OBSERVER CENSORS KING

King Mswati III has told the world’s news media that political parties are not banned in Swaziland. But the Swazi Observer censored the king in its report and the rest of the Swaziland media seem to have ignored the story completely.

This king made his bombshell statement yesterday (7 August 2007) to journalists during the Langkawi International Dialogue anti-poverty conference, in Malaysia.

The Associated Press (AP) news agency quoted the king saying, ‘There is no ban on political parties.’

He had been asked about the state of democracy in Swaziland, AP reported. The king said of the new Swazi constitution which came into force in February 2006, ‘This constitution was a result of many people participating.’

He added, ‘The people are the ones who decided the structure as it is. There is no ban on political parties.’

The AP sent the news around the world and the report has appeared in many newspapers and broadcast media, including South Africa’s News24 radio and Business Day newspaper

But the Swazi Observer chose to publish the AP report in its edition today, without the crucial line, ‘There is no ban on political parties.’

The unbanning of political parties should be major news in the kingdom. Two weeks ago there was a general strike in Swaziland to press, among other issues, for political parties to be allowed to contest next year’s elections. Trade unions had said they would hold strikes every month until their request was met.

The king in his statement has effectively ended the dispute. In Swaziland the king’s word is law. If he says political parties can be formed, then that is what will happen.

What remains unanswered for now is why did the Swazi Observer choose not to tell its readers the truth? It is all the more puzzling because the Swazi Observer is in effect owned by the Swazi Royal Family.

It cannot be that the newspaper did not know about the statement, since it chose to include the other comments the king made in his interview with AP.

Why the rest of the Swazi media ignored the story completely is also a puzzle. The Swazi media have given extensive coverage to the king’s visit to the Langkawi International Dialogue giving details of the formal meetings he has had with leaders of other countries.

One possibility for the omission concerns the way the report was gathered. AP says the king’s comments were made ‘on the sidelines of an economic gathering of African and Asian leaders in Malaysia.’ That suggests that a journalist took the initiative to question the king about a matter of controversy.

To question the king on anything controversial goes against the traditions of Swazi journalists. They are only interested in official news about the monarchy. Just listen to the state controlled broadcast media in Swaziland any day of the week for evidence of that. The newspapers are not much better.

But the news is out. People outside the kingdom now know important information about Swaziland and this is information that the king’s subjects have been denied.

The Swazi media must own up to this statement and we must see how the politicians and trade unionists react to the news.