LONDON PROTEST TO GREET SWAZI KING

Statement from Swaziland Vigil

Swazis in London protest at visit by playboy king Mswati III

Exiled Swazis living in the UK are to protest outside the Savoy Hotel in London on Wednesday 16th May when their king Mswati III is due to arrive to attend a diamond jubilee banquet for the world’s monarchs hosted by the Queen at Windsor Castle on Friday 18th May.

The protest is organised by the Swaziland Vigil which stages regular demonstrations outside the Swaziland High Commission in London in protest at the king’s autocratic rule. He is Africa ’s last absolute monarch and has, at the last count, 13 wives – although there are reports that some of them have fled. Forty-four year old Mswati III, educated at Sherborne public school in Dorset , is said by Forbes magazine to have a fortune of more than $100 million while his people live in poverty.

The co-ordinator of the Swazi Vigil Thobile Gwebu said people in Swaziland had been reduced to eating cow dung so that they could fill their bellies as required for the AIDs medicines provided by NGOs. She said the king had recently taken delivery of a DC-9 twin-engine aircraft claiming it was a gift from ‘anonymous sponsors’.

Ms Gwebu said she understood the king was travelling with the entourage of 30, staying at the Savoy where room prices start at £400 a night.

She said Swazis in the UK didn’t want to spoil the Queen’s Jubilee celebrations and had written to her explaining that, as Queen of the Commonwealth, perhaps she could have a word with Mswati so that they could return home to a country where human rights were respected. For text of the letter see: http://www.zimvigil.co.uk/vigil-news/campaign-news/397-swaziland-vigil-letter-to-the-queen.

The Swaziland Vigil is also planning to picket the Swaziland High Commission on Saturday 19th May when king Mswati is due to hold a dinner.

Savoy Protest

Date:                    Wednesday 16th May from 12 noon – 3 pm

Venue:                 Savoy Hotel, Strand, London WC2R 0EU

                           

Swazi High Commission Protest

Date:                    Saturday 19th May from 6.30 pm

Venue:                 Swazi High Commission, 20 Buckingham Gate, London SW1E 6LB

Contact:               Fungayi Mabhunu 07746 552 597

‘KING SNEAKED INTO ROYAL WEDDING’

Times Live, South Africa

30 April 2011

SOURCE

Mswati plays the artful dodger

Swazi King Mswati III had to sneak into Westminster Abbey on Friday to avoid royal wedding embarrassment.

The controversial absolute monarch, whose country is ranked among the poorest in the world, spent much of this week playing hide-and-seek with pro-democracy demonstrators tailing him across London.

Mswati was not seen entering the front of the abbey, but apparently used a side entrance to keep a low profile in case of further protest action, according to members of pro-democracy group Swaziland Vigil.

"The royal family requested that he enter privately through a back door to avoid controversy," said pro-democracy activist Fungayi Mabhunu. "I only saw a glimpse of him inside."

Although the exact seating plan inside the abbey is still unclear, it appears Mswati took his place in the 'south transept' section - dubbed "the pew of evil" by some British media owing to the presence of foreign dignitaries from several rogue states.

While some former British prime ministers were excluded from the guest list - notably Tony Blair and Gordon Brown - the list included the likes of Mswati and Zimbabwean ambassador to London Gabriel Machinga, a prominent member of Robert Mugabe's Zanu-PF.

The king's official spokesman, Bheki Dlamini, confirmed Mswati's presence in London, but could not be reached yesterday for comment on how he arrived inside the abbey.

Earlier in the week, Dlamini added to the game of royal hide-and-seek by refusing to divulge any details of the king's visit. "That's not my territory," Dlamini told the Sunday Times when pressed for details of Mswati's travel plans.

Mswati also kept activists guessing about his accommodation plans. He and his entourage - reportedly about 50 strong - are believed to have originally booked into the ultra-swanky Dorchester Hotel, where rooms cost upwards of R5000 a night.

Protesters staged a small demonstration outside the hotel on Tuesday, only to discover that the king had switched his booking to the equally posh Four Seasons Hotel, down the road.

The Swazi government is currently in the midst of a severe financial crisis and is battling to pay for basic services such as electricity. Last month, the country's main newspaper reported that the state electricity company was owed R13.5-million and was threatening to pull the plug on several ministries.

SWAZIS IN UK TO PICKET KING MSWATI

Zimeye.org

30 April 2011

SOURCE

Swazis in UK to picket King’s Reception

The Swaziland Vigil will picket the Four Seasons Hotel in London today (30 April 2011) when King Mswati III holds a reception at the end of his visit to attend the Royal Wedding.

The King’s attendance drew much critical comment in the British media because of his human rights abuses. He was grouped in Westminster Abbey along with guests such as the

Zimbabwean ambassador Gabriel Machinga in what the Times newspaper called ‘the pew of evil’. The British government cited protocol for not cancelling their invitations as demanded by the Swaziland Vigil and the Zimbabwe Vigil, which stage regular human rights demonstrations in London.

After the Saturday Vigil outside the Zimbabwe Embassy (30 April), Zimbabweans will join the Swazi protest outside the Four Seasons Hotel from 6.30 – 8.30 pm.

Swaziland Vigil co-ordinator Thobile Gwebu said ‘we want to show the British people and the world that Mswati does not represent the people of Swaziland’.

Date: Saturday, 30th April 2011 from 6.30 – 8.30 pm.

Venue: Four Seasons Hotel, Hamilton Place, Park Lane W1J 7DR. The protest will be located outside the Royal Aeronautical Society, 4 Hamilton Place W1J 7BQ across the road from the hotel. (The police ask that we do not obstruct the public footway or enter on to property owned by the Four Seasons Hotel.)

