'Free Swaziland' by 2008
2004-06-21 12:53
Matsulu, South Africa - Swaziland's anti-royalists vowed on Sunday that Africa's last absolute monarchy would be free and democratic by 2008, as they ended a three-day conference.
"As the youth of Swaziland, we are committing ourselves to the total liberation of the Swazi people from royal supremacy," newly-elected Swaziland Youth Congress (Swayoco) secretary general Titho Tshabalala said.
"It is our mandate to ensure that we celebrate Pudemo's (People's United Democratic Movement) 25th anniversary in 2008 in a free and democratic Swaziland," he told some 200 delegates attending the conference at Matsulu, about 400km east of Johannesburg.
The meeting hosted by Swayoco - Pudemo's youth wing - was held inside South Africa close to the Swaziland border to prevent Swazi police from disrupting it.
Party politics are banned within the impoverished kingdom sandwiched between South Africa and Mozambique. Although last year individuals for the first time were voted into parliament, it is still ruled by King Mswati III by decree.
The conference closed on Sunday with delegates vowing to step up pressure on the monarch to introduce democratic reforms "and bring the government to the negotiation table", Tshabalala said.
Mswati is increasingly being criticised for his lavish lifestyle while most of his subjects live in poverty and have to grapple with Aids, food shortages and severe drought.
A growing number of Swazis have expressed dissatisfaction with the monarch but many still adore their king and his traditions.
Mswati, 35, has ruled Swaziland with a firm hand since 1986.
He recently attracted sweeping criticism for ordering new palaces worth $14m for his 10 wives and two fiancees at a time when the country faces a deficit of around $145m.
His kingdom has suffered its fourth successive year of drought, combined with a serious problem of Aids, which affects nearly four out of every ten adults, according to the latest government figures.