“The Taiwanese People Should Stand With the People of Swaziland”: A Conversation with Tanele Maseko
New Bloom editor Brian Hioe interviewed Tanele Maseko, human rights defender from Swaziland and the wife of Thulani Maseko. Thulani Maseko, an opposition politician and human rights lawyer, was killed by unidentified gunman in January of this year. As this took place after comments by Swazi monarch King Mswati III suggesting that critics of his should be killed, it is thought that this killing was ordered by the monarch. Tanele Maseko was visiting Taipei for the Oslo Freedom Forum on October 18th. Despite the questionable human rights record of Swaziland, which was renamed Eswatini by Mswati III in April 2018, it is one of Taiwan's diplomatic allies. Taiwanese president Tsai Ing-wen most recently visited Eswatini this September. ...