Govt dismisses calls for targeted sanctions

A new report by the International Crisis Group (ICG), a Brussels-based think-tank, has called on the United States (US) and the European Union (EU) to institute targeted sanctions against Swaziland's ruling elite unless democratic reforms are implemented. King Mswati III holds the ultimate authority in Southern Africa's only absolute monarchy, and political parties are banned. The ICG report 'Swaziland: The Clock Is Ticking' accused the ruling elite of being corrupt and ignoring worsening social ills. The ICG noted that in 1973 Mswati's father, King Sobhuza, declared a state of emergency and suspended the country's constitution, giving himself "supreme power to rule by decree and appoint the prime minister and cabinet". The ban on political parties was explained as protecting the country from "highly undesirable political practices alien to, and incompatible with, the way of life of our society". The decree also outlawed demonstrations, processions and political gatherings without prior police consent. The ICG noted that "fundamental freedom of expression was restricted, the government was granted authority to detain without charge ... persons deemed a threat to public peace". "With the stroke of a pen," the report said, "the king had been transformed from a constitutional monarch ... to an absolute monarch free of any constitutional inhibitions." In recent years the country has witnessed occasional unrest, including a sporadic bombing campaign targeting state institutions and frequent strike action by pro-democracy unions. The HIV/AIDS epidemic, failed harvests caused by erratic weather, and unemployment have also contributed to deepening vulnerability among ordinary Swazis. The king's expenditure on luxury items - such as a Maybach 62 limousine, which reportedly cost over US $500,000 - in the face of extensive poverty among his people has elicited widespread condemnation. The country faced a rule-of-law crisis in 2002 when the Court of Appeal bench resigned en masse after the government overruled a court decision setting aside the eviction of a community from Swazi Nation Land. "The court had ruled that the king had acted illegally in 2000 when he removed the chiefs of Macetjeni and Kamkhweli and appointed his brother, Prince Maguga Dlamini, in their stead. The unseated chiefs refused to swear allegiance to Maguga, setting off violent local conflict, which led to the forcible removal from their village of 200 residents, who also refused to swear allegiance to the new chief," the ICG related. The villagers sought a court order allowing them to return to their homes, and won. However, then Prime Minister Sibusiso Dlamini announced that the government would not abide by the judgements and insisted that royal decrees were "neither debatable nor negotiable". The Court of Appeal judges and the director of public prosecutions then resigned in protest. "The crisis triggered consternation in the region, with lawyers from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) describing it as a threat to regional stability and security. Finally, on 17 September 2004, the Commonwealth helped to broker an agreement between the government and the judiciary, in which the former pledged to abide by court decisions," the report said. A new draft constitution, passed by parliament earlier this year but sent back by the king for further deliberation this week, was not likely to lead to a new political dispensation. The ICG called for an end to absolutism, the introduction of a constitutional monarchy and elimination of all vestiges of the 1973 state of emergency declaration, including removal of the king's arbitrary powers over the legislature and judiciary, and his right to appoint the prime minister and cabinet. The legalisation of political parties, a directly elected house of assembly - with oversight of royal spending - and an elected prime minister as head of government were critical, the think-tank said, as was the "codification of traditional law and its reconciliation with common law ... and civilian oversight of professional security services". Both the US and EU should "consider cutting off direct support to the government until it shows willingness to end all vestiges of the 1973 state of emergency and restore fundamental rights", said the ICG, and urged the international community to be "much more assertive in encouraging these reforms" by putting political and economic pressure on the ruling elite. "The US and EU are well placed to use trade leverage in pressing for democratic change. They should emphasise that only through political reform will Swaziland be able to emerge from its humanitarian crisis, which is due in no small part to unaccountable and corrupt government practices," the report commented. While general sanctions would "cripple the already weak economy and exacerbate poverty and hunger, targeted sanctions against the ruling elite should be considered if it proves recalcitrant". Government spokesman Percy Simelane told IRIN the country was moving toward solving its own problems and did not need international intervention. "In as far as the rule-of-law crisis is concerned, that's no longer an issue now. Those issues have been addressed, the judiciary is free and the Court of Appeal that disbanded after they were dissatisfied [with government's disregard of their rulings] are back and they are working," Simelane said. "In as far as the banning of political parties is concerned, that should be addressed by the coming constitution, as it was put together by the Swazis themselves. The king's powers are given to him by the people of Swaziland; it is the people themselves who said the king should retain his status when the constitutional exercise was started," he noted. Simelane stressed that the issue of political parties could still "be addressed by the constitution that is to be signed by the king, as you can't quote a constitution that is still a draft, it has not been signed yet" and changes were still being made. He also dismissed the call for targeted sanctions against the Swazi elite, in the absence of democratic reform. "I have no reasons to think it fair to do that, as we are doing everything to pull ourselves together. If, during that process, something like this [sanctions] comes, you know very well who is going to suffer - it may be targeted at the elite, but it is going to be the people who suffer," he warned. The ICG report came at a time when "the leadership is pulling itself together to be accountable for things people feel they should be accountable for ... we are doing something about things that are of concern to the rest of the world", Simelane said. Outside interference in internal Swazi matters was thus unnecessary, he concluded. "In a way, [political and economic pressure] will hurt the people of the country, and would be tantamount to political rape."