SWAZILAND: No progress in fight for democracy

U N I T E D N A T I O N S
Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)
Integrated Regional Information Network (IRIN)

SWAZILAND: No progress in fight for democracy

[This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]

MBABANE, 3 May (IRIN) - Opposed by meek pro-democracy forces, King Mswati's
government is likely to succeed in promulgating a new constitution to
preserve palace power, Swazi political analysts told IRIN.

"Mswati seems like small potatoes compared to Robert Mugabe and other
national leader cutthroats," said a Manzini businessman. "No one has ever
died in political violence here, and there aren't even any demonstrations
anymore. Why should the world bother with little Swaziland?"

This is the dilemma faced by the kingdom's opposition groups, who are unable
to stir up excitement among the tradition-minded populace most of whom are
loyal to Mswati. Though some worry about corrupt palace officials, according
to one survey by the Swaziland National Association of Journalists.

"The days when the Swaziland Federation of Trade Unions (SFTU) can close
down the country at will to press for political reforms are over," said Dr
Anton Magongo, a sociologist at the University of Swaziland.

"The people are quiet because they have been cowed by the '73 Decree," said
Phineas Magagula, president of the Swaziland National Association of
Teachers. "They are afraid of the security forces. There is a difference
between a silent country and a peaceful country."

Some political observers disagree, and note that people who have considered
themselves oppressed in other countries have risen up against armed forces
and greater odds. "Call it apathy, ignorance or even contentment with the
status quo, but Swazis are not politically involved," commented the Manzini
businessman.

Opposition political parties, which have been banned by royal decree since
1973, struggle on. Former Prime Minister Obed Dlamini, a royal family member
who was fired from his post for being too soft on political demonstrators,
now heads the Ngwane National Liberatory Congress (NNLC), founded in 1959 as
the country's first political party.

"The prerequisite for political dialogue is lifting the decree banning
parties," Dlamini said. "When that happens, you will see membership of our
party go from the 5,000 members we have today to tens of thousands in a
week, I guarantee that."

At his birthday celebration on 19 April, a national holiday in Swaziland,
King Mswati had called for dialogue between conflicting groups to forge a
national consensus. At May Day observations this week, opposition groups
said dialogue was impossible under the State of Emergency, imposed by
Mswati's father, King Sobhuza, which outlawed all political organisations
other than his own, the Imbokodvo party.

Under the State of Emergency, political meetings are banned, and public
meetings and marches of any kind require the permission of the commissioner
of police.

"If the king is sincere about dialogue, he must give us back our voices,"
said NNLC Women's League president Ntombi Nkosi.

Instead King Mswati's constitutional review commission has released a report
that will be the basis for a new national constitution to be drafted by
year's end. It calls for a permanent ban on opposition politics, and an
expansion of royal powers.

Nkosi burned a copy of the report at a pre-May Day strategy meeting of the
SFTU. A move applauded by the federation's secretary general Jan Sithole but
dismissed by political observers as futile and tardy, given that the report
was issued last August.

"The political opposition has been outmaneuvered by the palace at every
turn," said Magongo. "They no longer control the agenda, like they did when
they called national strikes against palace rule. The progressives react to
government initiatives, and have failed to spark a large public following."

Magongo feels that pro-democracy groups are being disingenuous when they say
Swazis will join them once the ban on opposition politics is lifted. Magongo
insisted: "Swazis would join now if they felt truly dissatisfied with the
current government."

Mario Masuku, president of the largest banned political party, the Peoples
United Democratic Movement, has been in prison for a year on charges of
sedition.

His trial resumes in June. Security forces manned roadblocks in Mbabane and
surrounded the High Court during the initial phase of Masuku's trial. But
only a handful of supporters showed up to test the police.

Masuku was charged with uttering seditious statements against King Mswati at
a march in Manzini, Swaziland's most populous town 35 kilometres west of
Mbabane. The crowd was protesting a royal decree which expanded the power of
chiefs and traditional authorities. Police used tear gas and rubber bullets
to disperse the gathering, which proved to be the last of its kind to occur
in the country.

"We chose to turn to international pressure against government to achieve
our objectives," said the SFTU's Sithole.

The Swaziland Democratic Alliance, a reformist umbrella organisation, has
called upon the international community to isolate Swaziland economically
and diplomatically until King Mswati agrees to be a constitutional monarch
within a democratic system.

Last year, when a royal decree made government officials invulnerable to
legal challenges and circumscribed the activities of labour unions, the
International Labour Organisation called for economic sanctions against
Swaziland. But within a month, King Mswati revoked the decree, and there's
been not talk of sanctions since.

Prince Mguciso Dlamini, older brother to King Mswati and a senior palace
counselor, said: "Swazis love their king. They are proud that their kings
have preserved the nation against the odds after all these years. Political
parties have not offered a compelling alternative."

[ENDS]

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