PUDEMO

Swaziland, a state of lawlessness

2010-05-22T07:42:00.000-07:00

In the wake of Cde Sipho Jele’s burial this morning, where the state and its royal police failed to disrupt the funeral, the police exhibited their frustrations on the innocent and humble PUDEMO President Mario Masuku. They quickly hatched an evil plan to detain him after the funeral.

A massive road block was hastily mounted at Luyengo, about 10 km from Jele’s home while three senior officers waited at home to monitor his movements. Upon reaching the road block, he was spotted, quickly detained and driven to Malkerns Police station. This is where he was interrogated in the presence of senior police officers namely a Mgabhi, Mbhamali, Jele, Mabuza, Dlamini and Mthembu who was leading the investigation.

He was interrogated for close to two hours while members of PUDEMO and labour leadership waited outside. Comrade Masuku was then informed that he was being charged under the Suppression of Communism Act of 2008 for supporting terrorism by shouting “viva PUDEMO, viva SWAYOCO’ at the funeral.

Subsequently, he was ordered to write a statement, but he refused. The investigating officers then proceeded to write a statement for him which according to Masuku was meaningless. They then consulted Head Quarters in Mbabane on his detention and charges. Fingerprints and all his particulars were then taken.

Throughout this ordeal, visitors were not allowed until the arrival of Mr Mnisi, a lawyer. The officers disappeared for a few minutes and upon their return, Mr Masuku was informed that he was being released to the custody of his wife Thembi and son Mzwandile. However, he was warned that summons will be sent to him anytime on a date that will be decided by them.

This act by the royal police is enough evidence that Swaziland has degenerated to a pitiful state of lawlessness emanating from poor governance by the ruling regime and this must be urgently addressed by the international community including SADC and the AU. We do not wish to go through the sad experiences of both Zimbabwe and Madagascar.

As PUDEMO, we strongly condemn this act of lawlessness perpetrated by the desperate regime using its police force. It is unheard of for one to be detained, charged and then allowed to go without being admitted to bail (even free bail) and then told summons will follow “in due course.” This is blatant abuse of human rights. We wonder what more must happen in Swaziland before the international community openly and strongly address this crisis in their forums.

This case alone clearly shows why the Suppression of Terrorism Act of 2008 was enacted. It was a tool meant to harass and suppress PUDEMO into submission and this is clearly failing! Why would the royal police pick on Mr Masuku and detain him for saying “viva PUDEMO, viva SWAYOCO”? The popularity of PUDEMO and its Youth League was so visible amongst the mourners who kept shouting the words throughout the night, but no the police decided to go for the PUDEMO President. This is a strategy of a confused state and must be strongly condemned. We call for the repeal of the Suppression of Terrorism Act of 2008 as it is an unjust law that is used not for state security, but for purposes of intimidating and suppressing dissenting voices in Swaziland.

Head of Publicity
Zakhele Mabuza +268 7607 3453
Manzini

COMRADE SIPHO JELE FINALLY LAID TO REST

2010-05-22T04:37:00.000-07:00

Following the disruption and stoppage of Cde Jele’s funeral ceremony last Sunday, PUDEMO wishes to report that the second attempt of his burial was successfully carried out in the early hours of this morning at his home area, Ncabaneni. This was done in the presence of the intimidating and hostile battalion of royal police.

True to the promise of PUDEMO, the ceremony was conducted on the terms set by us in consultation with the family and the labour movement in Swaziland . The state had expected that the ceremony would be conducted in a manner very alien to the known and accepted manner understood by the struggling masses of our country. Not going to court to seek an interdict was a political decision that was reached after serious and careful consultation to avoid giving the state the right to dictate how we should conduct the burial ceremony.

