Swaziland’s independent civil right groups are filing a court case today (15 October 2008), challenging the decision of King Mswati III, the kingdom’s absolute monarch, to ban the Southern Africa Social Forum meeting scheduled for tomorrow.
Voice of America (VoA) radio reports today that the Swaziland Government contends that tomorrow’s scheduled meeting will not only harm the country’s interest, it would compromise peace, security and stability. But local groups dismiss the government’s remarks, saying forum participants from across the southern Africa sub-region had been expected to discuss calls on King Mswati III to accept political parties and other democratic reforms.
Thembinkosi Dlamini is a major proponent of the civil rights groups. From the Swaziland capital Mbabane, he told VoA reporter Peter Clottey that the social forum is an open space for reflective thinking, democratic debates of ideas, and the free exchange of experiences.
For more on this, including a radio interview with Thembinkosi Dlamini, click here.
Meanwhile, VoA reports King Mswati III is expected to appoint a new prime minister following the parliamentary elections held last month that VoA says ‘were denounced as a burlesque of democracy’.
Political observers say despite occasional unrest and a growing democracy movement, Swaziland is overwhelmingly peaceful. But police have reportedly prevented demonstrations by the king's critics. A significant number of members of parliaments from across Africa who observed last September vote said it did not meet both regional and international standards for democratic elections.
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