When will the Times of Swaziland stop insulting the intelligence of its readers over al-Qaeda terrorist threats in the kingdom?
The Times and its companion newspapers have been running articles designed to raise the level of fear among Swazis that they are in immediate threat from ‘Asians’ or ‘Muslims’ who are secretly in Swaziland plotting destruction.
The latest episode in this fantasy comes in the Times today (26 January 2010). The newspaper reports that the Muslim cleric Sheikh Abdullah el-Faisal has been in Swaziland ‘recruiting young men who would act as suicide bombers during the FIFA Football World Cup to be hosted by South Africa in June’.
These so-called ‘suicide bombers’ are, the Times tells us, ‘Muslim extremists who would cause terror at the upcoming world showpiece’.
And what’s the Times’ evidence for this? It copied the story down from the City Press newspaper in South Africa.
Do the remember the Standard? Obviously the journalists at the Times don’t. The Standard is the newspaper that in early 2009 told us that al Qaeda terrorists may be in Swaziland disguised as secondhand car salesmen.
They weren’t and they aren’t.
The Standard went further and reported that al Qaeda terrorists were infiltrating Botswana and 10 nations across the world, ‘Brazil, Namibia, South Africa, Malaysia, Venezuela, Bolivia, Lesotho, Mauritius, Swaziland, and Trinidad and Tobago’.
Still the Swazi journalists don’t stop and think. They are going great damage to ‘Asians’ and ‘Muslims’ by spreading a fear that they may be terrorists.
They are also playing into the hands of the repressive regime led by King Mswati III, sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch. Every time the media raise fear it gives the anti-democratic supporters of the king the excuse to clamp down on legitimate dissent in the kingdom.
ARTICLE 19 is seriously concerned about the constricting environment the government of Swaziland is imposing on Freedom of Expression.
Under a controversial Suppression of Terrorism Act that has been passed by the Parliament in May 2008, Swazi journalists, political activists and human rights defenders have apparently become persona non-grata, battered and/or arrested.
The Swaziland Act is the latest in a series of anti-terrorism laws that have been enacted since the September 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center. Freedom of expression has been especially challenged by the adoption of these new laws which prohibit speech that is considered ‘extremist’ or supporting of terrorism.
Under the guise of the fight against terrorism, these new laws are used to suppress political and controversial speech. As recently as September [2008] at the 40-40 celebration, the Monarch’s 40th birthday and Swaziland’s 40 years of independence, King Mswati III promised his people better governance for economic renewal. ARTICLE 19 asserts that the restriction of free expression and pro-democracy activities of human rights defenders will hinder genuine economic progress.
‘Frankly, terrorism is a specious argument for repression of free expression in Swaziland. At issue in the recent crackdown are legitimate political grievances which, instead of being addressed through the democratic process, are demonized.’ said Dr. Agnes Callamard, Executive Director of ARTICLE19.
In recent weeks,political activities have been outlawed, marches and demonstrations have been banned, and television camera crews, journalists and political activists have been arrested on suspicion of making remarks in support of terrorism.
ARTICLE 19 strongly urges the government of Swaziland to reverse this course of action. Its resources would be much better used in strengthening democracy and the rule of law, and addressing Swaziland’s significant social challenges, including poverty and HIV/AIDS. “The serious imperative to fight terrorism and the use of violence against citizens must not be used as an excuse to repress dissent and undermine freedom of expression. On the contrary: the protection of human rights and freedom of expression are central to political and social change, democracy and development in Swaziland and anywhere else in the world” said Dr. Callamard.
Background:
ARTICLE 19 has noted with increasing concern the multiplication all over the world of restrictions on freedom of expression, or attempted restrictions, justified on the grounds of national security.
These restrictions have included: the development of anti-terrorist laws, which are too often vague and overly broad, leaving them open to interpretation and potential abuses; the use of Official Secrets Acts to deny access to publicly held information, including information of vital public interest, such as whether or not Al Jazeera was considered as a potential military target during the recent Iraq war; etc. All of these situations have one thing in common: the desire to bury or silence controversial voices that authorities deem to pose a potential threat to security.
