LUANDA, ANGOLA: His Majesty the King has said SADC cannot expect the government of Eswatini to dialogue with terrorists.
He said SADC should, instead, condemn all forms of terrorist activities wherever they exist because they cause untold suffering and result in the loss of lives.
Speaking during a closed session of the SAD troika yesterday, the King raised concern about what appeared to be a predetermined approach to dealing with political and security issue 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 obtain 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 has 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, the request made was that SADC assists 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 are always happy to dialogue with those they disagree with within the provisions of our 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.
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