Aug27 Sd2006

From a Northern Angle: A perspective on Swaziland

Most Canadians would have a hard time locating Swaziland on a globe; generally, they say "Switzerland?". It's such a tiny kingdom in southern Africa that until its recent notoriety concerning HIV/Aids it rarely concerned the international media. Occasionally King Mswati's name has made the headlines due to his luxurious taste and "cultural habit" of taking a new teen aged wife each August.

The Kingdom is a tiny country about a quarter the size of New Brunswick and has a population of 1.1 million. It was a British protectorate ("protected" not "colonized") from 1877 til 1968 when independence was granted and the parliamentary system of a Constitutional Monarchy was adopted. Within 5 years that constitution was gone as king Sobhuza II declared all political parties and political gatherings illegal. The 1973 Decree was quite convenient for the neighbouring Afrikaners in South Africa; in effect, it chased the African National Congress (ANC) out of Swaziland in addition to giving Sobhuza absolute control.

Shortly after Sobhuza died in 1982 a group of young politically minded students at the University of Swaziland and William Pitcher College secretly formed the Peoples United Democratic Movement, PUDEMO. In 1983 this was a huge risk but they felt compelled to resist the oppressive royal family. They felt a sincere obligation to their community - the aristrocracy did not deserve their respect but the community, their nation of people, most certainly did.

In 1986, four years after Sobhuza's death, one of his many sons was selected to rule. (Sobhuza is said to have fathered over 200 children with more than 100 wives!) Mswati III was crowned and many Swazis believed their lives would improve under this young 18 year old boy. The king proved otherwise.

Mswati quickly became know for his selfishness and used "culture" to justify the status quo. Simply put, the royal Dlamini clan still enjoyed the wealth of Swaziland while the majority watched. The king obeyed "cultural dictates" such as umhlanga - the Reed Dance where the king chooses a new teen aged girl as his fiance each year (only if she becomes pregnant will they marry) - yet ignored the plight of the people and the concerns of the nation. In 1986, the division of classes was extreme and plain to see, it was only to become more extreme.

Mswati has been king for 20 years and during that time Pudemo has never ceased moving forward. They have remained loyal to the people and watch Mswati's treachery. Pudemo has criticized the king who squanders millions of dollars on cars for himself - Maybach and Cadillac, cars for his wives (14 BMWs were bought in 2005) , palaces for his 12 or 14 wives, and tuition at foreign schools for his children. Pudemo has also criticized the Commonwealth for keeping a blind eye on the situation.

As Pudemo questions the Commonwealth's commitment to the Harare Declaration of 1991, the hypocrisy becomes apparent. Both Canada and Swaziland are signatories to this document which speaks of promoting democracy yet political parties and gatherings are still banned in Swaziland. Three weeks ago, Saturday August 5, 2006 a rally turned violent as police shot rubber bullets and teargas at a peaceful gathering celebrating the 15th anniversary of the Swaziland Youth Congress (Swayoco). Three men were injured and two women were taken by the "Royal Police" and severly beaten. Political repression is openly visible yet Canada and the Commonwealth are oblivious to these events. Will our commonwealth also become our common brutality?

Statistics from Swaziland are shocking:

- 69% of the population lives below the poverty line of E128 ($21 Can) per month.

- 48% of the population live under abject poverty

- 40% of households have never had enough to eat

- More than 300 000 people depend on food aid to survive

- Unemployment is more than 40%.

- HIV/AIDS prevalence rate is estimated at 42% making the country the highest in infection rate in the world.

- 56.4% of the wealth is held by the richest 20% whilst the poorest 20% hold only 4.3%

- Total population of disadvantaged people is estimated at
756 000 and is ever escalating. This represents more than 70% of the population.

- The health facilities are worse than in colonial times. You cannot find a simple pain killer in any government hospital today. Rats were seen in the capital hospital in December 2005.

- The education system has crumbled under Royal administration. Children no longer have access to government scholarships when those of the Royal family attend pre-schools in England and America.

Pudemo, Swayoco and the Swaziland Solidarity Network (SSN) are actively engaged in creating a more equitable and just system in their country. They know this can not be accomplished without international support and are establishing stronger ties overseas. Pudemo has a representative in Australia, SSN works diligantly in South Africa and South Africa Contact of Denmark provides support and produces a bi-monthly Swazi-newsletter.

Swazi-Solidarity Canada has been working closely with SSN in South Africa and wishes to engage in political, as well as, humanitarian action. As the history of the Republic of South Africa has taught us - internal pressure can not work in isolation, international solidarity is essential.

To follow events in Swaziland see
http://swazilandsolidaritynetworkcanada.wikispaces.com/

To read the South Africa Contact newsletter see
http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/SAK-Swazinewsletter


For more information, please write to:
PUDEMO International Office - pudemo@yahoo.co.uk
SSN South Africa - swaziland@union.org.za
Swazi-Solidarity Canada - swazisolidarityca@yahoo.ca