A report in the Swazi Observer
comparing LGBT people in Swaziland / Eswatini to child molesters and people who have sex
with animals was hate speech. It lied to the newspaper’s readers and broke the Observer’s own code of ethical reporting
standards.
The report on Thursday (21 June 2018) concerned a
proposed LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) Pride
event due to take place on 30 June 2018. It is being organised by Rock of
Hope and is the first of its kind. It has received international
support.
The newspaper, in effect owned by King Mswati III
sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch, reported the Pride had been met
with ‘anger and despair’ by people within Swaziland and talked of a letter from
‘concerned parents’ against the event. It did not tell readers that the letter
was an online petition from an organisation previously exposed as hate-mongers.
No person from Swaziland was quoted in the report.
The report gave details of the letter that demonised
LGBT people and said they were a danger to children.
The report was hate speech and broke Article 13 of the
Swaziland National Association of Journalists code of
conduct which states, ‘Hate speech: ‘Journalists shall avoid by all means
the publication of speech that might promote hatred, spite and conflict amongst
the Swazi or any other nation.’
Hate speech is a type of speech or writing which can do any of the
following: deliberately offend, degrade, intimidate, or incite violence or
prejudicial action against someone based on their race, ethnicity, profession,
national origin, religion, sexual orientation, or disability. It can be aimed
at an individual; or racial, ethnic, religious or other group. Such speech
generally seeks to condemn or dehumanize the individual or group; or express
anger, hatred, violence or contempt toward them.
The group writing the petition calls itself Parents of Eswatini (Parents
of Swaziland). It published it on the CitizenGo website. The petition appears
to originate in Germany.
In April 2018 Swazi Media Commentary exposed
the website as a hate group. CitizenGo started in Spain in 2013 as a
project of an organisation called HazteOir. It now claims to have millions of
supporters in more than 50 countries, according to the Open Democracy website.
It reported, ‘HatzeOir was founded in 2001. [In 2017], a team of
investigators in Spain traced links between the group and “El Yunque”, a
mysterious secret society that allegedly has cells across Mexico and the US
mobilised to “defend the Catholic religion and fight the forces of Satan though
violence or murder”, according to Mexican investigative journalist Alvaro Delgado. Previously, in 2014 a judge dismissed a claim by HazteOir disputing
links between the groups.
‘CitizenGo describes itself as “pro-family” and a defender of life,
family, freedom, and dignity. Madrid lawyer Ignacio Arsuaga, reportedly the great-grandson of the late dictator
General Francisco Franco, sits at the helm of both it and HatzeOir,’ the
website reported.
The Political Research Associates website reported,
‘CitizenGo has a variety of longstanding ties to right-wing organizations and
right-wing efforts around the globe.’
It added, it operated primarily through an online petition platform ‘to
push an anti-LGBTQ, anti-abortion agenda’.
Richard
Rooney
See also
LESBIAN
AND GAY MURDERS IN SWAZILAND
HATE
SPEECH AND GAYS
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