The tiny
kingdom of Swaziland has been marking the 44th birthday of King Mswati III,
Africa's last absolute monarch. The authorities responded to pro-democracy
protests with detentions and road blocks.
Musa Hlophe
from the Swazi Coalition of Concerned Civic Organizations was among those
wanting to mark King Mswati's birthday with political protest, but he told DW
from the capital Mbabane on Thursday that the government had "succeeded in
repressing this particular operation."
"Even
if the streets were closed to us, we wanted to celebrate this day and demand
that our right to assembly and protest be restored," he added.
Pro-democracy
groups had slated the king's birthday as a day of protest following earlier
demonstrations last week. Swaziland's impoverished citizens were ordered to
celebrate the day by giving contributions such as cows.
One of the
world's richest monarchs
The king's
opponents were indignant. "With Swazis being so ruthlessly taxed, the one
man who does not pay taxes in the country, and yet happens to be the richest,
is adamant that he should take the little money the country has and use it on a
birthday party for himself, his wives and his children," the April 12
Swazi Uprising Movement said in a statement.
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| Will these children grow up in a more democratic Swaziland? |
"This
is pure evil. Why does he not go to Kuwait and ask his friends there to throw
him a party funded with petro-dollars?" the statement added.
Mswati is
rated by Forbes magazine as being among the world's 15 richest monarchs with a
personal fortune of more than $100 million (76 million euros). He has 13 wives,
each with their own palace. But 60 percent of his subjects live on less than 2
dollars a day in one of the world's poorest countries.
Most of the
national income comes from Swazis working in neighboring South Africa or via
customs charges on items entering Swaziland. The country also has one of the
highest rates of HIV infection in the world. One in four carries the virus.
Rights
abuses are increasingly attracting international attention. A statement
released by the US embassy in the capital Mbabane one day before the monarch's
birthday criticized Swazi security forces for preventing peaceful gatherings
and the government for banning a trade union.
With
political parties having been outlawed, unions play a leading role in pushing
for reform.
Striving
for a return to a multiparty system
Mduduzi
Gina, first deputy general secretary of the Trades Union Congress of Swaziland,
told DW that political parties should be made legal again in Swaziland.
"We
want the next elections to be held under a multiparty system," he said.
Last week
the government declared illegal any protests highlighting the abolition of
political parties and put large numbers of police and soldiers on the streets.
Seven activists were detained while on their way to a pro-democracy church
service in the city of Manzini.
Musa Hlophe
believes change will happen one day. "Pressure will come upon the king,
because the power is in the king's hands, in one institution. If he becomes
convinced that change does include him as part of the future, that we will not
drive him to the sea...we believe that persuasion rather confrontation will be
the resolution."
The
alternative to peaceful change, he added, "was too ghastly to
contemplate."
Author:
Mark Caldwell (AFP, dpa)
Editor: Susan Houlton
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| King Mswati III is facing growing protests over his undemocratic regime. Photograph: Gianluigi Guercia/AFP/Getty Images |
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