Riot police in Swaziland blocked teachers from marching
in the kingdom’s capital today (13 June 2012).
Thousands of members of the Swaziland National
Association of Teachers (SNAT) had assembled in Mbabane to protest for a pay increase of
4.5 percent. They wanted to march across the city and deliver a petition at the
offices of the Prime Minister, Barnabas Dlamini.
The Centre for Human Rights in the kingdom, ruled by King
Mswati III, sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch, reports, ‘The state
responded by deploying its riot squad, ordinary police officers from the Royal
Swaziland Police Force and personnel from His Majesty’s Correctional Services,
who formed a barrier on the main street, ensuring that no protestor penetrated
through.
‘The teachers were given a deserted route as an
alternative route, and they declined to use it, forcing the state police to
reinforce. Workers continued to toyi-toyi on the blocked street. At the time of
compiling this report, no incident had been reported, even though the mood was
visibly volatile.’
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