CALL FOR SANCTIONS AGAINST KING

Swaziland democracy activists are calling for international sanctions and a travel ban to be imposed on King Mswati III, sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch, his Royal family, and his government ministers.

The Swaziland Diaspora Platform says the king is ‘a dictator’ who treats his kingdom ‘as his personal piggy bank’.

The call comes in the week that it was reported that three of the king’s 13 wives will travel to Las Vegas with an entourage of about 65 people on a multimillion-rand spending spree and vacation. 

Reports say the trip will cost the Swazi taxpayers at least R36 million (US$4.6 million). Seven in ten of the king’s subjects live in abject poverty, earning less than US$2 a day. Political parties are banned in the kingdom and all forms of prodemocracy protest are quashed by state forces.

The SDP, in a statement, said, ‘The King and government's lavish spending continues whilst hundreds of thousands of Swazis are forced to continue to struggle to make ends meet and depend on aid in a country that should be able to sustain its people were it managed by an accountable and transparent government delivering on a people's mandate.’

It added, ‘Public Service trade unions such as teachers have been engaged in strike action in Swaziland for almost five weeks now over demands for a small salary increase of 4.5 percent, which would be their first increase in three years.

‘Government, under the authoritarian command of King Mswati III has been brutal in response, setting the police and army on workers, preventing them from exercising their rights to strike, freedom to assemble and freedom of expression amongst others.

‘It is beyond deplorable that King Mswati III in the midst of this crisis finds in appropriate to use millions to take a huge entourage of his household on a luxury holiday and shopping trip to one of the most expensive holiday resorts in the world - Las Vegas via a five-day trip to Namibia.’ 

The SDP went on, ‘This trip will cost millions in cash that could be used to address the plight of civil servants. Once again the poor and struggling workers are left to bear the brunt of an economy that is in crisis and a government that claims to be cash-strapped, yet continues with purchases of luxury cars for government officials to the tune of US$20 million and funding luxury trips for the monarch, and increasing the police salary budget by US$2.5million, which will have no benefit for the impoverished majority and financially distressed workers of Swaziland.

‘As King Mswati III travels to the United States of America using millions of dollars that could address basic services due to the people of Swaziland, the Swaziland Diaspora Platform urges governments like the USA to seriously consider travel bans and sanctions on this authoritarian government.

‘Whilst the US government issued sanctions on countries like Syria and Iran because those regimes are censoring Internet activity on social media such as Facebook and Twitter by human rights activists; Swazis have long been censored.

‘Internet penetration even with cellphone technology is very low, at less than 10 percent, yet media is controlled by the monarch and his government. All radio and television broadcasting stations are owned by the state and most newspaper media is constantly under pressure, therefore the use of media to disseminate information that critique government or encourage citizenship is not possible. 

‘The banning of political parties, freedom of association, freedom of expression and freedom of the media in Swaziland is just as bad as the authoritarian regimes censoring Internet activism, it is therefore within reason to request that King Mswati III, his children, family, parliamentarians and senior government officials be penalized and sanctioned.’

See also

SWAZI QUEENS OFF ON SHOPPING SPREE

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2012/07/swazi-queens-off-on-shopping-spree.html

BOYCOTT AND SANCTIONS CAMPAIGN

Swaziland Democracy Campaign

Statement

19 October 2011

SOURCE

Pressure Mounts on Mswati Regime

Special Meeting on Sanctions

At a special meeting today (19 October 2011) in Witbank representatives from both Swazi Trade Union Federations and affiliated Unions, the Swaziland United Democratic Front, the Swaziland Coalition of Concerned Civic Organisations, the Swaziland Democracy Campaign and Swaziland Solidarity Network and others gathered to work out how an accelerated boycott and sanctions campaign could be applied to put further pressure on the failing Mswati regime.

The meeting noted that there is a long and honourable tradition of democratic forces utilising boycott and sanctions campaigns to assert the democratic agenda, and the gathering analysed the tactics that had been used by democratic forces in South Africa, Palestine, Zimbabwe, and in many other parts of the world.

The meeting noted that PUDEMO (which remains a banned political party) had developed policies of applying targeted sanctions in pursuit of the democratic agenda from the early 90’s as part of an intensified programme of mass mobilisation inside Swaziland.

Repressive Nature of the Regime Exposed Again

The repressive nature of the regime was blatantly exposed during the Global Week of Action initiated by the Swaziland Democracy Campaign which led to protest actions in 27 locations across the world. In Swaziland, unprecedented levels of mobilisation put the security forces on the defensive, but that did not stop them from viciously attacking peaceful demonstrators in both urban and rural areas. Many comrades were injured, but the movement remains completely unbowed!

The nature of the regime has been further exposed by the sustained campaign by almost the entire legal profession who have boycotted the courts in protest at the manipulation by the regime of what is supposed to be an independent judicial system. On November 1st a mass protest will take in Swaziland to support the legal profession and to raise critical democratic demands.

As we have noted before, the Swazi regime is becoming desperate. It cannot tolerate any moves towards democratisation that threaten its opulent lifestyle, and the Tinkhudla system of patronage that underpins it. Desperate attempts are underway to undermine the democracy movement, and to try and maintain the loyalty of the security apparatus, and the sycophantic circles gathered around the absolute monarch. The regime is staggering from one crisis to another!

The Democracy Campaign Moves Up a Gear

It was recognised that in the light of the continued and deepening economic crisis in Swaziland, and the complete inability of the regime to democratise, that our campaign must open up another front to exert pressure on the regime. This would not replace the magnificent levels of mobilisation achieved during and after the Global Week of Action, but would be complementary to it.

