The STA is ‘regularly used’ by the police to interfere in trade union activities, Action for Southern Africa (ACTSA) said in a submission to the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG), ahead of the meeting in Malta on 27-29 November 2015.
It said King Mswati III, who rules Swaziland as
sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch, ‘must be held to account for its
serious breaches of the Commonwealth Charter’.
In its submission, ACTSA, which is the successor to
the Anti-Apartheid Movement, said, ‘A cornerstone of any State seeking to demonstrate its dedication to
human rights is the ability of its citizens to exercise freedom of
speech. In Swaziland, freedom of speech is denied.’
It added, ‘A key instrument used to curtail freedom of expression
in Swaziland is the STA. The STA has been widely criticised since its
enactment because of its vague definitions and broad
designation of ministerial power as well as
its inconsistencies with
Swaziland’s own constitution and Swaziland’s obligations
under international and regional
human rights law. This includes condemnation by the
International Bar
Association and Amnesty International.
ACTSA added, ‘The STA is regularly used
by the police to legitimise
interference with trade union activities. For instance during
the 2014 May Day
celebrations organised by the Trade Union Congress of Swaziland
(TUCOSWA), Mario Masuko,
President of PUDEMO, and Maxwell Dlamini, Secretary
General of the Swaziland
Youth Congress, were arrested and charged under the STA
after delivering speeches
in which they questioned the socio-economic governance of
the country. The charges
brought against them meant that if they were found guilty,
they would have faced a
sentence of up to 15 years of hard labour.
‘Over
a year passed with both men in detention and with no verdict having
been passed. Finally, on 14 July 2015, the two men were released on bail, with conditions forbidding them from
addressing public rallies.
Whilst no longer incarcerated, the charges against both men
have not been dropped.
‘Additionally,
on 17 and 18 March 2014, charges of criminal contempt were brought
against human rights lawyer
Thulani Maseko and editor in chief of the Nation, Bheki Makhubu. Both men were charged following
publication of articles in the Nation that questioned the reasoning behind and
circumstances of a case before the High
Court of Swaziland. The
state action taken against them was subject to condemnation
by UN experts
in June 2014. The Office of
the High Commissioner for Human Rights
(OHCHR) reported
concerns that the detention
of both men was related to the legitimate exercise of their right to freedom of
expression as recognised in the Constitution of the Kingdom of Swaziland.
‘The
OHCHR stated that it was of the view that the detention and trial of Maseko and Makhubu
for the exercise of their right to express an opinion on the court case was counter to
Swaziland’s international human rights obligations. The two men were subsequently
sentenced to two
years in prison without benefit or bail where the usual sentence is
30 days.
‘Following
much international condemnation and the dismissal of the judge who had imprisoned
them, Bheki Makhubu was finally released on 30 June 2015 having spent 447 days in prison,
the prosecution having
decided not to oppose his appeal against conviction. The
prosecution adopted a
similar approach in the case of Thulani Maseko who was also
released in July of this
year.
‘The
use of oppressive laws to limit freedom of speech is not limited simply to the
use of existing legislation; there are also instances of
unhelpful commentary by government officials that is indicative of the
repressive nature of the Swazi State. For
example, in August 2014,
Sibusiso Barnabas Dlamini, the Swazi prime minister, made
a speech in Parliament in
which he publically threatened Sipho Gumedze from
Lawyers for Human Rights
and Vincent Ncongwane, the General Secretary of
TUCOSWA, by suggesting that
members of their constituency “must strangle them.”
‘These
comments were made following their attendance at the US-Africa Leaders’
Summit in Washington DC.
‘These
actions are in contrast to the Charter that commits the Commonwealth to
‘peaceful open dialogue and
the free flow of information … through a free and
responsible media… to
enhance democratic traditions and strengthening the
democratic processes’.
‘The
Commonwealth Observer mission in 2013 heard
testimony that a number of
journalists critical of the government had lost their jobs,
faced legal action or jail,
with the consequence that the practice of self-censorship had
grown amongst reporters.
The media are
Swaziland is overwhelming controlled by the
state, and thus,
ultimately, by the king.
‘The
repeated arrests of the editor of one of the
very few independent
publications that has been critical of the state and its institutions
is clearly intended to
intimidate those who would seek to challenge the current regime.
‘The
recommendation made by the Commonwealth Observer mission urging the
Government of Swaziland to
encourage and facilitate private media has apparently
failed to inspire action.
Instead, efforts to intimidate and restrict the media in fulfilling
its legitimate role are
ongoing.
‘Beyond
this, the much-criticised STA is being used to
suppress political dialogue
and thus scupper democratic processes. We believe that
CMAG must not be a
bystander whilst there are ongoing, serious and persistent
violations of fundamental
Commonwealth values.’
See also
KING
ATTACKED OVER HUMAN RIGHTS
SWAZI
TERROR ACT TRIAL PUT ON HOLD
SCRAP
SWAZI TERROR ACT – AMNESTY
http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2015/04/scrap-swazi-terror-act-amnesty.html
No comments:
Post a Comment