SWAZILAND DRAGS SADC AFRICA DOWN

Swaziland could become another Zimbabwe, unless the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) drags the kingdom into line.

Democracy is in jeopardy and the rule of law in Swaziland has broken down.

Sisonke Msimang, the executive director of the Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa, writing in the Mail and Guardian, South Africa, calls on SADC to act now to avoid another Zimbabwe.

‘In the past 10 years Swaziland has slid steadily into a political, economic and social morass. The ruling elite has plundered the national coffers to fund all manner of lavish celebrations, the HIV/Aids infection rate has skyrocketed to such an extent that Swaziland now enjoys the dubious distinction of having the highest HIV prevalence in the world, sham elections continue to take place, in which political parties are not allowed to contest, and a series of repressive laws to silence opposition and dissent have been enacted.

‘In the past six months Swaziland has taken a turn for the worse. Critics have become more fearful of voicing their concerns about the state of the nation. The draconian Suppression of Terrorism Act - which defines terrorism in impossibly broad terms - has had a particularly severe chilling effect. Fearing being arrested and charged with inciting terror, many activists have grown silent, refusing to issue even the meekest of criticisms.’

Msimang goes on, ‘At a time when this region is striving to set norms and standards of democratic practice, Swaziland is an outlier -- dragging the reputation and image of Southern Africa down.

‘The regional bloc would be wise to call for Swazi leaders to respect democratic principles and human rights, before the situation further deteriorates. The SADC is unlikely to do so. Swaziland is a small country with little in the way of economic power or natural resources and it is of little strategic importance - either to its neighbours or to Western powers.

‘Swaziland is well aware that it is flagrantly able to ignore the standards set by the SADC because it isn’t considered important enough to bother about.’

Msimang concludes, ‘The reality is that, without intervention, the plight of the one million inhabitants of the country will worsen as poverty deepens, restrictions on freedoms tighten, HIV soars and corruption explodes. Surely this is a crisis that the SADC can avert.’

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