A ‘battalion of
police officers’ stopped a prayer meeting in Swaziland’s main city Manzini,
claiming it was illegal.
The police, carrying batons, took control of the Caritas
Centre and stopped a commemoration prayer called by the Trade Union Congress of
Swaziland (TUCOSWA).
Riot police later arrived to ensure that no prayers took
place.
The Swazi Government had, without a court order, decided that
the prayers, organised by the Trade Union Congress of Swaziland (TUCOSWA) were
illegal because the workers’ group was not officially registered with the
state. TUCOSWA had been refused permission to register by the Industrial Court
which said there was no law in the kingdom that allowed such registration to
take place.
TUCOSWA had organised the prayers to mark the first
anniversary of its inception.
The Times Sunday,
an independent newspaper in Swaziland, where most media is state-controlled,
reported a ‘battalion’ of police carrying batons were later joined by the riot
squad, the Operation and Support Service Unit (OSSU).
They stopped the prayers despite protests from leaders of TUCOSWA.
Barnes Dlamini, President of TUCOSWA, said police did not
have a court order to ban the prayers.
The Times Sunday
reported him saying that the police misinterpreted the Industrial Court order. Although TUCOSWA could not register as a labour federation that did not mean
that it was illegal.
In Swaziland many organisations are banned under the
Suppression of Terrorism Act, including the people’s United Democratic Movement
(PUDEMO), the best known of the opposition parties in Swaziland.
The participants decided to abandon the prayer meeting.
See also
ANOTHER PRAYER MEETING BANNED
COURT BLOW FOR LABOUR FEDERATION
POLICE SAY PRAYERS WERE POLITICAL
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