Levels of disillusionment in the Royal Elite are at an all-time low. Levels of impoverishment are at an all-time high. The regime is paralysed, and is only capable of thinking of its own selfish interests. The representative meeting agreed that the time was right to launch a strategic sanctions and boycott campaign as part of an unfolding action plan for a democratic Swaziland.

No More Support for Repressive Reaction

When discussing sanctions and boycotts, special attention has been given to the question of arms and repressive equipment used by the regime to attack the democracy movement and maintain order in the face of growing popular unrest. The Swazi regime has been exposed internationally as a brutal and repressive entity. It continues to unleash its firepower on peaceful democracy activists. The use of rubber bullets and tear gas by the security forces is now a commonplace. Live rounds have been used to disperse perfectly legal gatherings, and democratic activists have been wounded and worse as a result.

Furthermore, behind the heavy doors of Swaziland’s notoriously inhumane prisons, there is irrefutable evidence of the systematic torture of detainees using equipment and torture techniques provided by a range of government agencies in the region and beyond. A worrying development that has been noted is the increased interaction of Swazi state security personnel with their counterparts in South Africa and elsewhere.

It was also noted that the repressive regime in Swaziland seeks to benefit from any bailout that is arranged, whether from government or private sources, adding urgently to the need to further pressurise all those who wrongly believe that providing a bailout without reference to tangible democratic reforms is mistaken. Along with demands for tangible democratisation, must be conditions that expenditure on instruments of repression will not be permissible.

The Swazi people have spoken and said clearly, nothing for us without us! The South African government must use the current bailout interlude to ensure that these types of conditions are incorporated into any agreement, and also consult with civil society to ensure that any bailout is aimed at relieving the terrible burden of the poor. The South African government is to be commended for re-thinking the terms of the bailout it is facilitating, and it would gain even more credibility with the people of Swaziland if it took the vital step of siding with civil society by unambiguously attaching democratic and peaceful conditionalities to any assistance that it offers.

Towards a Sanctions and Boycott Plan of Action

With these considerations in mind, and after very careful consideration the gathering agreed the following:

» To coordinate the actions of all those present to maximise the effect of an accelerated sanctions and boycott campaign to maximise impact, and provide opportunities to draw in others towards complementary mass action.

» To develop a special sanctions unit to research a number of strategic economic targets and to work with Unions and others in Swaziland and across the world to impose sanctions on those who trade with the repressive Mswati regime.

» To launch a specific arms sanctions campaign to prevent the Mswati regime from obtaining the equipment and training to further repress the people of Swaziland.

» To work towards the political and social isolation of the Royal Regime including rapid actions to expose their wasteful private and public expenditure including the purchase of luxury goods and further, to engage governmental and other institutions on the need to exclude Swaziland from all forums where they garner legitimacy.

» To lend on-going support to the boycott of the legal system of the country, and to contribute positively to expanding the cultural and sports boycott and to the considerable work that has been undertaken by friends of the SSN and others.

These matters will be enthusiastically taken back to all participating organisations with a view towards confirming agreements within the next few days, and for work to begin in earnest to realise the sanctions and boycott campaign at the earliest opportunity. Meetings will be taking place over the coming weeks to popularise the Boycott and Sanctions Campaign, and will include meetings to popularise the campaign.

Watershed Moment

It would be fair to say that the meeting reported above represented a new phase in the struggle for democracy in Swaziland. The level of commitment shown by all parties to the campaign and the discussion on how to accelerate it were deeply reassuring. There is a new chapter opening up before us, and we urge all those who care about democracy on our Continent to participate. Keep up the pressure! Don’t give space for dictators! Isolate the torturers! Solidarise with the democratic forces!

SWAZI UNIONS CALL FOR GLOBAL HELP

The Swaziland Federation of Trade Unions (SFTU) wants international labour organizations and civil society groups to force King Mswati III to embrace a democratic change in the kingdom..

Jan Sithole, Secretary General of SFTU, said Swazi people wanted a multi party system of government in Swaziland.

At present King Mswati is the last remaining absolute monarch in sub-Saharan Africa, political parties are banned in Swaziland, the parliament has no real powers and the king makes all the important decisions.

Sithole said the labour organizations were committed to negotiating change through social dialogue and called on the international community to apply targeted sanctions against Swazi government officials and the kingdom’s royal family and others in the ruling elite in Swaziland.

The sanctions should include a freeze of accounts, denial of flying into many capitals of the world and use of peer pressure among others.

Speaking at a press conference in Accra yesterday (15 May 2009), Sithole said workers would proceed with protests and continuous mass mobilisation to pressure government for democratic change and to adhere to all ratified conventions.

Sithole said, ‘We want the monarchy to be constitutional that will reign and not rule. Indeed culture and tradition must not be used as tools of abuse, manipulation and self aggrandisement.’

At independence in 1968, the constitution allowed the king, culture and tradition to co-exist with political parties. The king then was a constitutional monarch while the ruling party runs the government.

Five years later, the then king, Sobhuza II, declared a state of emergency and banned political parties and workers’ right to assemble without prior permission. He also vested all powers of governance in the king.

Sithole said in the 35 years since the king’s proclamation, the king had being appointing the prime minister, the cabinet and envoys and now controlled about 66 percent of appointments in the Senate and 20 percent in the Assembly.

He said while the Swazi government had signed every international human rights-friendly treaty, it had not implemented any of them. Instead, the government had passed laws that would allow it to circumvent the treaties.

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