The Swazi regime continues to intensify its oppression in the nation. While it wants to fire any civil servant with political opinions, imprison all who criticize or oppose the elite ruling class, and ignores the needs of the nation, the draconian fist continues to pound.
The health crisis, education crisis, and economic crisis all stem from the fundamental political crisis in the country. Nothing can or will be resolved as the king behaves like a cornered rat who viciously attacks his ‘subjects’. Negotiations with the people can be the only viable path. And Canada, as a member of the Commonwealth (like SD) should be saying so.
This is from the Swaziland Solidarity Network Canada June Newsletter. To read more click here.
King Mswati III of Swaziland is in hot water for claiming at a news conference that in Zimbabwe ‘things are going well so far’.
He told incredulous reporters that he had heard no reports that things were bad in Zimbabwe.
King Mswati, sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch, was speaking at the end of an extraordinary summit of the Southern African Development Communityin Sandton, South Africa on Saturday (20 June 2009).
The President of South Africa Jacob Zuma had been asked by two leaders of Zimbabwe’s Movement for Democratic Change party to get the SADC to intervene in their dispute with President Robert Mugabeover many issues that have arisen since Mugabe stole power after last year’s election.
According to a report in the Star, Johannesburg, when a journalist asked how King Mswati could say that things were well in Zimbabwe when there were daily reports of people being abducted and jailed, the Swazi king said ‘nothing official’ had been brought to the SADC’s attention about such things.
If the SADC were informed officially, it would take up these issues, he said.
King Mswati was saved from a pounding by journalists by Zuma who stopped them asking further questions.
‘If we start discussing Zimbabwe now, we will end up with headlines tomorrow as though this was what the summit was about,’ he said.
King Mswati must be the only person in the world who hasn’t heard about the state of Zimbabwe. Even as the SADC was meeting at the weekend, Zimbabwe Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai was being heckled off the stage inLondon, UK, by disgruntled Zimbabwean expatriates he had urged to return home to help rebuild their country. They were unhappy about his decision to share power with Mugabe and heckled Tsvangirai so much he was forced to cut short his speech.
Things are so bad in Zimbabwe that Tsvangirai, who let me remind you is prime minister of Zimbabwe, may be prosecuted because he went overseas on an unauthorised trip.
Earlier this month King Mswati was feted by Mugabe in Zimbabwe. At a banquet Mugabe praised the (undemocratic) system of government in Swaziland, where political parties are banned.
Meanwhile in Swaziland, the Swazi Observer newspaper, which is in effect owned by King Mswati, had the headline KING SHINES AT SADC SUMMIT in its edition today (22 Juner 2009) but made no mention of Zimbabwe.
The Observer quoted Barnabas Dlamini,who was illegally appointed Prime Minister of Swaziland by King Mswati, who praised the king’s ‘able leadership, vision, wisdom and guidance’.
Writing on his blogsite today(22 June 2009), Nkhambule makes what many in the Swazi ruling elite will see as a direct attack on King Mswati III’s ability to lead Swaziland.
Nkhambule criticises King Mswati’s Government for not sticking to its constitutional obligation to provide free primary school education.
In an open letter to the king, sub- Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch, Nkhambule says, ‘I fail to be convinced how my King could reverse a pledge that would have brought hope to so many children of his loyal subjects.’
He goes on to criticise King Mswati for ignoring the voice of the Swazi people listening only to those people he appoints to government.
‘The notion that, only those appointed by you are wise and have to do the thinking for the majority, is the biggest hurdle we are facing as a nation. It does not build this nation. It does not instil confidence and seeds of hope to your people about tomorrow and the day after. The burden of leading this country is too much for you alone and we are paying a heavy price for it with our lives.’
As hundreds of thousands of people take to the street in Iran to protest at the recent stolen election, one man was quick to offer his support to the contested president.
King Mswati sent his congratulations to Iran President Mahmound Ahmadinejad, rejoicing in ‘this happy occasion’.
According to the Swazi Observer, the newspaper in effect owned by King Mswati, sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch, King Mswati told Ahmadinejad, ‘I would like to express my firm belief that cordial relations which have always existed between our two countries will continue to be enhanced and strengthened in the years to come for the mutual benefit of our nations and peoples.’
Of course, no one is surprised that King Mswati was quick to offer his congratulations to someone who stole an election. For a long time he has been buddying up to Robert Mugabe, the despot who stole the elections in Zimbabwe last year and recently he was feted by Mugabe.
King Mswati also knows a thing or two about dodgy elections. He held his own in Swaziland last year but banned political parties from taking part. The European Union refused to send a team to ‘monitor’ the elections because it couldn’t see the point since the elections were obviously not free.
The Pan-African Parliament also criticised the Swazi elections as unfair because parties were banned.
So Mswati knows who his friends are. He is lucky; the only difference really between Swaziland and Iran is that the people of Iran have the courage to fight back.
State spies are infiltrating meetings held by Swaziland’s ‘shadow cabinet’.
Swazi dissident Mfomfo Nkhambule reports that when his Inhlava Forum political party meets state agents come to the meetings and ‘take notes to give to their masters’.
In March 2009 Inhlava set up a ‘shadow cabinet’ to monitor the Swazi Government and to create alternative polices so that once democracy comes to Swaziland it would be ready to serve.
Nkhambule says on his blog today (19 June 2009) that members of the shadow cabinet are being harassed. The shadow minister of housing has been taken in by authorities for ‘a grilling’ after a letter he wrote in the Times of Swaziland,the kingdom’s only independent daily newspaper, in which he advised King Mswati III, sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch, to meet with Nkhambule.
According to Nkhambule, ‘He told me he got a call from the illegal Prime Minister (appointed by the King in complete violation of the country’s constitution) to report to the Palace on a Saturday without fail.
‘Present in the grilling session were the illegal Prime Minister, Dr Sibusiso B Dlamini, the Chairman of Liqoqo (King’s advisory council) and two other gentlemen whom he could not identify. He was given stern warning not to associate himself with the party or similar statements again.
‘He was threatened with eviction from his village. I saw tears rolling down his face as he narrated his ordeal before the terrible four. Why would these four gentlemen pounce on a Swazi national who is trying so hard to help his fellow Swazis help themselves? What else are they capable of doing?’
