general readership to avoid creating negative perceptions on the media.

SWAZI REFERENDUM IS A CON-TRICK

Calls for a referendum over allowing political parties to exist in Swaziland seem to be growing.

The weekend papers have several reports and articles about the rights and wrongs of having a referendum on multiparties in the kingdom ruled by King Mswati III, sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch.

Political parties are banned in Swaziland by Royal Proclamation and supported by the recently-enacted constitution.

But there have been growing calls within Swaziland and the international community for the kingdom to become a democracy.

Now, the ruling elite have found a way of putting the argument to bed once and for all (they hope). Hold a rigged referendum that they will win.

We can confidently expect any referendum held on the subject to be rigged because there is a long history of stifling discussion in Swaziland.

The most pertinent example is the ‘consultation’ with the people over the contents of the Swaziland Constitution of 2006.

As I wrote in May 2008, the consultation over the constitution was a sham. Some people even called it ‘a fraud’.

How the debate was rigged was clearly documented by International Bar Association (IBA) in its report, Striving for Democratic Governance.

The IBA had been invited by King Mswati to comment on the process of writing the constitution that was overseen by the Constitutional Review Commission (CRC).

The IBA found the CRC did not allow the judiciary or NGOs to contribute to the debate and ensured that individual Swazi people were interviewed in the presence of their chiefs. As a result the ‘overwhelming’ majority wanted the King to keep all his powers and wanted the position of traditional advisers to the King to be strengthened. They also wanted Swazi customs to have supremacy over any international rights obligations.

The IBA report states, ‘The terms of reference of the Commission did not allow expressly for group submissions, and as apparently they were not entertained, NGOs per se were effectively prevented from commenting. The IBA panel considers that, unfortunately, this in itself deprived the CRC of much valuable input.’



The IBA report goes on, ‘The extent to which individual Swazis were consulted has also been questioned. The CRC did not keep records of the submissions it received and media coverage of submissions was apparently banned.



‘There is therefore no formal record of how Swazi citizens presented their views and of what in fact they said to the CRC.



‘Furthermore, information was elicited in a highly charged atmosphere. Individuals were reportedly asked, in the presence of chiefs, whether they wanted to retain the King and whether they preferred political parties.



‘The CRC report states that “there is a small minority which recommends that the powers of the monarchy must be limited” and continued that “an overwhelming majority of the nation recommends that political parties must be banned”.



‘The report concludes that “an overwhelming majority recommends that the system of Government based on the Tinkhundla must continue” and, as well as the ban on political parties being maintained, that the executive powers of the King should be maintained, the position of traditional advisers to the King strengthened, and Swazi customs have supremacy over any contrary international rights obligations.’

Under the circumstances it is difficult to see how ordinary Swazis could have come up with any other conclusion.

So the ‘debate’ on political parties and the constitution was rigged last time and it’ll be rigged next time if King Mswati has his way.

IS SWAZILAND KING SENT BY GOD?

All right, can we sort this out once and for all: is King Mswati sent by God?

I ask because there seems to be a campaign underway in Swaziland to convince us that he is.

I wrote on Wednesday (21 October 2009) about Lufto Dlamini, Swaziland’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, his excruciating poetry and his statement that the king was ‘ordained by God to lead his people’.

Now, the acting ‘traditional’ prime minister Timothy Velabo Mtsetfwa has joined in.

Mtsetfwa reckoned, ‘Royalty was a gift from God’. He said this while urging the Swazi nation ‘to respect the Royalty because it cares for the needy’ (no I promise you, he really said this).

Perhaps, King Mswati would care to clear up this matter. Does he know God personally and if he agrees with Dlamini and Mtsetfwa could he tell us exactly why he was sent to Swaziland, rather than some place on Earth more significant?

Of course, we know the king wasn’t sent by God, but it is worrying if he believes that he was. A spell in a psychiatric hospital would be in order.

I suspect what’s happening is that the Swazi people are being softened up. The ruling elite, aided and abetted by the Swazi Observer, the newspaper in effect owned by King Mswati, seem to be gearing up for a fight over multi-party democracy in Swaziland (the king, sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch, opposes it).

If the Swazi people can be made to believe that King Mswati speaks the word of God how could they speak against him?

Mtsetfwa also spoke about how multi-parties ‘were a monster to which many countries had succumbed and fell’. He then went on say, ‘in other countries, especially those under multi-party democracy, the leaders only think of themselves and their immediate families and forget about the needy people’. How odd, since Mtsetfwa has perfectly described the situation in Swaziland where all parties are banned.

Mtsetfwa then went on to say ‘many countries envy the Swazi nation’. All right Mtsetfwa, name three of them.

FEARS AFTER SWAZI DEMOCRAT FREED

The following is from the PUDEMO News site, 21 September 2009

Mario Masuku is free

The trial of [PUDEMO President] Mario Masuku ended today about 5 hours after it had begun.

The Court could see through the three false witnesses and called the whole thing off while all had expected the hearing to last at least four days.

Jubilant PUDEMO members went to greet their President at the Matsapha Prison, where Mario Masuku had been kept. Now there are reports that Wandile Dludlu,President of PUDEMO’s youth wing SWAYOCO, has been harassed and tortured while waiting to see the release of Mario Masuku.

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