Send Swazilands konge og hans mange koner hjem fra dagens bryllup i Storbritannien.

Pressemeddelelse
English version below.

Send Swazilands konge og hans mange koner hjem fra dagens bryllup i Storbritannien.

"Det er en skændsel for det britiske kongehus, at man har inviteret Swazilands konge Mswati til dagens bryllup", udtager informationsmedarbejder i Afrika Kontakt, Morten Nielsen.

Det enevældige kongedømme Swaziland har en befolkning på knap 1,1 mio. Dette lille land bliver ofte overset, på trods af det har Afrikas længstvarende undtagelsestilstand.

Kong Mswatis besøg til Storbritannien er en skandale. Besøget kommer kort tid efter store og omfattende protestaktioner imod styret og for demokrati i landet - protestaktioner der startede den 12. april, årsdagen for undtagelsestilstanden i landet, og som fra den første dag blev slået hårdt ned af brutale og voldelige politi- og sikkerhedsstyrker.

Som Afrikas eneste absolutte monark, er kong Mswati III inviteret til at deltage i det kongelige bryllup. Han styrer et land, der har været underlagt en undtagelsestilstand siden 1973, hvor politiske partier er forbudt, og hvor fagforeninger og andre organisationer i civilsamfundet undertryktes massivt. Næsten to tredjedele af befolkningen lever i absolut fattigdom, mens kongen og hans venner lever et liv i luksus.

Afrika Kontakt opfordrer derfor, sammen med vores søsterorganisation i Storbritannien, ACTSA, den britiske udenrigsminister, William Hague, til at sende Swazilands konge hjem, med besked om at demokratisere landet, tillade politiske partier, løslade politiske fanger og bane vejen for frie og demokratiske valg.

Afrika Kontakt har i mere end ti år støttet demokratibevægelsen i Swaziland og støtter bl.a. paraplyorganisationen, Swaziland United Democratic Front.

Læs mere om Swaziland her: www.afrika.dk/frit-swaziland

Yderligere informationer fra:
Morten Nielsen - Information and Campaigns officer
Africa Contact - Denmark
Phone: (+45) 35 35 92 32 (AC) or
Mobil: (+45) 25 39 65 57

Send Swaziland’s king and his many wives home from today’s Royal wedding in London

“It is a disgrace that the British Monarchy has invited Swaziland’s King Mswati to attend today’s Royal wedding,” says Information Officer of Danish organisation Africa Contact, Morten Nielsen.

The small absolute monarchy that is Swaziland only has a population of around 1.1 million, and is therefore often overlooked despite the fact that it has Africa’s longest running state of emergency.

That King Mswati has been officially invited to England is disgraceful. His visit comes only a few weeks after large and wide-ranging protests against the regime and for democracy swept the country. The protests started on April 12, the anniversary of the state of emergency, and were brutally clamped down upon by Swaziland’s police and security forces.

King Mswati III has been invited to the wedding as Africa’s sole remaining absolute monarch. He runs a country where a state of emergency has been in force since 1973, where political parties are banned, and where unions and other civil society organisations are violently suppressed. Nearly two thirds of the population lives under the poverty while the King and his cronies live a life of luxury.

Africa Contact, together with the British organization ACTSA, therefore invites the British Foreign Secretary, William Hague, to send Swaziland’s King back to Swaziland with the message that he should not return before political parties have been unbanned, political prisoners have been released, the country has been democratized, and democratic elections have been held.

Africa Contact has worked with the democratic movement in Swaziland for over ten years, and supports the Swaziland United Democratic Front and other key organisations that advocate and work towards an inclusive democratization process.

For further information, contact:
Morten Nielsen - Information and Campaigns officer
Africa Contact - Denmark
Phone: (+45) 35 35 92 32 (AC) or
Mobil: (+45) 25 39 65 57