New attempt to muzzle press

Media activists in Swaziland are dismayed by reports that the government is to propose legislation forcing journalists to reveal their sources of confidential state information. Should vital state information be leaked to the press, principal secretary of the ministry of justice and constitutional affairs, David Lukhele, warned that the journalist would be required to reveal the identity of their source, The Times of Swaziland reported this week. "This is just another attempt to muzzle the press. It is especially ill-timed, given that the country is undergoing a constitutional review process. We are disappointed because this new law will further sour relations between the state and media," national director of the Swaziland chapter of the Media Institute of Southern Africa), Comfort Mabuza, told IRIN on Thursday. The move followed recent exposés using leaked confidential state information. "The authorities are getting nervous that the media has increasingly become the watchdog of the government," Mabuza added. In April 2003, the country's information minister announced that the media would no longer be allowed to print or broadcast anything negative about the government, and specifically indicated that criticism of the proposed purchase of a luxury jet for King Mswati III would not be tolerated. Critics noted that the purchase was being made amid an HIV/AIDS crisis, and at a time when almost a quarter of the population faced food shortages. It was still unclear what action authorities would take if journalists failed to comply with the proposed law. "We are still in the dark. Some sources suggest that failure to heed the law could see journalists jailed for up to five years, or pay a hefty fine of E25,000 (about US $3,400)," Mabuza said. Trade unions have also slammed the proposed legislation: "We strongly oppose government's intended action, which can only serve to hide malpractices and promote corruption. We do not need to put this as another issue of protest action to stop the muzzling of the press," the Swaziland Federation of Trade Unions said in a statement. In 2000, King Mswati attempted to issue a decree that would have made insulting state officials a crime punishable by a 10-year jail term.