PUDEMO wishes to salute the following:

The Jele family that stood its ground in the face of a hostile intimidation by the royal police and the local traditional authority.
The labour and civic organizations that braved the state brutality and showed solidarity with both PUDEMO and Cde Jele in this fearful era under the Suppression of Terrorism Act. This sent a clear indication to the oppressive regime in Swaziland that the people are now prepared to challenge and defy all oppressive laws that are meant to entrench the hegemony of the royal regime in Swaziland .
The church, under the umbrella of the Council of Swaziland Churches for fearlessly standing by the oppressed masses in their hour of need with the understanding that a physically oppressed nation cannot be spiritually free.
The rural masses of Ncabaneni for their defiance of all the intimidation and threats to discourage them from attending Cde Jele’s funeral as he was branded a ‘political criminal.’

Now the people have grown to understand that Cde Jele and PUDEMO are not terrorists, but committed and humble people of Swaziland that wish to see their people living under democratic conditions that will fully guarantee them all their rights.

LONG LIVE THE SPIRIT OF COMRADE SIPHO JELE LONG LIVE!

Contacts

Head of Publicity

Zakhele Mabuza +268 7607 3453

Manzini

Killed for wearing his PUDEMO T-shirt

2010-05-05T07:49:00.001-07:00

PUDEMO Media Release, 5 May 2010

Killed for wearing his PUDEMO T-shirt

The royal security agents in Swaziland have done it again

We report with great grief to all our comrades both at home and internationally that Comrade Sipho Jele has died, as usual in the hands of the police. Cde Sipho was detained on Workers Day for wearing a PUDEMO t-shirt in Manzini. Subsequently, the police took him to his home in Ncabaneni looking for his membership card and returned with him to custody. On the following day, Tuesday morning the police officers returned to report to his grandmother that he has died by coomiting suicide while in custody. We know this is incorrect. A lot of people in Swaziland have died in the hands of the police and fictitious stories fabricated. And the police were ordering the old woman to bury the comrade on the same day, Tuesday.

Next they will bribe the poor family to fabricate a story on Sipho's death which shall be in favour of the regime and its killer security agents. If they fail, they shall threaten the old lady with a lot of fearful things including being evicted from her home area.

The Swaziland royal regime has always been giving the international community the wrong information that political dissenters are not imprisoned, harrassed and killed. And that Swaziland is a peaceful country. But here is a political activist getting killed for attending Workers Day and wearing a PUDEMO t-shirt. These are the same tactics that were used during apartheid South Africa to silence political activists. It is high time the international community, especially SADC genuinely take up the issue of Swaziland. How many innocent people must die before the regional leadership comes out openly to condemn the Swaziland regime and demand for democratization? Do we need to experience massive deaths like it is happening in other countries to get the international community to act?

Cde Sipho is a former worker at Usuthu Pulp. He was currently among the 2006 awaiting treason trialists. He was also in the process of furthering himself academically. PUDEMO and its Youth League have lost a hard working and committed comrade in Sipho. May his soul rest in peace! He has not died in vain, but for the freedom and liberation of our oppressed masses under the arrogant tinkhundla royal regime.

Contacts

Head of Publicity

+268 607 3453
Manzini

PRAYER FOR MARIO MASUKU

2009-09-19T09:39:00.000-07:00

SUCCESSFUL PRAYER FOR MARIO MASUKU

As the trial of PUDEMO President Mario Masuku draws closer, the organization organized a special prayer session that was held in Manzini today beginning at 2pm. It must be noted that this activity was successfully done.

Present among those gathered in prayer were members of the Masuku family together with Mrs Thembi Masuku, wife to the President.

Speakers in the session included representatives of Swaziland National Union of Students, Swaziland Labour Council, PUDEMO Youth League and Masuku’s younger brother Julian. All the speakers spoke in one voice, emphasizing the need for justice to done in Swaziland , but most importantly the liberation of the people of Swaziland from the oppressive and corrupt royal regime.

Leading the prayer item on the agenda was Reverend Shabalala from the Lutheran Church in Manzini, the very church that provided the venue. In his sermon, the Reverend reminded all that it is God’s will and expectations that those in power must always provide the led with justice at all times; and when there is injustice, God will always fight on the side of the oppressed.

It was indeed a successful two hours of prayer and words of wisdom in the quest for the liberation of the oppressed people of our country. We as PUDEMO know that many people in Swaziland believe in the cause we are fighting and the ideals that Comrade Mario stands for. Outside Swaziland we also know that people are doing a lot in solidarity with Mario and the suffering people of our country. Soon the illegal regime will give way and the power it stole from the people through a coup in 1973 will be restored.

