MBABANE, Eswatini
South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa said Tuesday that Eswatini has committed to launching a forum for dialogue between the kingdom’s rulers and anti-monarchy activists following a deadly crackdown on protests.
Ramaphosa
made the announcement after meeting with King Mswati III, the ruler of Africa’s
last absolute monarchy, during a trip to his palace in Eswatini.
Dozens
of people have been killed and hundreds injured since pro-democracy
demonstrations first erupted in June, in the worst unrest to hit the usually
peaceful former British colony.
The
meeting between Ramaphosa and the king “resolved that the Kingdom of Eswatini
will embark on a process that will work towards the establishment of a national
dialogue forum,” Pretoria said in a statement.
Preparations
for the dialogue will take place over the next three months, “a period during
which his majesty will undertake his annual, mandatory” retreat, the statement
said.
ALSO READ: EU, TAIWAN, US, UK support dialogue in Eswatini
Human
Rights Watch had earlier on Tuesday called for an independent probe into the
crackdown on the demonstrations.
Forty-six people were killed in June while at least 245 others suffered gunshot wounds, HRW said, citing a recent report by a local rights group.
Surviving
victims said they were shot by the military, added the HRW.
Police
had said 37 people were killed, most of them during the June protests.
“The
Eswatini government should urgently agree to an independent, international
investigation into all of the killings and any other human rights violations
resulting from excessive use of force,” said Dewa Mavhinga, the HRW’s Southern
Africa director.
The
UN human rights office had in July pointed to allegations of “disproportionate
and unnecessary use of force, harassment and intimidation” by security forces
sent in to quell the June protests.
The
king of the country formerly known as Swaziland told mediators sent by
Ramaphosa last month that he was open to dialogue with the pro-democracy
activists.
ALSO READ: Call for Eswatini to respect 'rights' while policing protests
Eswatini Deputy Prime Minister Themba Masuku told AFP last week that the monarchy needed to make reforms in the wake of protests.
“I
would agree with those who say we need to have some change… because these are
the 2000s, it’s not the 1910s,” he said.
Ramaphosa’s
visit was on behalf of the Southern African Development Community.
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