GOVERNMENT ATTACKS INTERNET

The Swazi Government wants to extend its censorship of the media to the Internet.

Already newspapers and broadcast media are subject to censorship (and self-censorship) by government and other organs of the ruling elite.

Now there is news that the Swaziland Attorney General Majahenkhaba Dlamini is looking to get a website from the People’s United Democratic Movement (PUDEMO) closed down.

According to a report in the Times Sunday (28 December 2008), Dlamini says the website could contravene the Suppression of Terrorism Act (STA).

He didn’t tell the newspaper why he thought it did this, but as Amnesty International revealed on Thursday (8 January 2009) the definitions of ‘terrorism’ and ’terrorist activity’ in the STA are so broad that just about anything could be included: such as setting off a fire alarm as a prank.

The real reason the Swazi Government wants the website closed down is because it comes from a political party that is banned inside Swaziland. In November 2008 the illegally-appointed Prime Minister of Swaziland Barnabas Dlamini declared PUDEMO and three other political formations to be terrorist organisations. This means anyone who is a member of the organisations or offers them support could face up to 25 years in jail.

The Swazi Government cannot control what goes on the PUDEMO website at a time when international opinion is turning against Swaziland where King Mswati III rules as the last absolute monarch in sub-Saharan Africa. His wealth of 200 million US dollars contrasts to 70 percent of Swaziland’s one million population who live in abject poverty, earning less than one dollar a day. All political parties are banned in Swaziland and the parliament has no real powers. The present prime minister was appointed by the king, even though he had not been a member of the House of Assembly (a constitutional requirement).

In the past few months the Swazi Government has clamped down on dissent. Only this week Mfomfo Nkambule, a writer for the Times of Swaziland was threatened with a 20-year jail sentence if he continued to write articles deemed by the police to be critical of the king.

According to the Times Sunday report, the Attorney General said he would consult the STA to ascertain whether or not PUDEMO operated the website outside of the law and then block it from being accessed by the public.

He conceded it was not easy to block it because the Swazi Government still had to find out where the website was hosted.

To access the PUDEMO website, click here.