Contact

PUDEMO Head of Publicity

Zakhele Mabuza +268 607 3453

STATEMENT ON THE MARIO MASUKU TRIAL

2009-09-14T13:11:00.000-07:00

PUDEMO STATEMENT ON THE MARIO MASUKU TRIAL 14 September 2009

The People's United Democratic Movement (PUDEMO) wishes to alert both the Swazi public and the international community on the coming trial of its President Mario T Masuku.

Masuku was arrested in November 2008 less than 24 hours after the oppressive and undemocratic Swazi royal regime had ‘banned’ the organization describing it as terrorists. This is all because PUDEMO has over the years dared to challenge the regime to stop its dictatorial tendencies, human rights abuse, corruption, nepotism, harassment, lack of democracy, etc. For this, PUDEMO has been viewed by the regime as its greatest threat to its continued oppression of the poor masses of Swaziland.

On the 21 September, the trial shall commence at the High Court of Swaziland in Mbabane at 9am. The resilient members of PUDEMO, from all corners of the country, shall again descend on Mbabane in support of their President. They will be joined by the democracty seeking people of Swaziland under the banner of the Swaziland United Democratic Front. This is because Comrade Masuku’s detention has become a symbol of oppression for the people of Swaziland!

This will be a contest between freedom and oppression; justice and injustice. The defence team comprises fearless lawyers for human rights, who have over the years stood by and defended the oppressed people of Swaziland without fear of this brutal regime. There is Thulani Maseko (is himself out on bail on charges of sedition), Leo Gama, Mandla Mkhwanazi and Paul Shilubane. The regime has unashamedly run to South Africa, a democratic country, to seek legal assistance in its fight to sustain its injustices and oppression on the people of Swaziland. Whoever shall take this offer must be condemned and discouraged, for the rewards are no different from blood money!

Meanwhile a prayer service is being planned in Swaziland for the coming weekend in preparation fro the commencement of the trial. We are also encouraged by the planned protest action by COSATU for the release of Mario Masuku on 25 September. A lot of activities internationally are currently taking place where people are calling for the release of Comrade Mario and the introduction of multiparty democracy in Swaziland. The Swaziland Solidarity Network is one of such.

Comrade Mario is fine and ready for the road ahead. The family also remains strong and fully behind him for they know that this is not only about them, but the fight for the oppressed masses of Swaziland.

However, as usual, the state will be unleashing its brutal security apparatus to intimidate, harass and even assault people who will be attending the trial. But we shall remain resolute in support of our President and the fight for democracy in Swaziland.

Contacts

National Head of Publicity Zakhele Mabuza +268 607 3453

Deputy President Sikhumbuzo Phakathi 0731427594

Secretary General Sphasha Dlamini +268 608 9783

The Planned COSATU Visit To Swaziland

2009-09-07T04:07:00.000-07:00

PUDEMO PRESS RELEASE
Sept 7, 2009

The Planned COSATU Visit To Swaziland

As stated in our last statement, that because of the international campaigns meant to highlight the struggles of the poor and oppressed masses of our country, the international community is positively responding. As PUDEMO, we wish to welcome the decision by COSATU to send a strong delegation into Swaziland on 16 September.

Amongst other things is to visit the incarcerated PUDEMO President Mario Masuku. This is a huge step by COSATU and is an indication that they not only preach, but practice international solidarity wherever there is injustice. It is the very same action they undertook in the case of Zimbabwe where the opposition was being subjected to repression of untold proportions for daring to call for change and social justice.

This visit will be a truly enriching experience for COSATU. A lot is happening behind the ‘ Swaziland peaceful iron curtain.’ This is the land where people with dissenting voices:

Have their houses and families constantly raided for unclear reasons.
Are victimized in different forms.
Are kidnapped and tortured at will by the security agents of the state who later will deny any responsibility because they are protected by the regime they serve to remain in power.
Are constantly subjected to threats and fear with cruel and inhuman pieces of legislations.
Have their families instructed how they must conduct funerals.

