The Bright Continent

Is the “Arab Spring” moving Sub-Saharan? Since nine Arab countries started protesting their questionably legitimate leadership, we’ve heard a lot about why Tunisia, Egypt and Libya are not the same as, say, Zimbabwe or Cameroon. But what about Swaziland? 

For weeks, the pressure has been building in sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarchy. The government’s announcement of pay cuts last month had sent thousands of civil servants into the street in protest. And nonviolent protest organizers planned to use April 12^th — the 38th anniversary of Swaziland’s banning of political parties — as a rallying point for a larger wave of demonstrations, calling for the end of the dictatorship and the establishment of a constitutional monarchy. But, in anticipation of those protests, the regime struck first, launching a wide-scale crackdown against any groups or individuals it deemed a threat.     

 The people of Swaziland have good cause to be unhappy. The country of 1.4 million is desperately poor, with 40 percent unemployment and nearly 70 percent of the population living on less than $1 a day. The life expectancy for men is 50 years; for women, 48. The country has the world’s AIDs infection rate. According to a recent USAID report, more than 25 percent of the population is HIV-positive. And they have little reason to believe that anyone is coming to their rescue: Their monarch, King Mswati III, has ruled since 1986. His father wore the crown for more than 60 years before him. 

Each of the countries that have erupted in popular rebellion in recent weeks have had unique features. Some have been more or less repressive, some more or less economically well-off. But the broad features that have existed in the region’s autocracies — high unemployment, gross disparities of wealth, corruption, limited press freedoms and a lack of genuine political choice — are true of Swaziland as well. 

The youth arm of South Africa’s ANC has released a statement of support:

“The youth of Swaziland should be like the youth of South Africa in 1976 who stood fearlessly against the armed apartheid regime and sustained militant protests and struggles until the regime came to the table for negotiations which brought political freedom and democracy.”

#teamswazi

(photo by Siphiwe Sebeko for Reuters)