Newspaper to be reopened

The government of Swaziland said it would allow a daily newspaper it closed in February to reopen again next month. The closure of the state-owned ‘Swazi Observer’ followed the refusal of the editorial staff to disclose its sources of confidential correspondence between the Swaziland and South African police regarding drug trafficking investigations. The African Eye News Service reported that Jameson Gule, the former chairman of the newspaper, said in a statement on Tuesday that the paper would reopen as soon as a “restructuring” exercise was completed. “The essential objectives of the ‘Swazi Observer’ shall be to report in an objective and balanced manner on issues across the spectrum without fear or favour and to deal with the communication of news, information, ideas and philosophies as well as the promotion of developments in all spheres,” Gule said.