Swazis blast Bush
Swaziland Solidarity Campaign (UK) | 25.08.2002 21:07
"The news that US President George Bush will not be coming indicates the lack of commitment by those who enjoy monopoly over world affairs to the plight of the poor in the world," Masuku said.
SSN's secretary general, Bongani Masuku, who lives in exile in South Africa, said in a statement Sunday that the world leaders at the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) beginning Monday should take Swaziland leaders to task for failing to comply with democratic change principles.
The organization, which comprises a network of political, religious, trade union and human rights organizations and based in Johannesburg, South Africa, said it would be meaningless for the summit to reach resolutions on the current crisis the world is in if countries like Swaziland remain untouched on the resolutions of past development summits.
"Governments are expected to submit a balance sheet of their performance since the last Summit, and it is expected that all governments should make their report open to the public for an honest assessment of what it contains versus the reality of the situation on the ground. This makes one wonders what the Swazi government has in store for the Summit," Masuku said.
He added: "In this regard, we believe that the urgencies attached by the situation by the plight of the poor in the world and some particular instances, like the Middle East conflict require that the arrogance displayed by the US and Israel at the Racism Conference in Durban Last September, should not be tolerated and the resolution of the Palestinian question is very primary to the process of sustainable development underpinned by global peace and justice."
Masuku said the real threat to sustainable development in the world, more than terrorism, is the massive concentration of wealth on the one hand and its corresponding effect of massive concentration of poverty on the other.
"This goes together with its twin sister, the use of force to resolve problems of global significance. This is a result of the arrogance and greed of rich countries, on the one hand and their elitist friends in poor countries, on the other," he observed.
"In the case of Swaziland, how do you account for the fact that in the midst of poverty in Swaziland, Mswati keeps his accounts in Crown Agents in England and all his children attend school in England at a rate of about R500 000 per annum/per person. This is happening against the background of scholarship withdrawal for the poor students and the massive shortage of facilities in schools all over the country, which is worsened by the massive retrenchments and closure of many industries in the country leading to many people loosing their jobs and having no money to send their children to school, as Swaziland has one of the most expensive education in the Southern African region as a whole," he said.
Masuku appealed to the international community to drum sense in the ears of the leaders of Swaziland to bring about meaningful change politically and economically.
Swaziland Solidarity Campaign (UK)
e-mail:
swazis@union.org.za
Homepage:
http://www.simunye.org.uk