State controlled Swazi TV did not cover the second day of the national strike that is gripping Swaziland.
Although teams of journalists from all over the world were on hand to record the action which saw police turn tear gas and rubber bullets on protesters, the largest TV station in Swaziland ignored the event.
Two explosions took place, one outside a takeaway restaurant and another on a bus.
Today (5 September 2008) both Swaziland’s daily newspapers are full of accounts of the march which attracted about 10 000 marchers in the kingdom’s capital, Mbabane. A similar number had marched on Wednesday in Swaziland’s commercial capital, Manzini.
The marches have received international attention. The Swazi Observer reported that the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and the American-based Cable News Network (CNN) were among news teams reporting.
The Times of Swaziland reported, ‘The state television, in its prime time news, never showed the strike action instead it focused on arrival of guests for the 40/40 double celebrations.
‘They also covered preparations of the anniversary and the donation to government for the celebrations by Swaziland Beverages. The mass action is anti-40/40 and most of its concerns were focused on this event.
‘The only time the station came close to reporting about the rowdy event was when they reported about the suspected bombing of Phumzakhele Bus Service by unknown people.
‘On signing off in these clips, the reporter simply said: “On another note the protest action by unions today came to an end.”’
So once again the Swazi people have been denied information about what is going on in their own kingdom. Swazi TV likes to tell viewers that it a station that serves the nation. On this evidence it is just a propaganda channel for the powerful in Swaziland.
See also
STRIKE
No comments:
Post a Comment