Surely the curtain is slowly lifting and the regime will be exposed for what it really is. We hope more of such will continue to happen for the international community has a huge role to play in assisting the people of Swaziland overcome the political crisis they are facing. In Zimbabwe and Madagascar , the international community intervened and now is Swaziland ’s turn, for the people urgently need democracy, peace and social justice! The regime cannot hide anymore with all the atrocities it is subjecting its people to.

PUDEMO Press Release - 5 September 2009

2009-09-05T04:10:00.000-07:00

PUDEMO Press Release - 5 September 2009

1. The Global Week Campaign on Swaziland

The campaign has unfolded with a very high measure of success in highlighting the struggles of the poor and oppressed masses of our country led by The Swaziland United Democratic Front, labour organizations and international allies. We wish to salute our international friends for continuously extending their solidarity and realizing that Swaziland cannot remain and continue to be a threat to democracy in the SADC Region. We continue to maintain that Swaziland is in a huge political crisis and no amount of denial can resolve it. We believe the only way towards solving the crisis is to:

o Release PUDEMO President Mario Masuku and all other political prisoners currently out on bail.

o Allow the return of all political exiles unconditionally.

o Unban all political parties and a return to constitutional multiparty democracy.

o Repeal all unjust laws including Suppression of Terrorism Act of 2008, the proposed Public Service Bill, etc.

o Allow the people of Swaziland to write their own constitution.

As a result of the campaign, we expect more and more true international friends of the struggling people of Swaziland to come into the country in the near future to assess the situation and take the message forward as opposed to the those who come in the name of ‘tourism, cultural experiences and diplomatic strengthening of relations’ when our people are oppressed and dying. No amount of “public relations” by the state will cover up the existing crisis.

2. The abduction of Wandile Dludlu

The President of PUDEMO Youth League (SWAYOCO) was yesterday kidnapped and brutalized by the state security agents. He was physically tortured and assaulted leaving needing urgent medical attention. What the state has done is not new. On a continuous basis members of PUDEMO has been raided and brutalized on the pretext that they had guns or knowledge to that effect. This is a hallmark of dictatorships and regimes that illegally ascended into power. They become so desperate that they use any available cruel strategy to silence dissenting voices and prolong their stay in power. We condemn this act by the state and its agencies. We therefore call upon the international community to apply more pressure on the status quo for the democratization of Swaziland that will come with the respect for human rights.

3. The Human Rights Commission

This is an exercise not worth commenting about. It is of no significance and is not in the interest of the oppressed masses of Swaziland . You only have to look at its composition and the backgrounds of the commissioners to realize that this is another grand scheme of issuing awards to loyal supporters of the status quo. After all no public institution will ever function to truly and honstly advance the lives and welfare of the ordinary people under the existing status quo.

PUDEMO Day 2009

2009-07-05T03:23:00.000-07:00

A SUCCESSFUL PUDEMO DAY
Sunday July 5, 2009

Yesterday, 4 July members of PUDEMO successfully commemorated the Movement’s 26th anniversary in Manzini as it was planned.

The activity took place in the midst of heavy police presence that was drawn from all over the country just to ensure PUDEMO does not successfully carry out its activity. The police had started harassing members of the public from Friday evening forcing motorists into their cars and ordered to drive away from parking lots.

It was encouraging to see scores of PUDEMO members defiantly coming into Manzini inspite of the heavy presence of the security forces; and the reality of the hostile Suppression of Terrorism Act. This is the hallmark of PUDEMO, standing firm and resolute against intimidation, state terror and injustice.

The address by the Deputy President enabled the members to reflect on the past and the gains of the Movement. It was also able to dwell on the present challenges and how PUDEMO is to overcome them.

PUDEMO LIVES and is certainly not dead as the regime wishes to think! PUDEMO is the people and the people are PUDEMO!

