Police
in Swaziland / Eswatini turned the city of Manzini into a warzone when they
attacked a legal protest by workers demanding pay improvements. It was one of a
number of police attacks on legal demonstrations in which bullets,
stun-grenades, water cannon and teargas were fired. A video of an
indiscriminate attack by police on defenceless people went viral on the
Internet. The police violence was condemned globally.
Police
also fired
gunshots, grenades and rubber bullets during Swaziland’s election as voters
protested against what they believed was malpractice. The election was largely recognised
outside the kingdom to be undemocratic. Political parties are banned from
taking part and at its conclusion King Mswati III the absolute monarch in
Swaziland appointed six members of the Royal Family to sit in the House of
Assembly. No members of the Swazi Senate are appointed by the people. The
election was riddled with reports of bribery, vote-rigging, and violence.
These
are some of the reports in this edition of Swaziland: Striving for Freedom
which includes reports from Swazi Media Commentary published July to September
2018. It is available to download free-of-charge from Scribd dot com.
Among others are the financial meltdown of the Government with health and
education services failing. There were reports of hunger and deaths as a result
of the government’s inability to pay its suppliers. Meanwhile, King Mswati and
his family continue to spend lavishly on themselves. Barnabas Dlamini, a stanch
ally of the ruling elite who was recognised globally as a serial abuser of human
rights in Swaziland, died after a long illness.
It
was also revealed in a once-secret CIA report that the revered King Sobhuza II supported the white-ruled Apartheid
government in South Africa because he was afraid that change there would
encourage people to press for political reform in his own kingdom.
Swazi Media Commentary is published
online, updated most weekdays. It is
operated entirely by volunteers and receives no financial backing from any
organisation. It is devoted to providing information and commentary in support
of human rights in Swaziland.
See also
Swaziland: Striving for
Freedom. Latest review of human rights from Swazi Media Commentary
Swaziland:
Striving for freedom
Swaziland
update on human rights
A
decade of news and views
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