Swaziland police and state security forces have been
condemned for their ‘increasingly violent and abusive behaviour’ that is
leading to the ‘militarization’ of the kingdom.
Things are so bad in the kingdom, ruled by King Mswati III,
sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch, that police are unable to accept
that peaceful political and social dissent is a vital element of a healthy
democratic process, and should not be viewed as a crime.
These complaints were made by the Open Society Initiative
for Southern Africa (OSISA) at the African Commission
on Human and Peoples' Rights (ACHPR) meeting in The Gambia on Wednesday (10
April 2013).
OSISA said, ‘There are also reliable reports of a general
militarization of the country through the deployment of the Swazi army, police
and correctional services to clamp down on any peaceful protest action by
labour or civil society organisations ahead of the country’s undemocratic
elections.’
OSISA was commenting on the trend in Southern Africa for
police and security services to be increasingly violent and abusive of human
rights.
In particular, OSISA highlighted how the police continued
to clamp down on dissenting voices and the legitimate public activities of
opposition political parties prior to, during and after elections.
In a statement OSISA said, ‘Swaziland and Zimbabwe are both due to hold
elections in the coming months and the police in both countries are notorious
for preventing public rallies and harassing opposition politicians and civil
society figures in the run-up to polls – a clear violation of the basic right
to freedom of assembly.’
On 12 April Swaziland will mark the 40th anniversary since
political parties were banned. OSISA said this was ‘another clear violation of
a basic right – to freedom of association’.
OSISA told the ACHPR meeting that in February this year a
battalion of armed police invaded the Our Lady of Assumption Cathedral in
Manzini and forced the congregation to vacate the church alleging that the
service ‘intended to sabotage the country’s general elections’.
OSISA added, ‘A month later, a heavily armed group of police backed up by the Operational Support Services
Unit prevented members of the Trade Union Congress of Swaziland (TUCOSWA) from
holding a peaceful commemoration prayer in celebration of the federation’s
anniversary. In both instances there was no court order giving the police the
legal authority to halt the prayers.’
Leopoldo de Amaral, OSISA’s Human Rights Programme
Manager, said, ‘These cases illustrate a general alarming trend in southern
Africa – how state parties across the region are using security institutions to
intimidate and silence civil society actors and implant a sense of fear among
the country’s citizens.’
See also
POLICE NO RIGHT TO DISRUPT PRAYERS
RIOT POLICE FORCE HALT TO PRAYER
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