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.

See also

China closes embassies to Swazi people to force kingdom to drop support for Taiwan

https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2020/02/china-closes-embassies-to-swazi-people.html

 

Swaziland calls on UN to admit Taiwan

https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2018/04/swaziland-calls-on-un-to-admit-taiwan.html

Swaziland’s democracy activist is the real ‘Super Mario’

I met the real Super Mario

Kenworthy News Media

SOURCE

 

Peter Kenworthy meets Mario Masuku

I cannot claim to have met Nelson Mandela. Or Steve Biko. Or Patrice Lumumba. Or Thomas Sankara. But I have met Mario Masuku – the former leader of Swaziland’s biggest democratic movement, PUDEMO, writes Peter Kenworthy of Kenworthy News Media.

Super Mario Bros. is one of the world’s most popular arcade and computer games – a game that my sons still love to play in newer versions. A game where the hero – Super Mario – has to endure all manner of dangers in trying to defeat the main villain or antagonist King Koopa – a large turtle who rules over the mushroom kingdom, has kidnapped Princess Peach, can breathe fire and uses black magic.

The Super Mario character first appeared in 1983 – the same year that Mario Masuku helped form The People’s United Democratic Movement, to try and ensure that liberation in Swaziland would lead to democracy, not the absolute monarchy of King Mswati that Swaziland had become and still is.

While I have never seen the real Mario literally jump on his enemies, like his computer namesake, he has nevertheless been incredibly important as an ongoing catalyst for the liberation movement of Swaziland – always bearing the hardships that come with being the leader of a liberation movement with calm dignity.

I have seen this myself, when I had met Mario through my work for the Danish solidarity Movement Afrika Kontakt (the former Danish Anti-Apartheid movement, now called Global Aktion) and through the party-to-party project between the Danish Red-Green Alliance party and PUDEMO.

Democracy and dictatorship
The first time I really heard of Mario Masuku was in March 2010. I was part of the Afrika Kontakt delegation in the Danish parliament who received a democracy award from the former Danish Finance Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs (and future speaker of the Danish parliament and future President of the United Nations General Assembly), Mogens Lykketoft, on behalf on Masuku.

Mario could not be present, but sent a speech, where he said that he accepted the prize on behalf of all Swazis who fight and hope for democracy, stability and social justice.

I got to meet Mario in person for the first time in September 2010, where we presented him with the physical manifestation of the prize – a gilded megaphone. We talked about the connection between the struggle for democracy in apartheid-South Africa and in Swaziland, and how “Swaziland will be liberated by its own citizens, but aided by solidarity organisations in the way that South Africa won her freedom aided by the anti-apartheid movement,” as he put it.

Before me and my colleagues left, we were given a little sample of the “hospitality” that the Swazi regime usually reserves for PUDEMO members and others who demand democracy, when we were detained, beaten, interrogated and threatened by Swazi police, who claimed that our organization were aiding and abetting a “terrorist” organization, PUDEMO.

A taste of democracy
In November 2012, representatives of the Red-Green Alliance met with Mario Masuku and the leadership of PUDEMO and outlined the prospects for a partnership sponsored by the Danish Institute of Parties and Democracy (DIPD) – a government-funded institute that “support[s] political parties and multi-party systems in selected developing countries.”

In June 2013 Mario and I met with Mogens Lykketoft, who was now speaker of the Danish parliament for lunch in his office.

“I was very pleased to be able to meet Mogens Lykketoft,” Masuku told me at the time. “Swaziland is famous for all the wrong things. For having the highest aids-prevalence in the world, for nearly 70% of the population having to live on under 1$ a day, and for being the country in the world that spends most on the military per capita, even though we have no external enemies.”

In November, I was lucky to be the person in charge of Mario Masuku’s visit to Denmark through the DIPD-project. Here we followed the Danish Municipal elections in my own municipality, Gladsaxe, where we talked to the Mayor and other members of the City Council and followed the elections closely – amongst other things looking in on the counting of the ballots and talking to civil servants and voters.

“I am surprised that Danish political parties are always looking for consensus. The ownership and respect for the process by the Danish people shows – why can’t we learn from that. We come from the old British political system where we are always contesting,” Mario told me.

“The problem of comparing Denmark and Swaziland is that Denmark is a democracy and Swaziland is a dictatorship. We cannot copy-paste all from the Danish system,” he added.

Released into the ‘big prison’
In August 2014 Mario Masuku was yet again imprisoned by King Mswati’s dictatorial regime, together with Maxwell Dlamini, who was Secretary General of PUDEMO’s youth league, SWAYOCO, at the time. This time on charges of terrorism for having shouted “Viva PUDEMO” at a union rally on May Day. I helped run a campaign for his release in Denmark.

In October Danish Minister of Foreign Affairs Martin Lidegaard told the Danish Foreign Affairs Committee that Denmark has continuously raised the question of political freedom with Swaziland.

“The trial of Mario Masuku and Maxwell Dlamini was brought up during the recently held political consultations between the EU and Swaziland on the 2nd and 3rd of October regarding the Cotonou Agreement, at the request of the Danish Ambassador,” Lidegaard said.

