WE ARE VULNARABLE TO TERRORISM
With the wake of the number of protest marches engulfing the country , being a patronic laid back Swazi I feel everyone in authority should understand that the civil society is the enemy of the State. From their submissions and demands it shows that just like any nation be it Libya or Syria they are just protesting to intolerance , fanaticism, corruption, cupidity and lack of understanding in the calls for democratic reform.
It is for that reason that I feel that their continued marches in the country streets and chant of political slogans is no value to an inconsiderate individual who only prindes clinging onto power and forced respect.
It is not a hidden fact that a majority in the streets protesting are educated and their contribution in the call for political reform is dismally inadequate considering the enormous challenges that the threat of terror poses as they thrive towards a nonviolent future. If I would borrow from Hastings 2003,159 ; a true democracy requires critical consciousness: the compassionate and considered participation of all citizens .
The current culture of curbing protests is just one sweet strategy of fuelling terrorism because some those in opposition of the current state of affairs in the country are paralysed by fear and are currently feeling powerless to bring change in our tiny Kingdom Swaziland.
It has been evident that the use of stunt grenades is an effective tool used by the country’s security forces to instil fear to anyway attempting to call for change. It is for this reason that I personally these fear inducing tactics are warning everyone of the impending crisis and doom at the hands of those in the past had terrorism architecture on public buildings and politicians.
I wouldn’t want to lie that during my days as a journalist , I was very delighted to receive a scoop on a terror attack at the country’s National Courts because it brought myself as a journalist on the spotlight of reporting about a rare occurrence in the country. So what good does it bring to the country? I bet with you such acts impact directly on the ordinary Swazi because he/she has to dig down and pay taxes to rebuild the attacked structures, while at the same time the Government would bee forced to buy ‘coolest’ weapons to counter terrorism thus increasing the country’s annual budget on our ailing economy.
With the current situation of not listening to the protesters the country will be vulnerable to terrorism which will face through political opportunists current dreaming of overthrowing the current regime.
I am just one hate fan of terrorism because it is a manifestation of the culture of war and injustice that pervades most societies and nations. It is high time while government is closely monitoring the current political situation to acknowledge deconstructing , disarming and countering the myths surrounding this culture of violence and preparing civil society to respond to any kind of threat with clear , informed vision and some kind of systemic analysis that favours nonviolence.
I may just sing my own lovely tune of calling the country’s authorities to set out governing principles which would emphasize humanization and connection; realise democratic family and social structures which support gender, equality and engage all members of civil society; result in low level violence and abuse ;and nurture the environment which global civil society shares.
It is now time through the Human Rights structures within government make education a pivotal role in creating hope and a vision. The country is desperately in need to develop in civil society a peace –oriented perspective that would tackle terror by human intelligence. I therefore call for peace education in all its complexity to develop that intelligence and expose the inter-connectedness of the multiple kinds of violence.
Let us just do away with the notion that those calling for change are ‘enemies’ of the system , we must embrace and engage them, and understand the motivations for their actions. Government should just take responsibility for the nation’s complicity in and contribution to the way the country has been run.
Swazis let us do whatever it takes to discover the power within us to create a country in which all forms of violence , including the terror perpetrated by some forces within our security structures while maintaining Law and Order