A recent report published by the Council of Europe has clearly shown that the use of anti-terrorism to curtail freedom of expression is also a European problem. Nations around the globe have adopted new anti-terrorism legislation or revised old laws in response to the attack on 11 September 2001. Most of these laws or revisions have expended the powers of governments to fight terrorism and other crime. Controls on these powers are often insufficient.
For instance, new laws designed to protection national security from terrorism and other threats limit journalists’ ability to access information. There have also been increased procedural powers to obtain information through surveillance, searches, demands for disclosure and other means. At the same time, the laws are used to prosecute journalists for obtaining information from sources and justify surveillance to identify the sources so that journalists can be prosecuted under secrets acts for violating their duties to keep information secret. Too often, these are used for political rather than public safety reasons.
In 1995, international experts around the world adopted the Johannesburg Principles which set out standards on the extent to which governments may legitimately withhold information from the public and prohibit expression for reasons of national security. Amongst other things, they provide that a restriction is not legitimate unless its purpose and effect is to “protect a country’s existence or its territorial integrity against the use or threat of force, or its capacity to respond to the use or threat of force” from either an internal or an external threat. The Johannesburg Principles also identify a number of illegitimate grounds for claiming a national security interest, such as protecting the government from embarrassment or entrenching a particular ideology. These are clearly not national security interests but, at the same time, countries around the world continue to use and abuse these reasons.
ARTICLE 19 calls upon governments around the world to implement the Johannesburg principles.
FURTHER INFORMATION:
· For more information: please contact Cece Fadope, ARTICLE19: Africa Programme:
COSATU demands the release of PUDEMO President, Mario Masuku, and condemns the listing of PUDEMO as a terrorist organisation by King Mswati.
COSATU has learnt with shock the news of the arrest of Comrade Mario Masuku, President of the Swaziland democratic opposition organisation, PUDEMO, on Saturday 15 November.
This followed the announcement by the newly appointed Prime Minister, Barnabas Dlamini, of a new law that declares PUDEMO, SWAYOCO, SSN and Umbane to be terrorist organisations.
Swaziland is moving backwards with great speed, to even more repressive measures. Mswati is clearly an obstacle to progress in the Southern African region and particularly to the poor and suffering people of Swaziland.
The army is now literally living in people's houses, without invitation, which is a breach of privacy and personal security. The country is really under siege, merely to protect the interests of one family, the royal family, at the expense of the whole nation.
It is a scandal that he occupies the important position of Chairperson of the SADC Organ Troika, which is supposed principally to be responsible for the defence and promotion of democracy throughout the region. In particular it is responsible for trying to resolve the crisis in Zimbabwe. It is no wonder that the crisis has not been resolved.
Worst still, if it is true that, as tipped, that he is to become the AU Chair of the Peace and Security Council, then we are in trouble and something must be done now before he messes up the whole continent.
Mario Masuku has been in and out of Swazi jails and has proven to be a real champion of the oppressed and suffering people of Swaziland; hence his continued targeting by the Swazi royal junta. The regime is refusing to accept that it has not won the battle to break his spirit in the past, and still hopes to do so now.
COSATU calls on all progressive and democracy-loving people of the world to take action to force Mswati to change, beginning with the immediate and unconditional release of Masuku and all other political prisoners.
It is a challenge to all South Africans, the alliance in particular, that we still have still surviving next door a regime that has defied democracy for so long. We call for a renewal of an effective global solidarity movement to highlight the plight of the struggling Swazi people, mobilise support for them and engage in practical and sustained activities to expose the situation in Swaziland.
We have just completed our week long, low-intensity boycott of goods to Swaziland and we now need to step it up and engage a high-intensity boycott, which we shall do as soon as we are requested by our Swazi comrades.
