King Mswati III is
misleading his subjects and the world at large when he says
he does not know why the United States is withdrawing a preferential trading
status from his kingdom.
The United States
decided that Swaziland could no longer receive trading benefits under the African
Growth Opportunity Act (AGOA). The decision was made in June 2014 after
Swaziland failed to meet the United States’ requirements on human rights
issues.
King Mswati rules
Swaziland as sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch and political parties
are banned from contesting elections with many outlawed under anti-terrorism legislation.
The King handpicks the Prime Minister, government ministers and the judiciary.
King Mswati
returned from the United States Africa summit in Washington this week and told
media in Swaziland that he did not know why the United States withdrew the
preferential trading status. The Swazi
Observer, a newspaper in effect owned by the King, reported him saying
the United States did not make it clear why Swaziland lost its eligibility.
However, the
reasoning was widely reported at the time, including by newspapers in
Swaziland. The US withdrew Swaziland’s AGOA privileges after the kingdom ignored
an
ultimatum to implement the full passage of amendments to the Industrial
Relations Act; full passage of amendments to the Suppression of Terrorism Act
(STA); full passage of amendments to the Public Order Act; full passage of amendments
to sections 40 and 97 of the Industrial Relations Act relating to civil and
criminal liability to union leaders during protest actions; and establishing a
code of conduct for the police during public protests.
The US Trade Representative
Michael Froman, said, ‘The withdrawal of AGOA benefits is not a decision
that is taken lightly.
‘We have made our concerns very clear to Swaziland over the
last several years and we engaged extensively on concrete steps that Swaziland
could take to address the concerns.’
Since the announcement of the withdrawal, which starts on 1
January 2015, the United States has continued to criticise Swaziland’s poor
human rights issues.
Last week, the United
States criticised Swazi Prime Minister Barnabas Dlamini after he called for
two workers’ leaders to be ‘strangled’ after they criticised his government’s
human rights record. It called the comment ‘threatening’.
In a statement the United States
Department of State said, ‘Such
remarks have a chilling effect on labor and civil rights in the Kingdom of
Swaziland.’
It
added, ‘The United States continues to support and defend fundamental
freedoms, including freedom of association, and the human rights defenders who
fight for these values each day. We call upon the Government to renounce the
Prime Minister’s remarks and to ensure respect for the constitutionally
enshrined rights of all citizens.’
Last month (July 2014) the US State Department criticised
the jailing for two years of magazine editor Bheki Makhubu and human rights
lawyer and writer Thulani Maseko after they wrote articles critical of the
Swazi judiciary.
In a
statement the State Department said, ‘Their convictions for contempt of court for publishing
an article critical of the High Court of Swaziland and their ongoing
prolonged detention appear to undermine respect for Swaziland’s human rights
obligations, particularly the right to freedom of expression, which is enshrined
in Swaziland’s own constitution and the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights. The United States strongly supports the universal fundamental
freedom of expression and is deeply concerned by the actions of the Swazi
Government.’
The US regularly draws attention to human rights failings in
Swaziland. In a public statement in April 2013, the US
Embassy in Swaziland said it had ‘deep concern’ about the way police
engaged in ‘acts of intimidation and fear’ against people seeking their
political rights.
The statement came after armed police, acting without a
court order, barricaded a restaurant in Manzini to stop people attending a
public meeting to discuss the national election in Swaziland.
The US embassy said it had deep concern about the manner in
which representatives of political organisations and lawyers for human rights
were treated by police.
The police blockade of the restaurant took place on 12 April
2013 and was intended to mark the 40th anniversary of the Royal Decree in 1973
by King Sobhuza II that tore up the constitution and allowed the king to
introduce any law he wished and to change existing ones.
The decree has never been rescinded and his son, Mswati III
today rules Swaziland as an absolute monarch.
The US Embassy said it was, ‘[C]oncerned that a group of
people were prevented from entering a restaurant, where they had planned to
hold their meeting and were forcibly removed from the premises by police’.
The statement added that the 2005 Swaziland Constitution
guaranteed freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association.
It further said Swazi security forces had a duty to protect
the rights of citizens to, ‘communicate ideas and information without
interference’.
This was not the first time the US Embassy in Swaziland has
criticised the Swaziland ruling regime. A year earlier in April
2012 it said, ‘We urge the Swazi government to take the necessary steps to
ensure the promotion and protection of the fundamental rights and freedoms of
all Swazi citizens as outlined in the Swazi constitution, including freedom of
conscience, of expression, of peaceful assembly and association, and of
movement.’
The statement went on, ‘The United States government is
deeply concerned about increasing infringements on freedom of assembly, as
evidenced by the recent actions taken by Swazi security forces to prevent
peaceful citizens from gathering for a prayer
meeting on Saturday, April 14 in Manzini as well as reports
of those same forces preventing people from gathering in groups of more
than two people in Manzini and Mbabane on April 11 and 12.’
See also
US BACKS CONVICTED SWAZI JOURNALISTS
PM WITHDRAWS ‘STRANGLE’ THREAT
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