Swazi Media Commentary: Dlamini Bheki

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Friday, 7 February 2020

Swaziland’s King Mswati under pressure from China to end support for Taiwan

By Peter Kenworthy

Western countries have not exerted much pressure on Swaziland’s absolute monarchy to rectify its lack of democracy and human rights. Neither has another democracy, the People’s Republic of China, more commonly known as Taiwan. A country with whom Swaziland (renamed Eswatini by King Mswati III in 2018) – as the only country In Africa – has diplomatic ties with, writes Peter Kenworthy for Afrika Kontakt.

The UN has not recognized Taiwan since it switched its diplomatic recognition to China in 1971.

In a statement on Swaziland-Taiwan relations from July 2019, government spokesperson Percy Simelane spoke of the “unbroken diplomatic relations” between the two countries, since Swaziland’s independence in 1968.

- This relationship is based on mutual respect, friendship and loyalty … Our commitment to strong diplomatic ties with Taiwan remains unshaken and enduring, he added.

Swaziland has thus far decided to stay loyal to its relationship with Taiwan, says Swazi political activist and former president of the Swaziland Youth Congress, Bheki Dlamini.

Dlamini, who has a degree in public administration from the University of Bergen, adds that China has been turning a blind eye to Swaziland’s support of Taiwan, and Taiwan’s aid and donations to Swaziland. But that the few other states that had diplomatic relations with Taiwan – such as Burkina Faso and the Gambia – have severed their ties with the island state.

- Swaziland has not been persuaded otherwise, but remains committed to Taiwan. Until recently, China has not publicly denounced the Taiwan-Swaziland relationship. In a turn of events China is now denying visas to people from Swaziland, he says.

Win-win or Catch 22?

In a statement, the Chinese ambassador to South Africa says:

- Since 10 January, some Eswatini people realized that all the Embassies and Consulate-Generals of the people’s Republic of China (PRC), except the Embassy of China to Pretoria, have been closed for Eswatini citizens to apply for visas to mainland China, which will cripple their business and the country’s economy development.

- Such an embarrassing situation is the result of Eswatini defying the One-China Principle and maintaining so-called “diplomatic ties” with the Taiwan authorities … It is the right time for the Eswatini government and people to make a right choice for win-win cooperation, the letter adds.

Bheki Dlamini believes that Swaziland is thus in something of a Catch 22-situation, regarding Chinese pressure.

- The free lunch from Taiwan is good for the royal family, which has the luxury of behaving like Taiwan’s spoilt child. But Taiwan needs Swaziland more than China needs Swaziland. If Swaziland dumps Taiwan for China, the monarchy will lose the financial and political benefits it reaps from Taiwan. However, going with China might be no guarantee that China will supersede Taiwan in development aid and donation to Swaziland, Dlamini says.

- But this will certainly benefit ordinary Swazis who want to explore business, educational and other opportunities offered by China. Can the monarchy truly withstand pressure from China and for how long? The monarchy is used to Swaziland getting away from any form of international scrutiny because of size, be it on human rights or democracy. However, I doubt it will escape the Chinese pressure, he adds.

Monday, 9 September 2019

Swaziland democracy activist finally able to vote

Kenworthy News Media, 9 September 9 2019

SOURCE

Bheki Dlamini had to flee his native Swaziland because he fought for democracy. Monday he voted for the first time – in Norway, where he lives in exile, writes Kenworthy News Media.

– Casting my vote got me thinking. This is my first ever vote and it is happening in a foreign land. In my homeland, Swaziland, I’ve never voted – simply because we don’t have multiparty elections. The elections in Norway serve as a source of strength in pursuit of freedom and democracy at home, says Swazi political activist, Bheki Dlaimini.

Political parties have been banned in Swaziland since 1973, and Dlamini had to flee the country after having been tortured and imprisoned by the regime for his role as a leading activist in Swaziland’s democratic movement.

– I have engaged myself in the fight for a free and democratic political space in Swaziland. A struggle that has been marked by permanent scars in my body, inflicted by Swaziland’s security forces, hence my vote here in Norway, Bheki Dlamini says.

Dlamini is humbled by the opportunity to influence the politics of the municipality in Bergen, where he has spent the last four years, he adds.

The election laws of Norway allow foreigners who have lived in the country for three years to vote in local elections, even though they have not attained Norwegian citizenship.

The largest political party in the Norwegian parliament, the Norwegian Labour Party, Arbeiderpartiet, criticised the absolute monarchy of Swaziland in a resolution presented at its national congress in April.

– Eswatini (formerly Swaziland) is one of the world’s last absolute monarchies. King Mswati has almost absolute power. While the population of Eswatini suffers from partial extreme poverty, the king lives an extravagant life of luxury. Swaziland has the highest rate of HIV-Aids-infection per capita. But treating those who are infected or preventing further spread of the disease is not a priority, a statement from the congress read.

