Kenworthy News Media, April 22, 2013
Swaziland’s
constitution guarantees freedom of speech, says Danish civil servant
“Swaziland’s constitution guarantees the right to free
speech,” senior civil servant Mads Mayerhofer from the Danish Minsitry of
Foreign Affairs replied to a letter to Danish MP Christian Juel from the
Red-Green Alliance, writes Kenworthy News Media.
The letter from Christian Juel to Mads Mayerhofer
concerned the recent arrest and charge of sedition of Swazi trade unionist and
political activist, Wonder Mkhonza, for the possession of 5000 political
pamphlets – acts by the Swazi authorities that are evidently a breach of any
meaningful interpretation of the concept of free speech.
According to Meyerhofer, the Danish Ministry of Foreign
Affairs has officially contacted Swaziland’s High Commission in Pretoria
concerning Wonder Mkhonza, who is part of a Danish government-funded project
between the Red-Green Alliance and banned Swazi political party PUDEMO.
“The Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs have asked the Swazi
authorities to confirm the detaining of Wonder
Mkhonza and state the reasons hereof,” wrote Meyerhofer.
Denmark has been the largest contributor of foreign aid
to the democratic movement in Swaziland for many years, although all Danish aid
to Swaziland will be stopped by the end of 2014 as Swaziland’s BNI has exceeded
the arbitrary limit that Denmark has set above which no development aid can be
given.
Ironically, Swaziland was recently ranked as the 5th
poorest country in the world by American financial news and opinion
organisation, 24/7 Wall St., in a survey that pointed to Swaziland’s poverty
rate of 69,2%, limited economic growth, reliance on subsistence agriculture, and
low life expectancy due largely to Swaziland having the highest HIV/Aids rate
in the world.
See also
CAMPAIGN TO FREE ACTIVIST GROWS
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