Luanda Angola: Speaking of the proposed national dialogue, the King said that, 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.
He said whilst being extremely appreciative of efforts by SADC in providing the country with a draft framework, the Kingdom stands guided by the constitution on such matters.
His Majesty further raised concern that the extracts from the SEAC Pre-Election Assessment Mission appear 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, a 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 themselves, the country has, 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.
The king has told SADC Troika that perpetrators of violence against emaSwati are known and have found refuge in neighbouring countries.
He said within these countries they are receiving training while continuing to foster hate speech and instigating violence.
The king was speaking during a troika session which looked into an update on political and security item on the troika agenda.
He said a majority of those who were killing emaSwati, including members of our security forces and traditional authorities, have been apprehended and are behind bars, while others who perpetrated violence have found refuge in neighbouring countries.
“Whilst in those countries, they have continued to promote hate speech and seek to perpetuate the violence that they had been instrumental in masterminding. We are also alive to the fact that some of these known terrorists are receiving training in these countries,” he said.
He informed Troika that ongoing investigations into the violence that beset our country and sub region in July 2021, have uncovered that these individuals belong to a proscribed entity that also continues to operate from one of our neighbouring countries.
He further informed the summit about the on-going election process which recorded an impressive voter registration.
“A voter registration exercise was conducted which returned a total number of over 584,000 registrations against a possible total figure of 650,000. This represents 90% of eligible voters, a resounding success,” he said.
He noted that this was an indication of the support for the system of government by the general populace.
“We are looking forward to emaSwati expressing their desires through the poll and we welcome the intended deployment of the SADC Election Observer Mission in the Kingdom,” he said.
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