PUDEMO IS NOT A MONSTER 23/03/2014 09:24:00 The editor Times of Swaziland Font size: Decrease font Enlarge font Sir, It was refreshing to read from the Times about PUDEMO. This, especially because it was a piece of information that was telling nothing but the truth about the organisation. In fact, this was long overdue, especially on the side of the local media which has for many years enjoyed reporting negatively about same. However, the way the title of the article was captured, was very misleading to the eye and the mind of a gullible and untrained reader, especially on matters regarding PUDEMO. It is misleading to say PUDEMO ‘now’ wants a negotiated settlement. For the benefit of the dear reader in this beautiful country Swaziland, PUDEMO in 1992 adopted a position that stated clearly it was proposing a negotiated settlement as a way forward towards solving the political crisis resulting from the Tinkhundla misgovernance. That such was discussed in the recent congress does not mean this is a new position. I would urge you, dear Editor and the good reader to access and read PUDEMO documents on this position, in particular, “The Way forward Towards a Negotiated Settlement.” In this, one will read and truly appreciate that PUDEMO is not a monster as the state has portrayed it to be and unfortunately the media has consciously or unconsciously assisted in promoting this degrading and demeaning state propaganda. Reading this and other related documents will surely go a long way towards helping one understand who PUDEMO is and that it means well for people of this country. There are many good and positive things PUDEMO is doing what the media is not publishing because of State censorship and of course, self censorship by media practitioners. However, it is always annoying and worrying when the media goes out of its way to publicise what they view to be negative against the image of the organisation. I know for a fact that PUDEMO in 2012 went for its policy conference. After the conference, the organisation made clear summaries of its policies on a wide range of issues and this was distributed widely, including to the local media. However, such was never shown to the public. The public was denied the opportunity to engage this and make their own judgement of what PUDEMO stands for. PUDEMO documents outlining its position on many issues are accessible from social network sites. And I am sure the secretariat is ready to assist in providing clarity where necessary. As much as I understand the environment in which our media is operating in, the public out there needs fair and balanced reporting, as opposed to selective reporting to the detriment of others. I hope this will encourage the media positively. I know the media is not owned by PUDEMO and so it has no right to make demands as some people will argue. But then this must not, therefore, make PUDEMO continuously suffer negative reporting unnecessarily. Phinda Ndlovu MANZINI
Posted on: Sun, 23 Mar 2014 09:20:50 +0000
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