Mbabane | Thursday
A SWAZILAND minister on Wednesday condoned a police break-up of an opposition news conference in the small mountain kingdom last week, saying the meeting had presented a threat to state security.
Speaking at a function to commemorate the 89th birthday of the United Nations, Trade and Foreign Minister Abednego Ntshangase said government could not be blamed for the police action.
”There was literally nothing wrong that the police did to stop that so-called press conference as it is incumbent upon them to enforce the law whenever they feel that a crime is about to be committed,” Ntshangase said.
The minister said the police conduct was for the good of governance in Swaziland.
Police broke up the press conference last Friday in the central town of Manzini, called by the Swaziland Democratic Alliance to discuss the arrest and eviction of some 200 families in eastern Swaziland about a year ago to make room for a brother of absolute monarch King Mswati III.
Police manhandled a member of the People’s United Democratic Movement Pudemo), an opposition group, and arrested Times of Swaziland photojournalist Thulasizwe Mkhabela for defying an order not to photograph the clash.
Armed police told the journalists and opposition figures to leave the venue or face the consequences.
The opposition parties are not allowed to engage in politics in Swaziland, a tiny mountain kingdom sandwiched between South Africa and Mozambique.
Unions are acting as a de facto opposition amid mounting calls for the introduction of democracy for Swaziland’s one million people. – Sapa-AFP