During the meeting, the Danish ambassador urged Swaziland to comply with the demands of the ongoing AGOA-negotiations, which should include the adaption of laws such as Swaziland’s Suppression of Terrorism Act, a bill that Amnesty International has called “inherently repressive”.

Hundreds of unions, parties, politicians and individuals from all over the world signed a petition to demand the release of Mario Masuku and Maxwell Dlamini, including the International Trade Union Confederation, British trade union federation UNISON and the African National Congress. In July 2015 they were finally released “into the big prison that is Swaziland,” as Masuku put it.

Conquers the kingdom
I have met with Mario every time I have visited Swaziland and stayed in touch with him when back home, on occasion interviewing him over the telephone for articles on matters such as the talks about talks with the regime or Swaziland assuming the chairmanship of SADC.

I have never met two of my heroes – Steve Biko and Nelson Mandela. But I believe myself to have been fortunate to have met and interacted with Mario Masuku.

A leader who has been manhandled by police, had his house raided in front of his children, been put under house arrest, charged with terrorism, detained and jailed in harsh and unbecoming conditions detrimental to his health – so much so that he calls prison “my second home”. Simply for peacefully demanding democracy.  But also a man who has always acted in a calm and respectful manner that becomes a true leader.

In the end of the Super Mario game, Mario saves Princess Peach and the Mushroom Kingdom from King Koopa, as he conquers the eight worlds of the Mushroom Kingdom by going to the castle in each to defeat a minion of King Koopa.

Last year Mario Masuku stepped down as leader of PUDEMO, and Mlungisi Makhanya took his place. But I hope that Mario Masuku, through his decades-long battle for democracy in Swaziland, has helped set the scene for something similar in the kingdom of Swaziland.

The article was also published on the eSwatini Institute of Alternative Ideas site. 

See also 

PUDEMO leader defies bail conditions

https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2015/07/pudemo-leader-defies-bail-condition.html

Release of leaders ‘changes nothing’

http://swazimedia.blogspot.co.uk/2015/07/release-of-leaders-changes-nothing.html

Norwegians protest against Swaziland police shooting

Kenworthy News Media

SOURCE

Protestors in Swaziland during the strike. Pictured from Facebook

Norwegian union confederation protests police brutality against striking workers in Swaziland, writes Kenworthy News Media.

In a letter sent to Swazi Prime Minister, Ambrose Mandvulo Dlamini, on Tuesday, the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions, LO Norway, protests against police firing rubber bullets and teargas at public sector workers on strike last week. Several of the strikers, who were demanding cost of living adjustments and a 7,85 per cent salary increase, were injured.

– LO Norway is shocked to learn that the General Secretary of the National Public Service and Allied Workers Union (NAPSAWU) was shot with live ammunition, requiring his urgent transfer to Raleigh Fitkin Hospital. LO Norway condemns in the strongest terms this brutal attack, part of the letter reads.

– In addition, your government directed the National Industrial Relations Court to have the strike declared illegal, under reasons of being a “threat to national interest”. We recall that the use of violence, even for purported reasons of internal security, constitutes a serious violation of human and trade union rights, the letter continued.

Union condemnation 

Others, including the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), Public Services International (PSI) and the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU), have also condemned the conduct of the Swazi police.

– Respect for workers’ rights, good faith dialogue and a government that responds to people’s needs and concerns – just like any other country, this is what Eswatini needs, not state violence against the people. Eswatini’s King Mswati pledged to us earlier this year to build these bridges, yet now we are seeing the government pulling all stops to undermine them, said ITUC General Secretary Sharan Burrow.

– PSI condemns in the strongest terms the barbaric behavior of the Kingdom of eSwatini police who fired rubber bullets and threw teargas into crowds of striking workers who were only demanding a Cost of Living Adjustment they have not received for 3 years now. Workers attacked included Dumisani Nkuna, Secretary General of the Manzini Branch of our affiliates the National Public Services & Allied Workers Union (NAPSAWU), who was shot in the back, PSI said in a statement.

Public sector workers were last awarded salary adjustments in the 2015/2016 financial year and all negotiations with employers have not yielded any positive results, PSI added.

– Employers have remained adamant on their position of a 0% salary increment. This put in the context of annual inflation rates estimated as follows: in 2017 it was 6.22%, in 2018 it was 4.83% and in 2019 it is estimated to be 5.63%., the statement concluded.

COSATU, in neighbouring South Africa, also issued a strongly worded statement.

– We strongly denounce and rebuke the manner in which Swaziland police have dealt with the strike action. The peaceful workers’ protest turned into a battlefield when King Mswati once again set his gladiatorial “trigger happy” police force on unarmed civilians in the city of Manzini. Live ammunition, rubber bullets and tear gas were opened on 8000 workers who were demonstrating, as part of the public servants’ strike for an increase in cost-of-living salary payments, COSATU said in a statement.

In its annual Freedom in the World-report, independent watchdog organisation Freedom House 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”.

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”.

See also

Swaziland police brutality under attack from international workers’ group

https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2019/10/swaziland-police-brutality-under-attack.html

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.

See also

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

https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2018/09/land-is-power-in-swaziland-amnesty.html

New research on Swazi democracy

https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2017/09/new-research-on-swazi-democracy.html