The Swazi
Observer, a newspaper in effect owned by Swaziland’s absolute monarch King
Mswati III, is running a campaign of misinformation against Asians in the
kingdom.
It has now claimed that 600,000 people in Swaziland
are of Asian origin (14 October 2016). A website called countrymeters that
constantly updates statistics recorded Swaziland’s total population on
Wednesday (19 October 2016) as 1,312,881.
That would mean that about 45 percent of the entire
Swazi population were of Asian origin. In fact, every reputable source shows that 97 percent
of Swazi people are African. The sources include the CIA
factbook and indexmundi.
The Observer
reported on 14 October 2016 that a parliamentary committee set up to
investigate Asians in the kingdom was told Asian people had occupied, ‘every available
space in the urban areas’.
The newspaper did not name the source of this statement.
For more than a week, the Observer has been publishing stories denigrating Asian people. Most
of them do not give facts to support accusations made and rarely are the
accusers identified.
In this way the Observer
has reported as if fact that 90 percent of shops in the kingdom are owned by
Asian people (14 October 2016). It said, in Manzini, the main commercial city
in Swaziland, ‘almost the entire city is reportedly in the hands of the Indians’
(14 October 2016).
An Asian landlord, who owns one-room flats in the outskirts of Siteki
town, is alleged to have banned his tenants from bringing visitors to the flats
(19 October 2016).
Asian people are rushing to acquire Swazi Nation Land to open up small businesses
(15 October 2016).
Wealthy Asian businessmen are evicting Swazis in massive scales in the areas
of Manzini (17 October 2016).
Asians are associating themselves with the Swazi Royal Family because it
would secure their investments (17 October 2016).
On Monday (17 October 2016) the newspaper reported, ‘Efforts by Her
Majesty the Indlovukazi [Queen Mother] to liberate women from the grinding
poverty are allegedly being frustrated by the influx of Asians into the
country.’ It said this was because Asian people were taking up business space ‘everywhere’.
The constant trashing of Asian people runs against Swazi journalists’ own
code of ethics. It amounts to hate speech. The Swaziland National Association
of Journalists in Article 13 of
its code states, ‘Hate speech. (Journalists shall avoid by
all means the publication of speech that might promote hatred, spite and
conflict amongst the Swazi or any other nation.)’
The National Union of Journalists (UK) goes further.
In its guidelines
on reporting race it states, ‘The NUJ believes the
methods and lies of the racists should be publicly and vigorously
exposed.
‘The NUJ believes that newspapers and magazines
should not originate material which encourages discrimination on grounds of
race or colour, as expressed in the NUJ's rule book and code of conduct.
‘The NUJ believes that editors should ensure that
coverage of race stories should be placed in a balanced context.’
See also
ASIANS
EVICTED FROM HOME
ALL
ASIANS BANNED FROM SWAZILAND
VERBAL
ASSUALTS ON SWAZILAND’S ASIANS
RACISM IN
SWAZILAND’S ‘TIMES SUNDAY’
‘UNDERCOVER
COPS INFILTRATE MOSQUE’