REPEATED CALL FOR SWAZI SANCTIONS

The Swaziland Democracy Campaign (SDC) has renewed its call for sanctions to be imposed against members of the ruling elite in the kingdom.

This follows a month of activity in the kingdom ruled by King Mswati III, sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch.

In a statement, SDC says it condemns King Mswati’s outright rejection of any discussion with his subjects who advocate for democracy in the kingdom. The king made his opposition to dialogue clear at the so-called Smart Partnership meeting last month (July 2010).

‘We consider the king’s renouncing of dialogue to be worse than the 1973 decree which proscribed political parties,’ SDC says.

SDC is also critical of the Swaziland Government’s attempt to try to block the arrival in Swaziland of a ‘High Level Mission’ from the International Labour Organization (ILO) to inspect the human rights situation in the kingdom.

SDC also condemns the handling of the Swazi economy by Barnabas Dlamini, the illegally-appointed Prime Minister of Swaziland, who has reported ‘rampant corruption’ in his government, and an as yet unconfirmed report that a number of the king’s wives are currently on a multi-million dollar shopping trip to Europe with 80 people.

‘It is in this light that the [SDC] reiterates its call to the international community for the immediate imposition of targeted smart sanctions against key figures of the ruling class and their associates. Such sanctions should include freezing of all offshore funds and assets, travel bans, studying in foreign universities and schools, etc., until such time that King Mswati III and his Tinkhundla regime embrace multiparty democracy,’ the statement says.