Tube: Hyde Park Corner.

Contact: Thobile Gwebu / Fungayi Mabhunu 07746 552 597

Zimbabwe Vigil Co-ordinators

The Vigil, outside the Zimbabwe Embassy, 429 Strand, London, takes place every Saturday from 14.00 to 18.00 to protest against gross violations of human rights in Zimbabwe. The Vigil which started in October 2002 will continue until internationally-monitored, free and fair elections are held in Zimbabwe. http://www.zimvigil.co.uk

SWAZI KING: NEW PROTEST DATE

King Mswati III of Swaziland can run, but he cannot hide.

The king, in London for the Royal Wedding, has moved into the Four Seasons Hotel, Park Lane, Mayfair, London, after protestors picketed the Dorchester hotel where he had originally been booked to stay.

About 80 demonstrators attracted global attention on Tuesday (26 April 2011) with their picket at the Dorchester. They are drawing the world’s attention to the human rights abuses in Swaziland, where King Mswati reigns as sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch.

King Mswati is widely reported to be in London with an entourage of 50 people.

A new protest is planned for Saturday (30 April 2011) at 6.30pm at the Four Seasons, where King Mswati is booked to hold a reception.

The Zimbabwe Vigil, one of the supporters of Tuesday’s demonstration, reported on its website, ‘About 80 demonstrators had gathered outside the [Dorchester] hotel to support the Swaziland Vigil which had arranged a picket of protest against Mswati’s oppressive rule – only to find that the Swazi freeloaders had gone to the nearby Four Seasons Hotel.

‘Mswati had obviously got the message as members of his entourage at the Four Seasons were overheard talking about our demonstration which had attracted much media attention with protesters carrying posters such as “Swazi King parties while country starves” and “Royal Wedding guests are human rights abusers”.

‘The demonstration obviously embarrassed the Dorchester who made desperate efforts to contact the police to have us moved on to the Four Seasons’.

For pictures of the Dorchester demonstration click here http://www.flickr.com/photos/zimbabwevigil/.

HOTEL PROTEST ALERT FOR SWAZI KING

Independent, UK

26 April 2011

SOURCE

Dorchester on high alert as divisive Swazi king checks in

London's Dorchester hotel is preparing to receive a much noisier crowd than is normal this evening (Tuesday 26 April 2011): human rights protesters objecting to Swaziland's king arriving in London.

The five-star hotel, known for its afternoon tea and £450-a-night double rooms, is erecting metal fences around the front courtyard to corral 100 protesters who condemn the decision to invite King Mswati III of Swaziland to Friday's Royal Wedding.

The head of state and his 50-strong entourage are reportedly staying at the Dorchester, according to South Africa's Mail & Guardian newspaper. He is one of 40 foreign royals invited to the nuptials. The Crown Prince of Bahrain withdrew on Sunday following anger about the shooting of democracy protesters in his kingdom, and a wider crackdown which has included the detention of medical staff who treated injured and dying demonstrators.

Tonight's protest is organised by London-based Swaziland vigil groups and will be piggy-backed by Zimbabwean expatriates joining them in solidarity, angered by the decision to invite Zimbabwe's ambassador to take a seat in the front rows at Westminster Abbey.

The demonstrators want to draw attention to the polygamous autocrat's human rights abuses and corruption. Swaziland is crippled by poverty and has the world's highest prevalence of Aids – one in four adults has HIV/Aids.

Extra hotel security will be bought in to control tonight's protests, expected to start at 6pm, according to the general manager at the Dorchester, Roland Fasel. Adjoining streets may be blocked off if large crowds join the protest, and there will be a police presence. Guests at the hotel may have to show room cards to gain entrance.

"If the protest takes place, we will shield off the hotel in a structured approach," Mr Fasel said. "We will protect the periphery of the hotel with Met police and we will bring in additional security.

"We have heard this will be a peaceful political demonstration and we don't want it to take attention away from all the good things happening this week or the fantastic event that is happening on Friday."

Fungayi Mabhunu, a Zimbabwean who is co-ordinating tonight's protest, said: "Swaziland is one of the poorest countries and the king, Mswati III, is the last absolute monarch in Africa who has been abusing people for the past two decades.

"People in the country are dying of starvation and diseases, but they are paying for a man who has 13 wives and an enormous entourage to attend this wedding and stay at this hotel. This is not right."

Yesterday, guests at the Dorchester welcomed the prospect of a gauntlet of demonstrators outside, although some showed confusion about the subject of the protests. One American tourist, who preferred not to be named, said he thought Swaziland was "the name of a drink", while a Jordanian businessman, Mohamed Aldaoud, was initially convinced that the autocrat in question was in fact the leader of Switzerland.

Further protests are expected this week at the Zimbabwean Embassy, against the invitation to Gabriel Machinga, Zimbabwe's Ambassador to Britain.

Despite the Crown Prince of Bahrain's sudden absence for Kate and William's big day – his seat will not be filled – protests against the brutal suppression of political reformists in the kingdom are still expected to go ahead around the wedding festivities, because of the presence of Saudi Arabia's Prince Mohamed bin Nawaf bin Abdulaziz. Saudi Arabia has sponsored the crackdown on democracy protesters in Bahrain.

The Metropolitan Police said 5,000 officers would be on duty on Friday. It said it had rejected an application by Muslims Against Crusades to stage a demonstration outside Westminster Abbey, but that static protests could take place outside the designated zone.

Sixty people who had been arrested at previous demonstrations were banned from entering the City of Westminster and would be arrested if seen in the area on the day, the Met said.