Pro-democracy groups slam Mswati's conference

Swaziland's pro-democracy groups have dismissed as pointless a two-day national dialogue on developmental issues hosted this week by King Mswati III, sub-Saharan Africa's last absolute monarch. About 1,000 guests participated in discussing rural development, the economic empowerment of indigent Swazis and other issues chosen by the king, but the event was boycotted by labour unions, and the legal fraternity took issue with Mswati's credentials for convening such a meeting. "A national dialogue should be a forum for expressing the vision of the country, and resolving issues of national conflict, but such a forum is sheer hypocrisy if the convener [Mswati] does not accept the fundamental principles of good governance and accountability. Democratic dialogue cannot take place in the absence of the rule of law. Give us bread, not cake!" said the Law Society of Swaziland in a press statement. The Swaziland Federation of Trade Unions (SFTU) stayed away from the event. "This is just a talk shop for the elite, held at the country's top hotel, and costing Lilangeni 1 million [about US $163,000] for a day," alleged SFTU secretary-general Jan Sithole. He said the majority of Swazis were not in a position to participate in the dialogue and would not be affected by the outcome. Acting president of the SFTU, Elliot Mkatshwa, told IRIN on Wednesday that labour was right to boycott the conference. "We cannot afford to dialogue with people who do not respect the rule of law. It would be a waste [of time] to dialogue the issues raised, as we cannot force them to implement [democratic reforms]." In his opening remarks on Monday, Mswati denied that anyone was boycotting the event, saying those who were not attending "were either sick or travelling". Although the first national dialogue was called a year ago, a report on those deliberations was only released this month. "The first national dialogue called for an unconditional return to the rule of law. A report to this effect was submitted to the king. No action was taken to resolve the crisis - rule of law in Swaziland has been subverted in the name of the king, and only he can restore it. He has not done so," said the Law Society. Noting that the society was not invited to participate in the event, the legal organisation said it was spared having to "associate itself with a flawed process." Mswati said no organisations were invited. "How could a person insist on speaking on behalf of many people? It is better for one to talk for himself." He also condemned the Swaziland Youth Congress (SWAYOCO), a pro-democracy group, for holding its annual conference in South Africa last week. "I hope you will desist from misleading people that you are not allowed to talk freely in the country," said the king, noting that Swazis were able to express views at government-approved forums, like the national dialogue and the constitutional drafting committee. Political groups opposed to royal rule and political meetings of any kind are banned by royal edict. Zodwa Mkhonta, assistant secretary of the SFTU, said she had tried to attend the dialogue in a personal capacity but was blocked from entering the venue by police. "I was prevented by security forces from exercising my rights, just because of my dissenting views," she remarked. Demonstrators, including trade unionists, who tried to protest at last year's national dialogue were stopped by police, who ignored a court order permitting the march. Unionists decided not to demonstrate this year. The Swazi media was uniformly behind the event, and condemned non-participants.