STATEMENT ON THE ARREST OF THE PEOPLE’S LAWYER

2009-06-03T07:53:00.000-07:00

PUDEMO STATEMENT

ON THE ARREST OF THE PEOPLE’S LAWYER

3 June 2009

The People’s United Democratic Movement strongly condemns the arrest of the People’s Lawyer Thulani Maseko this morning by the state’s security agents acting on the instructions of the country’s authorities.

Comrade Maseko was ambushed at his home just before going to work. He was subsequently taken to the Manzini magistrate’s court where he was formally charged with sedition allegedly on an opinion he expressed during the Workers’ Day in Manzini. He was then remanded into custody pending his appearance at the High Court in Mbabane . Presently, he is kept at the Sidwashini Prison in Mbabane .

We are not surprised by this arrest. Information was already circulating two weeks ago that the necessary process was in motion by the state to have Cde Maseko detained. The alleged opinion he expressed is just a mere cover. It is a known fact that the state does not like Maseko because of his uncompromising stance against human rights abuse in Swaziland . Infact he has a very good record of fighting and winning against the state; and has never hesitated to take up a case against the state when it has political connotations. In short Cde Maseko is a fearless human rights lawyer who has always stood with oppressed people of Swaziland and forsakes the tempting riches that go with his profession.

By detaining Com Maseko, the state thinks it is settling scores with him and at the same time frustrate his clients. We are all aware that Maseko recently made a crucial presentation to the British government on the lack of democracy and the state’s abuse of human rights in Swaziland using the notorious Suppression of Terrorism Act of 2008. We are also aware that Cde Maseko recently represented the Swaziland Ex-Miners Association against the state’s disregard of its own palace constructed constitution by failing provide free education, a case he won hands down and the regime is not at all impressed. Presently, he is representing the PUDEMO President Mario Masuku on charges of sedition (so coincidental)!

The state should instead be arresting and tackling all the people involved in corruption and have contributed in the collapse of the country’s economy. It must also be telling the people of Swaziland when they will finally enjoy constitutional multiparty democracy; when are our exiles returning home; when will it repeal the abusive Suppression of Terrorism Act of 2008; and when are we going to see the people’s President and the people’s Lawyer walking free in the streets of Swaziland !

PUDEMO and the people of Swaziland shall always stand by Comrade Maseko in the fight for democracy in Swaziland .

Contacts

Dep President – Sikhumbuzo Phakathi – =27 731427594 (South Africa)

National Spokesperson – Zakhele Mabuza - +268 607 3453 (Swaziland)

Lawyer of PUDEMO President Arrested

2009-06-03T07:51:00.000-07:00

PUDEMO media statement, 3 June 2009

The Swazi regime has gone mad beyond recovery!

Advocate Thulani Maseko, lawyer of PUDEMO President was arrested yesterday on charges of TERRORISM!

This is a clear indication that the Swazi regime wants to do away with all human rights activists.

Thulani Maseko is a founding member of the Swaziland Association of Students, former president of the Student Representative Council (SRC) at the University of Swaziland, former Secretary General of PUDEMO, founding member of Lawyers for Human Rights Swaziland, founding member and chairperson of the National Constitutional Assembly.

He has represented many comrades in their legal battles against the regime including the successful case by the ex-miners in which the court ruled in favour of the people for free education.

Advocate Maseko is a well respected lawyer around the world, having been recently invited by the Foreign affairs Minister in the UK and the EU to state the case for Swaziland.

It is not clear as yet where he is kept and what is happening to him.

But we fear for his life.

PUDEMO International Relations
c/o Head of Publicity
Manzini, Swaziland

cell numbers
268-607-3453 (Swaziland)
27-73-142-7594 (South Africa)
27-82-923-1401 (South Africa)

RE-AFFIRMING PUDEMO'S MAIN PROGRAMME OF ACTION

2009-05-21T06:23:00.000-07:00

STATEMENT RE-AFFIRMING PUDEMO'S MAIN PROGRAMME OF ACTION - issued 21 May 2009

This serves to re-assure the general membership of PUDEMO and our friends domestically and internationally that we are still alive, committed and vigorously working to achieve the strategic objective of liberating our people from the clutches of the oppressive Tinkhundla royal regime. The NEC of PUDEMO met on the 17 May 2009 to re-affirm the main Programme of Action for the year to encompass the following:

a) Regional Congresses – as per our constitutional requirement, our regional structures are expected to hold their congresses this year. The dates for the congresses have been set as follows:

