Protest rally flops, decree under review

The Swaziland Democratic Alliance called off a mass meeting on Sunday to discuss a new decree strengthening the powers of King Mswati III, blaming the state for a low turnout, AFP reported. Fewer than 200 people turned up at the stadium in the eastern town of Big Bend, where they encountered massed police. The decree, promulgated on 23 June, allows the absolute monarch to ban newspapers, jail those ridiculing him and overturn court rulings. It has been widely condemned by Swaziland’s trade unions and pro-democracy groups, as well as South Africa’s powerful trade union federation, COSATU. AFP said local media reported on Sunday that the US State Department had written to the Swazi government on 9 July to warn that it would be denied benefits under the Generalised System of Preferences and the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act unless it revoked the decree. That would have a disastrous effect on sugar exports, the mainstay of the economy of the tiny mountain kingdom. South Africa’s ‘Sunday Independent’ reported that extensive consultations over the controversial decree are being held behind closed doors, reportedly with the intention of amending it. Sam Mkhombe, the secretary of the Swazi national council standing committee, which advises the king on all socio-economic and political matters, this week confirmed that consultations on the decree were under way. However, he declined to give further details, saying the talks were at “a sensitive stage”.