Prodemocracy campaigners say the release of two of their
leaders Mario Masuku and Maxwell Dlamini on bail after 14 months on remand in
jail does not prove things are changing in Swaziland.
The two men were awaiting trial on sedition charges
after making prodemocracy statements at a May Day rally in 2014.
The Swazi Supreme Court released
them on Tuesday (14 July 2015). But Masuku, President of the People’s
United Democratic Party (PUDEMO) and Dlamini, Secretary-General of PUDEMO’s
youth wing SWAYOCO, must still stand trial for their alleged offences.
The two men have also had strict bail conditions
placed on them and are unable to address public gatherings while out on bail.
PUDEMO and SWAYOCO are among a number of organisations
banned in Swaziland under the Suppression of Terrorism Act. King Mswati III
rules Swaziland as sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch.
The release of Masuku and Dlamini was met with
jubilation in some quarters, but other responses have been more measured.
The Foundation
for Socio Economic Justice Swaziland, said in a statement, ‘The two human
rights defenders and political activists in being arrested flagged out a gross
violation of the right and freedom of association and expression which are
still being prevented by one of the bail condition in not allowing them to
address in public gatherings.’
The Swaziland
National Union of Students, of which Dlamini is a former president, said it
welcomed the release of the two leaders. It added, ‘We remain firm to our fundamental objectives that
is the realisation of democracy in our country, where every citizen will have
the freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, freedom of association where all
Swazis will be equal in front of the law and every citizen in the of our
forefathers will have equal opportunities.’
PUDEMO
said in a statement, ‘The release of President Masuku and Maxwell Dlamini,
which follows that of the two
prisoners of conscience in journalist Bheki Makhubu and human rights lawyer
Thulani Maseko, must not be interpreted to mean the end of an era. The cosmetic
judicial reforms and changing of faces must not deceive our people to mean
things are in order either. This is not a solution. A solution to the problems
of our country is the introduction of a constitutional multiparty democracy,
end to dictatorship and the unjust laws such as the Suppression of Terrorism
Act.’
SWAYOCO,
in a statement, said, ‘There is nothing to celebrate when our leaders are
out on bail with such stringent conditions that are in serious contravention of
the very Tinkhundla constitution which “guarantees” the freedom of expression
and assembly. The condition to the effect that these two leaders cannot address
public gatherings can only serve as an indication that there is a bigger
problem in Swaziland. This must be addressed now.’
PUDEMO, in a statement, also praised ‘democracy-loving
peoples of the world’ for supporting the call for democracy in Swaziland.
It said, ‘Ever since the arrest of President Masuku
and Maxwell, scores of people all over the world have joined the people of
Swaziland’s call for the release of the two leaders, alongside other political
prisoners in Swaziland. We thank the international community for being with us
in the call for the release of the duo, and by extension the call for a democratic
Swaziland.
‘Specifically we thank the practical support and
solidarity from organizations and governments namely The Congress of South
African Trade Unions (COSATU), the South African Communist Party (SACP), the
African National Congress, the European Union (EU), the US government, the
Danish and Norwegian governments as well as the entire civil society movement
across the world.’
See also
DEMOCRACY
LEADERS FREED ON BAIL
RELEASED
INTO THE BIG SWAZI PRISON
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