Shiselweni Region – 21 June 2009

Manzini Region – 28 June 2009

Lubombo Region – 28 June 2009

Hhohho Region – 28 June 2009

External Region – 28 June 2009

b) Strengthening the Swaziland United Democratic Front – we still maintain that the SUDF is a crucial vehicle in the fight for the transition from the oppressive Tinkhundla rule to a democratic dispensation. We have the responsibility and commitment to ensure that we continue to make our contribution towards advancing the objectives of the SUDF. As we go for the congress of the SUDF next month, we shall aim at nothing, but make it stronger and more effective.

c) Release Mario Masuku Campaign – as long as the President of PUDEMO remains in detention, the calls for his release will not cease. We have put in place programmes and strategies to ensure the call echoes day and night at home, in the palace and abroad until our President is set free unconditionally.

d) PUDEMO Day – 2009 marks the 26^th year of our existence as an organization fighting for a democratic dispensation in Swaziland . The 4^th July 2009 has been identified as the day we will both renew and re-affirm our commitment in the struggle to liberate our people from the royal regime and make Swaziland a giant of democracy.

e) Intensifying international work – raising the profile of our struggle internationally is very crucial at this stage to ensure unbearable pressure and isolation is applied on the oppressive royal regime by the international community.

f) Mass mobilization – this is an on-going task by the movement to conscientize the oppressed people of our country. Emphasis is to be made in rural Swaziland where royal hegemony and hostility is strongest towards democratization.

g) Leadership development – programmes have been put in place to build and develop more leaders at all levels within PUDEMO. This will ensure the organization’s work and programmes are carried out efficiently.

Contacts

Dep President - Sikhumbuzo Phakathi - 0731427594 (external)

Publicity - Zakhele Mabuza - +268 6073453 (internal)

STATEMENT ON THE ONGOING POLICE RAIDS ON PUDEMO MEMBERS IN SWAZILAND

2009-05-13T13:55:00.000-07:00

As is the norm with the Swazi regime that uses repressive tactics to subdue the populace, it is presently visiting another wave of harassment on our members. First on Friday, the state’s security agents raided Wandile Dludlu, the President of PUDEMO Youth League in Mbabane and confiscated everything on the organization ranging from t-shirts to documents. On Saturday morning, Mandla Ndlangamandla in Malkerns was also raided taking with them t-shirts and documents. On Tuesday Sphasha Dlamini, the Secretary General of PUDEMO was summoned to the Police Headquarters in Mbabane to answer on why she made a statement on the day's Times of Swaziland . From reliable sources, we are told the raids are still to continue on our members as the security agents have been numerous search warrants to effect the raids at will. As a result our members are living one day at a time not knowing when the brutality will be visited on them.

We note that the state is under tremendous pressure to democratize as well as release the PUDEMO President Mario Masuku. The state felt highly embarrassed and intimidated when scores of workers defiantly and proudly came clad in PUDEMO t-shirts varying messages demanding democratic change. However, the biggest embarrassment was the loud message demanding the release of the PUDEMO President. This was a surprise to the state which had hoped by detaining him, the people had forgotten about their leader! Hence now the security agents are moving all over the country in a mission to remove all t-shirts with message demanding the release of the peoples’s Leader! In the process they are trampling on people’s rights. This is mission impossible! The resources used to raid all the homesteads in Swaziland should best be used to investigate the numerous cases of corruption and theft of public funds, a better priority.

PUDEMO and the people of Swaziland strongly condemn this barbaric and dictatorial act by the Swazi regime. A regime that is in charge of the SADC Troika on politics and democratic governance. Indeed Swaziland is special in the region with its archaic and semi-fuedal tendencies of governance which the international community must not allow to continue. However, this regime consists of very slow learners and seriuosly challenged people who cannot learn from experiences of other dictatorships that they will not win, but the people shall always TRIUMPH even if they can use the deadliest of force!

