DENMARK HONOURS PUDEMO LEADER

The Swaziland Government does like to bury its head in the sand when it comes to the irresistible move towards democracy in the kingdom.

The government’s official spokesperson refused to comment on the news that Mario Masuku, president of the People’s United Democratic Movement (PUDEMO), had been honoured with a democracy award in Denmark.

The official spokesperson Macanjana Motsa said government would not comment because PUDEMO was banned and therefore ‘non-existent’.

You can call PUDEMO many things but ‘non-existent’ isn’t one of them.

The world knows about PUDEMO and the struggle for democracy in Swaziland which is ruled by King Mswati III, sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch.

So strong is the support for the democracy campaign in Swaziland that a group in Denmark called the Swaziland Democracy Watch (SWADEWA) has awarded Masuku with its Democracy Prize 2010.

SWADEWA says what Masuku and PUDEMO are doing in Swaziland is very important for the future of the country. ‘We admire Masukus courage to speak up and fight for human rights and a multiparty democracy in Swaziland,’ it says.