No observer of events in Swaziland over the past year can
take seriously the reappointed Prime
Minster Barnabas Dlamini’s claim that, ‘Government will ensure that the
justice system is administered swiftly and efficiently and maintenance of law
and order will be secured in accordance with the highest human rights standards.’
Dlamini
was personally reappointed Prime Minister by King Mswati III, who rules
Swaziland as sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch. Dlamini has never been
elected to public office by the people. He made his comment during the
swearing-in ceremony of newly-appointed Cabinet ministers.
In his previous three terms as PM, Dlamini rode roughshod
over the rights of the Swazi people sending police and security forces to break
up any prodemocracy activities in the kingdom.
International organisations have over the past year highlighted numerous human rights abuses.
As recently as July 2013, AfriMAP, a group that monitors and promotes good governance, reported, ‘The current form of governance in Swaziland is a complete anathema to the conventional wisdom that prevails in almost all AU [African Union] member states, and certainly in SADC [South African Development Community]; the issue of dictatorships, absolutism and total state control of the citizenry is a forgotten and unacceptable notion; which is why Swaziland government must realize that it cannot delay political reforms, since it will only undermine its credibility, delay progress, economic and social development of the very people it is supposed to uplift and protect.’
International organisations have over the past year highlighted numerous human rights abuses.
As recently as July 2013, AfriMAP, a group that monitors and promotes good governance, reported, ‘The current form of governance in Swaziland is a complete anathema to the conventional wisdom that prevails in almost all AU [African Union] member states, and certainly in SADC [South African Development Community]; the issue of dictatorships, absolutism and total state control of the citizenry is a forgotten and unacceptable notion; which is why Swaziland government must realize that it cannot delay political reforms, since it will only undermine its credibility, delay progress, economic and social development of the very people it is supposed to uplift and protect.’
A report on human rights in Swaziland, published in 2013
by the US State Department revealed, ‘The three main human rights abuses [in
2012] were police use of excessive force, including use of torture, beatings,
and unlawful killings; restrictions on freedoms of association, assembly, and
speech; and discrimination and abuse of women and children.
‘Other human rights problems included arbitrary arrests
and lengthy pretrial detention; arbitrary interference with privacy and home;
prohibitions on political activity and harassment of political activists;
trafficking in persons; societal discrimination against members of the lesbian,
gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community and persons with albinism;
harassment of labor leaders; child labor; mob violence; and restrictions on
worker rights.
‘In general perpetrators acted with impunity, and the
government took few or no steps to prosecute or punish officials who committed
abuses.’
In May 2013, in its annual report on Swaziland, Amnesty
International reported, rights to freedom of expression, association and
peaceful assembly continued to be violated in the kingdom. There were also
‘arbitrary arrests and excessive force used to crush political protests,’ the
report stated, and ‘torture and other ill-treatment remained a persistent
concern’ in Swaziland.
Amnesty noted that in May 2012 the African Commission on
Human Rights adopted a resolution ‘expressing alarm’ at the Swazi Government’s
failure to implement previous decisions and recommendations of the Commission
relating to the rights of freedom of expression, association, and assembly.
These violations included the use by police of, ‘rubber
bullets, tear gas and batons to break up demonstrations and gatherings viewed
as illegal’.
In April 2013, the Open Society Initiative for Southern
Africa (OSISA) reported
that recently Swaziland police and state security forces had shown
‘increasingly violent and abusive behaviour’ that was leading to the ‘militarization’
of the kingdom.
OSISA told the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights (ACHPR) meeting in The Gambia, ‘There are also reliable reports of a general militarization of the country through the deployment of the Swazi army, police and correctional services to clamp down on any peaceful protest action by labour or civil society organisations ahead of the country’s undemocratic elections.’
OSISA told the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights (ACHPR) meeting in The Gambia, ‘There are also reliable reports of a general militarization of the country through the deployment of the Swazi army, police and correctional services to clamp down on any peaceful protest action by labour or civil society organisations ahead of the country’s undemocratic elections.’
In April 2013, the Swaziland United Democratic Front
(SUDF) and the Swaziland Democracy Campaign (SDC), two organiastions
campaigning for democracy in the kingdom, in a joint statement said police in
Swaziland were now a ‘private militia’ with the sole purpose of serving the
Royal regime. This was after about 80 armed officers broke
up a public meeting to discuss the lack of democracy in the kingdom.
See also
PM ‘INCOMPETENT, UNTRUSTWORTHY, VAIN’
HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSER SET TO BE PM
http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2013/10/human-rights-abuser-set-to-be-pm.html
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