WE CAN’T DIALOGUE WITH TERRORISTS - HMK

LUANDA, ANGOLA - His Majesty the King has said SADC cannot expect the government of Eswatini to dialogue with terrorists.

He said the Southern African Development Community (SADC) should, instead, condemn all forms of terrorist activities wherever they existed because they caused untold suffering and resulted in the loss of lives. Speaking during a closed session of the SADC Troika yesterday, the King raised concern about what appeared to be a predetermined approach to dealing with political and security issues in Eswatini. The concern arises from the fact that the report presented to Troika does not seem to take into consideration that the country had since returned to normalcy, thanks to its own efforts.
His Majesty said any assistance given to any member State must be based on the facts as they obtained on the ground, rather than a dogmatic adherence to a predetermined approach.

“In this way, we would be able to genuinely assist each other and not allow subjective intent to interfere with the pursuit of peace,” he said.
The King said the country was appreciative of the aims and ambitions of the Organ Troika and was also proud of her heritage as a peace-loving nation, which had structures and systems designed to protect and entrench that peace. He recalled that when the country attended the SADC Summit in August last year in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the request made was that SADC assist Eswatini with curtailing the terrorist outbreak that had befallen the country.

“It was with great surprise that instead of assistance being given to Eswatini to curb these activities, we were effectively told that we should negotiate with the perpetrators of violence. “The question that arose in our minds was, where else in Africa has a government been told to negotiate with terrorist entities?” The King said emaSwati were always happy to dialogue with those they disagreed with, within the provisions of the Constitution, but not with terrorists.  “This was a very peculiar position and one that we were, in all honesty, disappointed with. The Kingdom of Eswatini thus makes the second of our two requests and respectfully asks that we be removed from inclusion in upcoming agendas for the Troika as we too should not be held to a pre-determined process that is no longer fit for purpose,” he said.

DIALOGUE AFTER ELECTIONS

Speaking of the proposed national dialogue, the King said, although the discussion of the day focused on the SADC Advisory Council (SEAC) Pre-election Assessment Mission Report, Eswatini made her position on the national dialogue explicitly clear. “The dialogue will take place after our national elections in conformity with our constitutional and legal dictates. Our response should, therefore, not be misunderstood to have been limited to a particular context.

“We believe, therefore, that any issue that may have arisen regarding the date for the dialogue, the form of the dialogue or the substance of that dialogue, will be properly elaborated once our elections have been completed,” His Majesty said. He said while being extremely appreciative of efforts by SADC in providing the country with a draft framework, the kingdom stood guided by the Constitution on such matters. His Majesty further raised concern that the extracts from the SEAC Pre-Election Assessment Mission appeared to have been selectively chosen to fit a narrative that the kingdom was still in need of a particular form of intervention.

He highlighted the fact that it was clear from the report itself that the mission observed a general calm, people going about their daily lives, voter registration going about in an orderly manner, a very successful one at that, yet they reported negatively about the general security environment.  “This has led us to observe that the report has become convoluted to try and get them to fit particular narratives, even though the observed facts on the ground tell a different story,” he said.

He said he was pleased to report to the Troika that the country had since been able to restore peace ‘on our own’. He further brought to the fore that over and above the positive reports from the SEAC team, the country had, in recent months, hosted a number of  international festivals, summits and meetings, some attended by the heads of State and governments. “We said there was a full programme of events and activities planned out for the upcoming months.

“Life has returned to normalcy in the Kingdom of Eswatini. It is puzzling, therefore, to note that SADC would continue acting based on an alternate narrative contrary to what prevails on the ground. We wish that this be placed on record. We must be wary of reigniting tensions through misaligned approaches,” he cautioned.

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