SECTOR 1 As a result, people from all walks of life are afraid of being “victimised”. The Prime Minister has threatened to “fish out” all “comrade civil servants”, implying that politically active civil servants will lose their jobs. Politicians give one message to their citizens, and another to the international community. The Prime Minister told the International Labour Organisation (ILO) that civil servants were free to belong to political associations, as long as this was not during working hours. And yet the proposed Public Service Bill prohibits civil servants from being politically active. “We in the press … cannot tell the King he is wrong. We cannot even discuss his budget publicly. The Queen Mother took us on and called us liars about a story we published eight years ago. After that, we couldn’t challenge her. Whatever they say goes.” With the King considered “the supreme authority”, and the rest of the royal family off limits, the media has tended to focus on individuals in government. While newspaper opinion writers do still challenge the King from time to time, “our culture is that the King is never wrong, and therefore we tend to blame his advisors”. This has enabled the King to feel that “everything he says goes”. “We in the press … cannot tell the King he is wrong. We cannot even discuss his budget publicly.” The only way of expressing discontent is through industrial action, which is why demonstrations tend to be organised by trade unions around labour issues. “We can’t venture into politics, therefore the labour movement is critical as a vehicle that allows people to congregate. They (the authorities) will have to allow labour to go onto the streets because the ILO is watching. Labour has tried to put all the other issues on the table, but this is limited because of the legal parameters.” The lines between industrial and other forms of discontent are becoming increasingly blurred as Swaziland now faces various economic, social and political crises. On the one hand, the country is trying to say to the world that people are free to protest, but panellists felt that nothing happens beyond the presentation of petitions to the authorities. Recent demonstrations organised by trade unions in March and April 2011 have met with harsh resistance from the security forces. The country has double standards when it comes to free expression. “If you are supporting the status quo you can freely express yourself. If you are against the prevailing scenario you cannot access the media. It would be wrong to say there is no freedom of expression. But … you only have freedom of expression up to a certain point.” Even those with access to the media can take their expression only so far. “I was invited to go on TV and as we were preparing to go in (to the studio), the interviewers were saying to me ‘don’t go too far’. If you are Swazi, you know how AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER SWAZILAND 2011 13