By Fienie Grobler
Mbabane - Africa's last absolute monarch has invited banned opposition parties to enter the political playing field in Swaziland, speaking publicly on the issue for the first time in a rare interview with AFP.
"Our constitution is no longer banning anything," said King Mswati III, who this week will celebrate 20 years since he ascended to the throne at the age of 18 in the small mountainous kingdom wedged between South Africa and Mozambique.
"The old constitution had actually written that we banned political parties but these days when you read our new constitution, our new constitution allows the freedom of rights," said Mswati from his Lozitha palace outside Mbabane, with its marble walls and crystal chandeliers.
Continues Below ↓
'There is nothing which says we ban parties' "There is nothing which says we ban parties," he told AFP.
Swazis have been living peacefully in the rolling green hills of Swaziland, clinging to their age-old customs despite harsh poverty and alarming AIDS rates.
But now a handful of pro-democracy activists are threatening to disrupt the quiet if there is no end to Mswati's autocratic rule and the lavish lifestyles of his 13 wives and 26 children.
The country has been hit by a spate of firebombings in recent months on government offices and homes belonging to state officials.
A group of members of the People's United Democratic Movement, a banned pro-democracy group, has been arrested and face treason charges.
'We come across many, many challenges' "I am concerned when violence is being used. I do not see that if you want change one should use any type of violence," said Mswati, wearing three red feathers in his hair and dressed in a traditional red, black and white cloth bearing a picture of a spear.
"What is most important, is that there are always doors open... If one wants to convey a message our doors are wide open, if they want to express themselves."
Mswati in February signed a decree bringing into force a new constitution that proclaims the right to freedom of association and freedom of speech, but without specifically mentioning the status of political parties.
Continues...
|
StumbleUpon
Reddit
Digg
Delicious
Newsvine
Facebook
muti
Twitter
