In Swaziland, Heavy Crackdown Beats Back Egypt-Inspired Protests -- Christian Science MonitorThree days of protests took Swaziland – Africa's last absolute monarch – by surprise. Police and the Army fired tear gas and water cannons to control 1,000 protesting teachers and students.
Protests in the tiny mountain kingdom of Swaziland have taken a brief pause, but not before sending a warning sign to the country’s monarch, King Mswati III, that sustained civilian protests are not just a North African affair.
Protesters in the southern African nation are calling for the king – Africa’s last absolute monarch – to allow multiparty democracy and to reconsider salary cuts to civil servants. The king himself has not responded publicly, but a heavy crackdown by his Army and police – including preemptive arrests of labor leaders, journalists, and student activists, as well as the use of tear gas and water cannons on the streets – is a clear signal that the Swazi royal family is not ready to cede power yet.
Read more ....
More News On The Unrest In Swaziland
Swaziland Labor Unions Call Off Protests for Fear of Demonstrators' Lives -- Bloomberg
Swaziland: Govt Cracks Down on Pro-Democracy Demonstrations -- allAfrica.com
Swaziland minister plays down uprising -- Times Live
Army cracks down on Swazi activists’ -- The Zimbabwean
Tunisia. Egypt. Yemen. Swaziland? -- William J. Dobson, Washington Post