It also called for the kingdom, ruled by King Mswati III as an absolute monarch, to be monitored for its human rights record.
Members
of the European Parliament (MEP) meeting in plenary session on Thursday (21 May
2015) called for the immediate release of Thulani
Maseko and Bheki Makhubu from jail in Swaziland. Maseko, a human-rights
lawyer, and Makhubu, editor of the Nation magazine were jailed for two years
after writing and publishing articles critical of the Swazi judiciary.
MEPs said
‘their imprisonment relates directly to the legitimate exercise of their right
to freedom of expression.
They also called
for the release of all political
prisoners, including Mario
Masuku, President of the People’s United Democratic Movement (PUDEMO), and
Maxwell Dlamini, Secretary-General of the Swaziland Youth Congress (SWAYOCO).
A statement
issued by the European Parliament said, ‘Parliament considers the
imprisonment of political activists and the banning of trade unions to be in
clear contravention of commitments made by Swaziland under the Cotonou Agreement
to respect democracy, the rule of law and human rights, and also under the
sustainable development chapter of the Southern African Development Community
(SADC) Economic Partnership Agreement, for which Parliament’s support will
depend on respect for the commitments made.
‘It
calls, therefore, on the Commission to honour its obligation to monitor
Swaziland’s adherence to human rights and to labour and environmental
conventions under the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP), and to open an
investigation to determine whether there has been a serious and systematic
violation of the labour rights protected under the GSP.’
The resolution was passed by 579 votes to six, with
58 abstentions.
See also
JAILED
DEMOCRATS NOW IN ISOLATION
JAILED
WRITER TO GO TO HIGH COURT
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