Royal selections

Swaziland held national elections in September of last year. Voters in Swaziland elected 59 of Swaziland’s 69 members of the country’s House of Assembly at national elections. Absolute monarch King Mswati III picks the remaining ten, as well as most of the Senate, the Prime Minister and the Cabinet. Political parties were barred from participating in the elections.

In its annual Freedom in the World-report, independent watchdog organisation Freedom House gives Swaziland its lowest score of seven in regard to political rights. The report concludes that “Political dissent and civic and labor activism are subject to harsh punishment under sedition and other laws. any criticism of Swazi culture and traditions or defacement of national symbols—including the king’s image—can draw fines and up to two years in prison”.

In a poll conducted in 2015 by pan-African independent research institute Afrobarometer, only a third of the population saw Swaziland’s political system as democratic and only 28 percent were fairly or very satisfied with how democracy works in Swaziland (down from 36 percent in 2013).

Human Rights Watch concluded in their 2017 report that “Swaziland continued to repress political dissent and disregard human rights and rule of law in 2017”.

Bheki Dlamini has a degree in Public Administration at the University of Bergen. He is a former President of the Swaziland Youth Congress and former Vice President of the International Union of Socialist Youth. The Swazi police’s torture of him by way of “severe beatings and suffocation torture” was mentioned in Amnesty International’s 2011 Annual Report.

Monday, 17 September 2018

Land is Power in Swaziland: Amnesty International Report Highlights Forced Evictions

Kenworthy News Media, 16 September 2018

SOURCE

A new Amnesty International report focuses on forced evictions of poor farmers in Swaziland carried out by local police. Land and forced evictions are central to Swaziland’s undemocratic system, says an activist who grew up in Swaziland’s rural areas, writes Kenworthy News Media.

“Land is life”, a new Amnesty International report on forced evictions in Swaziland called “They don’t see us as people” declares. This is to be taken very literally in the small absolute monarchy, as “the majority of the population rely on substance farming” to feed themselves.

The forced evictions are a symptom of “a deeper, underlying problem” as they violate international and regional human rights law, Amnesty International clearly states in the report. But the issue of land is also central to the power of Swaziland’s absolute monarch.

“The discussion about land ownership in Swaziland has been suppressed for too long. The evictions in Swaziland are not just a legal limitation but are central to the country’s undemocratic and irresponsible political system”, says activist Bheki Dlamini.

Dlamini has a degree in Public Administration from Bergen University, but grew up in Mpofu in the rural areas of Northern Swaziland.

Unlawful evictions

The Amnesty International report focuses on two cases of forced eviction, both of which are unlawful and constitute a gross violation of human rights, in particular the right to adequate housing, according to the organisation.

In the Malkerns, 60 people, 33 of them children, were evicted without warning in April. They had been living on the land since 1956, they told Amnesty International.

And in Nokwane, 180 people were evicted and their homes demolished to make way for the Royal Science and Technology Park in October 2014.

According to the report, the government had “failed to provide essential services to those affected by the forced eviction: food, potable water and sanitation, basic shelter and housing, appropriate clothing or means of livelihood” in Nokwane.

“They don’t see us as people. They left us out in the open like we were animals or something to be thrown away”, a women who had been evicted in Nokwane told Amnesty International.

More to come

Swaziland’s government believe they have done nothing wrong and are planning further forced evictions, even though Amnesty International recommends that they stop the evictions until legal safeguards are in place that ensure that all evictions comply with international law.

According to Amnesty International at least three other communities are facing imminent eviction later in 2018.

In a written response to a letter from Amnesty International Swaziland’s Ministry of Information claims that those evicted were squatters and that the evictions were “legal and procedurally correct and sanctioned by the court of the land”.

Land reform and democracy

According to Bheki Dlamini, the problematic nature of land ownership in Swaziland has its roots in the colonial era and the power of the monarchy that followed it.

The Land Partition Act of 1907 gave most of the arable land to white settlers. And after Swaziland’s independence from Britain in 1968, most of the land became so-called “Swazi National Land” that is administered under unwritten customary law and thus controlled by the king.

“The confusion about land ownership is deep in Swaziland. The Amnesty International report alludes to the fact that despite those who were evicted from their land having taken the matter to court to seek redress, the courts could not protect their rights”, Dlamini says.

He believes that land is central to the power of the monarchy, and that questioning land management is seen as a challenge to the powers of the monarchy.

“Land reform in Swaziland therefore cannot be fully addressed until a free and democratic political dispensation is in place”, Bheki Dlamini concludes.

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