Police shut down prodemocracy
meeting
Media
Institute of Southern Africa, Swaziland chapter
Media
Alert
18
February, 2013
It
was billed as a peaceful, prodemocracy prayer, organised by the Swaziland
United Democracy Front and the Swaziland Democracy Campaign. It was to take
place on Saturday morning, 16 February 2013 at a Catholic Church in Manzini,
the commercial capital of Swaziland, a small kingdom wedged between South
Africa and Mozambique in sub-Saharan Africa.
The
first paragraph of invitation to the event, under the title, ‘The Call for a
National Prayer Towards a People`s Government’, reads:
“The
Leadership of the Swaziland United Democratic Front (SUDF), together with the Detachment
of activists under the auspices of the Swaziland Democracy Campaign (SDC), is
humbled to invite every Swazi to a
“National Prayer For A People`s Government” [sic].”
The
letter continues: “As the year is still dawning, we deemed it fit to make a
call to the God of the poor, down trodden and marginalized masses of our
motherland to help us realize a government that will be owned and run by
ourselves as a people and a nation.”
The
invitation goes on to describe the prayer as the launch of a campaign to usher
in democracy to Swaziland. There was no mention of inciting violence in the
letter. It is signed, ‘Yours in the struggle for a democratic Swaziland’, above
the names Wandile Dludlu [PUDEMO member and SUDF coordinator] and Mary Da Silva
[SUDF coordinator].
According
to reports in the Times of Swaziland
Sunday, a privately owned but heavily censored weekend tabloid, the meeting
was a nonstarter as police arrived on the scene during formalities, just after
9 am, saying attendees had seven minutes to disperse. The Swazi chapter of
Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA-Swaziland), a media watchdog, arrived
at the Sir John Bosco centre at 10.30 am, an hour after proceedings were meant
to start, only to find an empty hall guarded by 40 police officers, many out of
uniform. A group of police was seen sitting on a log under a small tree on top
of a nearby hill, in the shade of the morning heat, guns perched on their laps,
chatting and smiling.
On
the mountainous drive into Manzini, 35 kilometers southeast of the capital
Mbabane, police were casually patrolling the outskirts, armed with guns and
batons, dressed in the navy blue of the Royal Swaziland Police Force. Many
looked uncomfortable holding their weapons. Many looked unable to chase a thief
is the need arose.
“They
don’t have the authority to meet”, came the response from a plain-clothed
policeman guarding the Bosco centre when MISA-Swaziland asked why no meeting
was taking place. The prodemocracy gatherers had been told to go home. It
wasn’t made clear which law the police had invoked to disperse the crowd, and
any law that was invoked would seem to clash with Section 25 (1) of the Swazi
Constitution: “A person has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and
association.”
One
of the headlines in the Times Sunday
on 17 February read, ‘Cops stop prayer for peace’. On the front page of the Swazi Observer (a propaganda daily
effectively owned by the king, ruler since 1986) on February 18 2013 reads,
‘Prayer was to plan election sabotage’.
In
possible explanation of the police clampdown, several of the organisers of the prodemocracy
meeting are part of the Peoples United Democratic Movement (PUDEMO), a banned political
party. PUDEMO members were accused of a spate of bomb attacks several years
ago, and this led to recent official fear of their meetings. In the past police
have invoked the Public Order Act 1963 to break up meetings and spy on meetings
involving PUDEMO members and other people involved in opposition politics.
And
in 2008 the Suppression of Terrorism Act was introduced, giving further power
to police and politicians who wish to disallow public meetings and free
association. Amnesty International released a report in 2009, An Atmosphere of Intimidation:
Counter-terrorism legislation used to silence dissent in Swaziland. The report found
that the Suppression of Terrorism Act “has been successful in creating a
climate of fear. All those who were vocal are quieter now because of the Act”.
In
attendance at the meeting last Saturday was Bishop Paul Verryn, from
Johannesburg, South Africa. According to reports in the Times Sunday, Bishop Verryn was at the prodemocracy prayer
representing the South African Council of Churches.
“We
have been profoundly disrespected by the police that in the middle of a prayer
they came in and stopped us,” Times
Sunday reported the Bishop as saying. “If the authorities are afraid of a
simple prayer hosted by citizens of the country, then we cannot say Swaziland
is a free country.” Verryn said he would report the story of police
intimidation back to South Africa’s church leaders.
Also
among the attendees was PUDEMO president Mario Masuku. PUDEMO released a
statement after the police lock down, labeling the actions of authorities as
“satanic”. The statement, according to local media reports, describes PUDEMO’s
version of events, and details how police continued to harass the pro-democracy
activists at Manzini’s Catholic Cathedral, where the activists sought shelter
after they were told to leave the Bosco centre.
“PUDEMO
condemns the devilish and satanic behaviour of the Swaziland Police of invading
the Manzini Roman Catholic Church (The Cathedral) in pursuit of innocent and
unarmed citizens who had gathered to pray for justice, peace and democratic
change in the country… The Swaziland United Democratic Front (SUDF) had organised
the prayer gathering at St John Bosco Hall, a facility belonging to the
[Catholic Church] but we the people were refused entry and were forcefully
removed from the place… After this forceful eviction, the people found shelter
at The Cathedral, hiding from the pursuing police who were dressed for war. The
fully armed police entered the church premises and disturbed those gathering in
prayer while refusing other to gain entry to the church.”
As
the Catholic Church continues its search for a new pope, it might hazard a
glance in the direction of a small kingdom in southern Africa, choking under
the weight of state-condoned suppression and official neglect. The new pope
might spare a few seconds to learn how HIV has wiped out generations and towns
in this landlocked nation of good-humored and resilient people. The new pope
might also learn how Swazi life expectancy has dropped from 60 in the 1900s to
32 in 2007. Censorship in the media is getting worse and uncertainty among
Swazis grows by the day.
The
Swaziland chapter of Media Institute of Southern Africa is a media watchdog
that promotes freedom of speech.
See
also
CHRISTIANS
CONDEMN PRAYERS RAID
RAID
ON PRAYERS UNCONSTITUTIONAL
POLICE
SAY PRAYERS WERE POLITICAL
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