Af Peter Kenworthy
tilknyttet NGOen Afrika Kontakt
Foreign Policy spokesman and Former Danish Finance Minister and Foreign Minister, Mogens Lykketoft, met with People’s United Democratic Movement (PUDEMO) President Mario Masuku in Johannesburg airport Thursday to discuss the political situation in Swaziland.
The tiny country in Southern Africa is ruled by an autocratic king, who – to say the least – does not like any form of opposition.
Here Lykketoft expressed his support for democratisation in Swaziland: – Today Swaziland seems to be at a crossroads with only two alternatives, he said.
– Either Swaziland continues down its present path of undemocratic rule, inequality and increasingly unsustainable financial turmoil, or its masses must bring about a complete change of system – one that is democratic, participatory and based on the rule of law and human rights, noted the Danish politician.
Amongst other things they discussed the SWADEWA Democracy Prize that Lykketoft had presented to Mario Masuku in the Danish parliament in March 2010. Masuku has been unable to attend the presentation then and Lykketoft’s meeting with Masuku was therefore also an opportunity for the latter to thank him personally.
Lykketoft said that it had been a great honour for him to meet Masuku and hear about the dedication for a peaceful, genuine democratic transformation in Swaziland.
– You and your friends and comrades in PUDEMO have made great sacrifices, and you are fighting with an admirable combination of determination and patience, he stated.
Mogens Lykketoft was supposed to have taken part in an official fact finding mission to Swaziland where he was to have met with representatives of the democratic movement in Swaziland, including representatives from PUDEMO, Swaziland Democracy Campaign, and Swaziland United Democratic Front (SUDF).
He had been invited by Africa Contact, a Danish NGO and partner-organisation of the SUDF.
MYSTIK OMKRING FORSINKELSE
Unfortunately, Mogens Lykketoft was not allowed to board the plane that was to take him from Johannesburg to Swaziland as he was allegedly a few minutes late. He was further told that the next plane bound for Swaziland was delayed by several hours.
Maybe the Swazi regime ordered airport staff to deliberately hinder Lykketoft from entering Swaziland and talking to Mario Masuku, whom the regime calls as a terrorist, although this is impossible to prove.
As luck would have it, however, Mario Masuku was also booked on the delayed flight and the two therefore decided to hold the meeting in the airport.
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Mogens Lykketoft is a former Tax Minister (1981-82), Finance Minister
(1993-2000) and Foreign Minister (2000-01), former leader of the
Danish Social Democrat Party, and the party’s present Foreign Policy
spokesman. He is also the deputy speaker of the Danish parliament.
Yderligere oplysninger hos:
Peter Kenworthy, Africa Contact – Denmark
E-mail: [email protected] – web: www.afrika.dk
