News that Swaziland’s army has taken delivery of another
arms shipment has sparked fears that King Mswati is acting as an intermediary
for a rogue state that cannot directly buy arms due to embargoes.
The Swazi Army took delivery of an arms shipment on
Thursday (27 June 2013), including firearms and other military hardware.
Local media reported a cargo plane delivered the shipment
under conditions of great secrecy.
The shipment has aroused the suspicion of the Swaziland
Solidarity Network (SSN), a prodemocracy organisation banned in the kingdom.
Swaziland already has more than a million rounds of
ammunition and weapons to fire them and there is little reason for King Mswati,
who rules as sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch, to buy more.
In a statement SSN said, ‘[A]t the moment our network is
not excluding the possibility that the country is being used as an intermediary
by rouge states who cannot directly buy arms due to unilateral arms embargoes.
‘For the last decade Swaziland has had the dubious record
of having one of the highest defence budgets. What made this record further
ridiculous was the fact that the country has never been invaded in its entire
history and boasts excellent relations with its neighbours, with whom it has
signed security pacts disallowing either neighbouring country to be used by a
third party as a base for military aggression against the country.
‘It is not easy to therefore conclude that all arms
purchased by the country are intended for internal use against dissenters. The
special weapons purchased by the Swazi army of late raise eyebrows. Sources
within the defence force indicate that some of the shipments include unusual
equipment such as anti-aircraft rocket launchers, which can never be used to
quell local civil unrest even by the most wasteful army.
‘The answer to this intriguing choice of weaponry can be
found in a 2011 Wikileaks cable which indicates that the United Kingdom
government once blocked a similar arms shipment worth over $60 million. An arms
broker trading under the name Unionlet had applied for a license to import the
arms into Swaziland. According to the cable the reason for blocking the shipments was
that the UK government had “end user concerns”.
‘Whether king Mswati has become a middle-man for arms
dealers or he is hell-bent on staying in power by waging war on his own
subjects leads to one conclusion: that is the world has to restrict the amount
and type of arms that the country can purchase.
‘Taiwan, The European Union and the United States in
particular are countries which hand out aid to king Mswati’s government.
Together they have enough leverage to demand responsible use of available resources
from king Mswati. They should use that leverage. It is an insult to these
countries for this despot to purchase arms for killing the very population that
friendly states help to keep alive.’
See also
SWAZILAND AND SECRET ARMS DEAL
ARMS SHIPMENT HEADS TO SWAZILAND
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