Prodemocracy leaders in Swaziland (eSwatini) who had their
homes raided by police are calling on the absolute monarch King Mswati III
to allow people to talk openly about the political future of the kingdom.
Political parties are banned from taking part in
elections and groups that advocate for democracy are outlawed by the
Suppression of Terrorism Act.
Six political groups have formed the Political Parties
Assembly (PPA) to advocate for change. Leaders of these groups had their homes
raided by police on Friday (20 December 2019). They were
interrogated by police and had laptops, phones, tablets and other gadgets
taken.
At a media conference on Saturday the PPA called on
King Mswati to allow talks. The Times Sunday, a newspaper in Swaziland,
reported Mlungisi Makhanya, President of the outlawed People’s United
Democratic Movement (PUDEMO), said, ‘The King should convene a session where
the people will dialogue. He has to mandate a team to engage with us. We don’t
mean we should engage with him personally because that would lower his status
as King but he can delegate a team mandated to discuss the governing of the
country alongside the reigning monarch.’
The Times reported the PPA said if the King did
want to be personally involved in talks they would need to adopt international
standards, appoint a facilitator, have clear ground rules and a neutral venue.
There is open hostility in Swaziland between the
supporters of the PPA and state forces, especially the police.
Jan Sithole, President of the Swaziland Democratic
Party (SWADEPA), told the media conference the police service had been
politicised and were taking actions on behalf of the government.
Separately, Ngomyayona Gamedze, the former Deputy
President in the Swaziland Senate and now acting Chairman of Sive Siyinqaba,
one of the groups in the PPA, warned government and the police against the
continuous detention of political activists who were calling for democratic
reforms.
He told the Swaziland News,
an online newspaper, ‘Harassing political activists, breaking into their
houses and seizing their cellphones amounts to the violation of human rights. A
cellphone is a personal gadget with personal information that should not be
accessed even by the police without the consent of the owner and what they
doing now is wrong. I am not talking about hearsay here because I was there as
a Presiding Officer when Parliament ratified these UN Conventions that ensured
the protection of human rights. It’s now surprising that even the Human Rights
Commission is silent on this.’
He added, ‘Is it a crime to openly express my political view that I
don’t want the current government? Are these political activists expected to
embrace the current government by force? Why are we allowing the police to
violate human rights in this manner? Any detention of a person even if its five
minutes amounts to human rights violation because you have taken that person
out of his or her comfort zone, it’s worse when you have seized his cellphone
because by so doing you have disconnected that individual from communicating
with the world and gained access to personal information.’
Further police action is expected. The Times
reported Sithole telling the media conference, ‘We are committed to the spirit
of no retreat, no surrender, forward forever.’
He added, ‘Even if it meant being arrested, even if it
meant being eliminated; we are prepared to lay our lives on the block for the
liberation of the people that have given us that mandate.’
The PPA consists of six groups: People’s United
Democratic Movement (PUDEMO); Swaziland Democratic Party (SWADEPA); Communist
Party of Swaziland (CPS); Ngwane National Liberatory Congress (NNLC); Swaziland
People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) and Sive Siyinqaba (Sibahje Sinje).
See also
Swaziland
police say they raided democracy activists’ homes for ‘state security’
Swaziland
police in mass raids on homes of democracy activists, some detained
https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2019/12/swaziland-police-in-mass-raids-on-homes.html
Police question Swaziland political leader amid fears of treason charge
Police question Swaziland political leader amid fears of treason charge
Swaziland
ex-Govt minister in hiding after calling on absolute monarch to hand over power
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