The cultural boycott of Swaziland’s Bushfire Festival is still on, despite a claim from the organiser that it had been lifted.
Swaziland Solidarity Network (SSN), one of the leaders of the campaign for a boycott confirmed today (10 May 2011) that nothing had changed.
The move followed a report in the Swazi Observer, the newspaper in effect owned by King Mswati III, that Bushfire organiser Jiggs Thorne had met with boycott organisers and explained the event was for the Young Heroes, an NGO providing education, healthcare, food and general support to Aids orphans in the country. Jiggs reportedly said after they heard this, the boycott was lifted.
SSN said, ‘At no time did we ever meet with any representative of the people behind the Bushfire Festival and the artists who initially revealed that they would not be participating in the festival have not reneged on their decision.
SSN says the festival is not a ‘charity’ event.
‘This is nothing but a bad public relations strategy by the organisers and is meant to hoodwink people into having faith that the festival will continue when it will not.’
See also
BOYCOTT BUSHFIRE FESTIVAL
http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2011/05/boycott-swazi-bushfire-festival.html
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