The confidence Lisa
Peterson, US Ambassador to Swaziland /eSwatini, has that the kingdom is
honouring the rights enshrined in the constitution and allowing political
marches is misplaced. The facts show the opposite is happening.
Ambassador Peterson made her
comments in an article published
in both the two national newspapers in Swaziland. She wrote after the
publication of the annual US State
Department report on human rights in Swaziland. It covered the year 2018.
Swaziland is ruled by King
Mswati III as an absolute monarch. He chooses the government, top judges and
senior civil servants. Political parties are banned from taking part in elections
and groups that advocate for democracy in the kingdom are banned under the
Suppression of Terrorism Act.
In her article Ambassador
Peterson wrote, ‘If you look back at prior year human rights reports, you will
see that prior restrictions on public gatherings were part of what drew
international attention to Eswatini’s failure to honour the constitution’s
fundamental freedoms of assembly, association, and expression.
‘Having explicitly
political marches take place [in 2018], and having the organisers able to
publicly highlight their success, shows that Eswatini is better honouring the
rights enshrined in its constitution. Such improvement should be celebrated.’
She made no reference to
the numerous cases where state forces attacked legitimate protestors during
2018. Live ammunition, rubber bullets and teargas were repeatedly used.
In August 2018, for
example, police attacked three separate demonstrations by workers protesting
for better pay and conditions.
Police fired several gunshot blasts while textile
workers, mostly women, protested at Nhlangano about poor pay. More than 200
paramilitary police and correctional facility warders with riot shields, helmets
and batons guarded the entrance to Juris, one of the major factories, according
to a
local media report. It happened on 30 August 2018 when five
firms closed after management locked gates after workers gathered.
On the previous Friday police shot
and wounded a schoolteacher during a march in Manzini. On the
Wednesday that week in Mbabane
nurses were tasered. Both groups were protesting at the Swazi
government’s decision to offer a zero increase in their salary cost of living
adjustment.
In September 2018, police blocked nurses who were
legally trying to deliver a petition to government as part of their ongoing campaign against service cuts.
One local newspaper reported a policeman’s baton was broken in two during the
confrontation.
Also in September, police
officers were captured on video
viciously attacking defenceless workers on the street in Manzini during a legal
protest over pay. Dozens of officers in
riot gear and waving batons were seen chasing workers. At least one officer
appeared to be wielding a whip. Workers were seen running fearing for their
safety. The police indiscriminately hit the fleeing workers around their
bodies. It was on the first day of a three day national strike organised by the
Trade Union Congress of Swaziland (TUCOSWA). Protests took place simultaneously
in the towns and cities of Mbabane, Manzini, Siteki and Nhlangano.
The strike had earlier been
declared legal under Swaziland’s Industrial Relations Act.
Four protesters were
injured on 29 June 2018 when police opened fire with rubber bullets and stun
grenades during a workers’ protest in Mbabane against government policies. AFP reported, ‘Police fired rubber bullets and tear gas at about
500 protesters, as well as using water cannon and wielding batons, as
demonstrators threw stones at officers.’ Reuters put the number of protestors
at 2,000.
Reuters reported they marched against poor service delivery,
alleged misuse of state pension funds and a proposed law to charge citizens who
marry foreigners.
On 13 April, police
fired rubber bullets as about 2,000 workers and supporters took to the streets
of Mbabane to protest against worsening living conditions. The AFP news agency reported one protestor was hit in the thigh by a rubber
bullet.
In April, police fired rubber bullets and
arrested eight students when they
put a rubbish skip in the middle of a road during a protest against poor
teaching and facilities.at Limkokwing University, Mbabane.
On 15 March, police
armed with batons blocked a road
in Lobamba to stop a petition rejecting the national budget being delivered to
parliament. Police with guns watched from a distance. About 100 members of
civil society groups, community organisations and political parties under the
banner of the Swaziland Economic Justice Network marched from Somhlolo National
Stadium heading to the Parliament gate.
On 31 January, police reportedly
fired live ammunition during a
protest by students from Swaziland Christian University about delays in
receiving allowances and problems over graduation.
The Department of State report was not only one to
detail human rights in Swaziland during
2018. Freedom
House concluded in its annual review that King
Mswati continued to hold a tight grip on
power and all aspects of life in the kingdom.
Freedom House scored Swaziland 16 out of a possible
100 points in its Freedom
in the World 2019 report. It concluded that Swaziland was ‘not
free’.
Freedom House scored Swaziland one point out of a
possible 16 for ‘political pluralism and participation’ stating, ‘The king has
tight control over the political system in law and in practice, leaving no room
for the emergence of an organized opposition with the potential to enter
government.’
Richard
Rooney
See also
Swaziland
police fire gunshots during textiles dispute, third attack on workers in a week
Swaziland
teacher who stopped police chief shooting into unarmed crowd appears in court
https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2018/08/swaziland-teacher-who-stopped-police.html
Police in Swaziland attack nurses with taser during peaceful protest over pay
Police in Swaziland attack nurses with taser during peaceful protest over pay