Contacts

Dep. President - Sikhumbuzo Phakathi - 0731427594 - (external)

Publicity - Zakhele Mabuza - +286 6073453 - (internal)

STATEMENT ON WORKERS' DAY

2009-05-04T07:01:00.000-07:00

PUDEMO PRESS RELEASE

STATEMENT ON WORKERS' DAY – 4 May 2009

The 1st of May 2009 will be remembered as a very significant turning point in the history of the trade union movement is Swaziland . This is because of the fact that we witnessed the workers from the three worker groupings in the country namely the SFL, SFTU and SNAT; and the Swaziland United Democratic Front celebrating the day together for the second consecutive year running. This clearly gives hope that PUDEMO’s call for “one industry one federation” shall soon be realized. The message from all the speakers on the day was very clear and it touched on the following demands:

A living wage, non-taxation of benefits and full recognition of workers rights.
Constitutional multi-party democracy.
The release of PUDEMO President Mario Masuku.
The return of all exiles.
The scrapping of the Suppression of Terrorism Act of 2008.

The Deputy President of PUDEMO Sikhumbuzo Phakathi and the President of PUDEMO Youth League Wandile Dludlu made powerful and eloquent addresses to the thousands of workers who clearly embraced PUDEMO as their political organization despite the so called ‘ban’ by the royal regime in Swaziland . Of course, their addresses and presence were never reported in the local media. Instead the media reported mostly on the entertainment that was provided on the day. This clearly shows that our media greatly lacks independence. We are reliably informed that these days the state is really tightening the screws on the media and has been infuriated by the recent reports on the E/R 25m spent on cars during the King’s birthday. The forced ‘apologies’ we see in the local newspapers is not a coincidence, but is a result of the threats and pressure visited on the media by the state over this particular issue. And so the media personnel is protecting their jobs. Reporting on PUDEMO has come with horrible threats from the state directed to the personnel in the media sector.

Although the event was successful, we note that the organizers had to go through difficult challenges deliberately imposed by the state. Firstly we note that workers were denied the use of both the Trade Fair Ground and the Mavuso Sports Ground that was opened by the King during his recent birthday. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade in collaboration with the notorious Manzini City Council/Municipality deliberately denied the workers the right to use these facilities that were constructed by through their hard earned taxes. Secondly, the state through its security agents attempted to interfere with the programme by instructing the organizers to remove from the day’s programme. However, the labour leadership remained resolute and refused to comply with the order. The ‘high ranking’ police officers left with their tails between their legs with embarrassment infront of the multitudes of workers!

As PUDEMO, we congratulate the unity and resoluteness displayed by the workers of Swaziland in their quest for both political and economic liberation from the clutches of the corrupt and repressive royal regime. There is strength in unity. AMANDLA!!

Contacts

Dep. President – Sikhumbuzo Phakathi – 27-731427594 (external)

Publicity – Zakhele Mabuza – +268 6073453 (internal)

SPECIAL MESSAGE ON THE PEOPLES PRESIDENT

2009-03-21T07:05:00.000-07:00

SPECIAL MESSAGE ON THE PEOPLES PRESIDENT
21 March 2009

To all members and comrades of PUDEMO, all our friends and allies, we bring to you some very important thoughts from the President Mario Masuku.

It is important that we report to you that the President is doing fine in the prison walls of the dictatorial and repressive regime of the kingdom of Swaziland.

Comrades, the President assures you that he remains resolute and committed to the fight for a democratic Swaziland. The fighting spirit remains unbroken despite the harsh conditions and hostility paralleled with his medical condition.

The President takes great pleasure and comfort to the great work and contribution that PUDEMO is doing at the moment. He fully recognizes the contribution of solidarity by our friends on the international front. The President takes pride and draws confidence from the consistent work that is done on a daily basis.

He further recognizes the work of the Swaziland United Democratic Front that has remained unshaken in its objective of uniting our people for the liberation of the people of Swaziland.

