EXPOSE THE LIES ABOUT SWAZILAND

The following is a press release issued by the Swaziland Democracy Campaign.

SDC calls for Commonwealth parliamentarians to expose tinkhundla MPs

Press Release 30 April 2010

The Swaziland Democracy Campaign notes that the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) branches of National Parliament, KZN, Gauteng and Limpopo together with the Swaziland branch are holding a session in South Africa to deliberate on matters related to the governance systems in these countries, particularly in the branches listed herein.

We take this opportunity to reiterate our demands for the fundamental rejection of tinkhundla model of governance, which is based on exclusive and monopolistic exercise of power by the ruling royal regime and its cohorts in Swaziland. The system denies the people and their representative organs their rights and access to public policy participation, democratic election of leaders of their choice as public representatives and banning of all legitimate political and social activism. In summary, the people have no right to speak, organise and associate on the basis of shared interests and opinions related to matters of national interest and governance.

We call upon MPs from South Africa and the rest of the democratic world to expose these opportunists and isolate them for misrepresenting the facts on how the tinkhundla system has thrown the country into a state of permanent crisis.

In the same way that the Foreign Affairs Minister of Swaziland Lutfo Dlamini told lies about Swaziland in London recently, we do expect that such misinformation will continue and call upon all democracy-loving peoples of the world to refuse to be misinformed, but challenge and reject any attempt to fool them.

The unbanning of political parties, freedom of speech, rights to organise and associate freely, and unconditional return of all exiles remain our key demands and do assure the world that no change will happen unless these conditions are met.