(CPJ/IFEX) – In a 5 July 2001 letter to Swaziland King Mswati III, CPJ expressed concern over his 22 June decree expanding the Swazi government’s already sweeping power to ban local publications. The decree, a continuation of the King’s Proclamation of 1973, authorizes the “appropriate ministry” to ban any publication for any reason. “The minister […]
(CPJ/IFEX) – In a 5 July 2001 letter to Swaziland King Mswati III, CPJ expressed concern over his 22 June decree expanding the Swazi government’s already sweeping power to ban local publications.
The decree, a continuation of the King’s Proclamation of 1973, authorizes the “appropriate ministry” to ban any publication for any reason. “The minister concerned shall not furnish any reason or jurisdictional facts for such proscription,” reads the decree.
The decree forbids any legal challenges to a government ban and adds that under Section 3 (2) of the Sedition and Subversives Activities Act, any person who “insults, ridicules or puts into contempt the King or the Queen, in whatever way or form, commits an offence” and is liable to a fine of up to 50,000 emalangeni (approx. US$6,200), up to ten years imprisonment, or both.
The independent media in Swaziland have been under government siege since 1999. The king’s recent decree is plainly designed to intimidate any journalist who might question his absolute rule.
The Swazi Constitution was suspended in 1973, leaving the country’s journalists with no legal protections. Although a Constitutional Review Commission has been working on a new constitution since 1996, the media are forbidden to report on the commission’s activities.
In 1999, the independent weekly newspaper “Times Sunday” published an article by editor-in-chief Bekhi Makhubu reporting that the king’s then-fiancée was a high school dropout (see IFEX alerts of 23 August and 12 July 2000, 28 and 27 September 1999). Although the facts were not disputed, Makhubu was charged with criminal defamation due to his alleged “disrespect” for the monarchy.
In February 2000, the government abruptly closed the state-owned Swazi Observer Group of newspapers, a move widely seen as retaliation for the flagship Swazi Observer’s refusal to reveal sources for two December 1999 articles on local police activities (see IFEX alerts of 22 May, 28, 24 and 18 February 2000). (The paper was re-launched earlier this year.)
Senior investigative reporter Thulani Mthethwa reported that police had identified a suspect in connection with the November 1999 bombing of the deputy prime minister’s office and the headquarters of the Council of Traditional Chiefs. Police repeatedly interrogated Mthethwa about the articles, pressuring him to reveal his sources and accusing him of interfering with law enforcement by disclosing details about an ongoing investigation. When the journalist and his editor refused to compromise their sources, the newspaper was closed.
In an 11 May letter to the king, CPJ expressed concern over the government’s suspension of two independent newspapers, “The Guardian” and “The Nation”, ostensibly over their failure to comply with new, hastily introduced media registration laws (see IFEX alert of 14 May 2001). On 3 May, World Press Freedom Day, the minister of public service and information announced that all newspapers that had not been registered under the Books and Newspapers Act of 1963 would be closed with immediate effect. Any unregistered publication that had been in existence for more than five years would have two weeks to comply with the Act by registering.
The latter clause was clearly designed to protect the government-owned “Swazi Observer” and the pro-government “Times of Swaziland”. It seems hardly coincidental that the new registration laws directly affected “The Guardian” and “The Nation”, both outspoken critics of the Swazi monarchy.
Recommended Action
Send appeals to the king:
– noting that journalists everywhere must be free to cover matters of national interest without interference from the state
– recalling that the freedom to seek, receive, and impart information is a right afforded to all people, regardless of the form of government under which they live, according to Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
– urging him to reverse the suspension of “The Guardian” and “The Nation”
– calling on him to rescind all decrees and other legal instruments that currently restrict press freedom in Swaziland
Appeals To
His Royal Highness King Mswati III
C/o Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of Swaziland to the United Nations
New York, NY 10022
Fax: +212 754 2755
Please copy appeals to the source if possible.
