THE COST OF BEING IMPARTIAL

Yesterday morning, we woke up to another incident of arson and this time around, the Times of Eswatini was the target.

One of our delivery vehicles was hijacked and torched. In the absence of robbery or alternative motives, we are led to believe that this was a deliberate attack to plant fear in our staff and journalists. This incident occurs against a backdrop of an ongoing attempt to label this publication as a State-controlled entity, when nothing could be further from the truth. We are independent and have defended that independence for many years.

We will continue to defend that independence because it lies at the heart of the service we provide to our readers and society as a whole. Getting truthful and unbiased news out to the masses; information that will allow people to make their own informed decision about the state of affairs of this country is what that service is all about. What needs to be well understood in a free and progressive society is that the press does not exist to promote one school of thought or another, but to lay bare the facts as they are for the readers to make their own informed decision.

violence

It should not escape the minds of observers, that yesterday’s incident is just a microcosm of a bigger national issue of violence in this country. We are at a very critical state of our national development, where every member of society ought to stand up and condemn violence in whatever form, shape or level it occurs. There is no good violence, no justifiable violence. One cannot say gender-based violence is abhorrent, but that violence against those who don’t agree with your philosophy is acceptable. This evil of violence, which can become entrenched and span generation after generation, has already permeated almost every segment of our country. We report almost daily on repeated cases of gender-based violence; mob justice killings; excessive force displayed by security forces and the destruction of public property that itself has no other purpose than to serve the public, through tax resources that we all contribute to.
This has to stop. It calls for all levels of the country’s leadership to denounce statements that have elements of inciting violence and this includes those that position themselves as proponents for change.

It also calls for deep interrogation of the root causes of this societal ill. The reasons are varied and they cannot be ignored, particularly on the lack of basic service delivery, poverty and high unemployment, all against a backdrop of inappropriate resource allocation. The sooner we get to dialogue around these issues and find lasting solutions that will be accompanied by political will, the better.

detract

Any intrusion of political violence onto the dialogue agenda will simply steal time and detract attention from the more important matters of ensuring social justice and quality of life for all. An independent press has no enemies. We share many of the frustrations endured by the general populace of this country and dream the same dreams of making it better. Where we do differ is on the element of violence. On this point we are 100 per cent clear: We are against violence.

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