News 24
Mbabane - The United States may ban the king of Swaziland from touching down on US soil if he buys a $45 million private luxury jet while the poor of his tiny African kingdom go hungry, diplomatic sources said on Thursday.
A US diplomatic source told Reuters Swaziland's ambassador to the United States, Mary Khanya, had returned home to communicate an urgent message after a discussion about a possible ban on the jet landing in the United States.
"It is my understanding that other nations have also discussed this," the source added.
The Times of Swaziland quoted a message from Washington to King Mswati III, transmitted through Khanya, warning that the planned purchase would also jeopardise US aid and trade.
Mswati's decision to buy the jet while many of his million or so subjects go hungry has raised a storm of protest at home and abroad against his absolute power, and a row over his right to override parliament has triggered a legal crisis.
Six appeal court judges resigned en masse at the weekend, High Court judges have refused to preside over cases, lawyers are threatening to strike and a coalition of pro-democracy groups has called for a mass work stayaway later this month.
The Times said the United States had also threatened not to help Mswati launch a compact disc to raise funds to fight Aids, featuring US artists like Jennifer Lopez and R Kelly. The CD's producers say Mswati is to meet US President George W Bush at the White House when it is launched in March.
Hit by drought, one in four Swazi people depend on foreign food aid, and a third of adults have HIV or Aids. US trade benefits have helped boost Swazi manufacturing and cut unemployment from 45% to 40% this year.
But Khanya warned Swaziland may lose US trade privileges and forfeit US donor assistance because these are tied to "good governance, respect for rule of law, sound economic policies and economic stability", the Times reported.
A Swazi chamber of commerce has estimated the full cost of Mswati's jet will rise to $72 million once pilots' salaries, landing fees and other expenses are taken into account.
Swaziland's parliament vetoed plans to buy the jet, but was overruled by Mswati's palace and is due to reconvene for further debate on the subject.
A Western diplomat said palace officials had shrugged off criticism and were busy buying china for the royal
cabin - as well as an anti-missile
security system for the new plane.