Special thoughts go to the NNLC and its President, the labour movement, students and the church for their contribution towards the march for the democratization of Swaziland. The regime has become desperate and must be pressurized constantly.

The key towards the success of the struggle is UNITY and CONSISTENCY!

NOMA KUKUBI SIYAYA KU MULTI-PARTY
(INSPITE OF ALL THE CHALLENGES WE SHALL GET TO MULTI-PARTY DEMOCRACY)!

AMANDLA! AMANDLA!

Contacts
Dep. President – Sikhumbuzo Phakathi – 27-73-142-7594 (external)
Publicity Officer – Zakhele Mabuza – 26-607-3453 (internal)

Statement on the Amnesty International Initiative to Apply Pressure on Swaziland

2009-03-20T13:31:00.000-07:00

Statement on the Amnesty International Initiative to Apply Pressure on Swaziland

The Peoples United Democratic Movement welcomes and appreciates the initiative by Amnesty International to apply serious pressure on Swaziland to scrap off the Suppression of Terrorism Act of 2008; and cause the country’s leadership to democratize. We note that this has been a result of the tireless work of struggle put up by the democratic forces in the country; and the invaluable contribution of our friends and allies beyond the borders of Swaziland.

We call upon all democratic forces in the country, particularly the Swaziland United Democratic Front, the church and many others, to continue raising the heat against the regime; and surely our international friends will always be ready to compliment the efforts.

It is time the Swazi royal regime is firmly put on the spot. It can no longer hide and fool the world by claiming that the people of this country are enjoying peace, human rights and democracy when the contrary is true. Currently we have a scenario of atrocities that include the detention of PUDEMO President Mario Masuku; the abduction and torture of our comrades; the threat by the Prime Minister to fire all those workers in the public sector who are viewed to be anti status quo; the list is endless.

We further challenge all other international organizations including the SADC, AU Commonwealth, EU and many others to take the cue from Amnesty International. They no longer have a reason to disregard the atrocities that are committed constantly by the Swazi royal regime. They have a duty and responsibility to assist the people of this country to rid themselves of this dictatorship.

FORWARD WITH PRESSURE, FORWARD!!

Contacts

Dep. President – Sikhumbuzo Phakathi – 27-73-1427594 (external)
Publicity Officer – Zakhele Mabuza – 268- 607 3453 (internal)

Statement on the Victory by the Swaziland National Ex-Mineworkers Association

2009-03-20T07:16:00.000-07:00

Statement on the Victory by the Swaziland National Ex-Mineworkers Association on Free Education in Swaziland

We have always maintained over the years that the Swazi royal regime lacks vision and its action are not people-centered.

We salute the great work done by the Swaziland National Ex-Mine Workers Association to expose the regime, most recently by influencing the High Court of Swaziland to rule in their favour and order the state to offer free primary education in the country. The regime has been refusing to oblige in this regard, in total defiance of what is provided in its own constitution. Their refusal was anchored in the argument that the regime does not have the resources, an argument that was reiterated by the King when he opened parliament last month. A great lie indeed!! We believe there is a lot of money in Swaziland, but the priorities of distribution are not people- centered. Not when the regime is ruthlessly and arrogantly splashing money to:

*Build palaces at the cost of over R 100 m.
*Pay the military (R 148m); the police (R 128m).
*Buy new cars for Cabinet Ministers at the cost of R20m.
*Buy two cars for an embassy at R 6m.
*Use R 43m to equip the security forces to fight and suppress the calls for multi-party democracy in the country.
[US$1=Rand 10]

The list is endless - all this at the expense of developing the country’s human resource.

The civil society is fully justified to challenge this. We implore it to continue challenging the regime on many other atrocious issues that it commits against the masses of this country. We also applaude the judiciary for standing firm, not be intimidated by the regime and correctly rule against it. However, we are waiting to see how the regime will react as it is known to defy court rulings with impunity.

Contacts

Dep. President – Sikhumbuzo Phakathi 27-73-142-7594 (external)
Publicity Officer – Zakhele Mabuza – 268-607-3453 (internal)

More Plans for Repression in Swaziland

2009-03-11T13:33:00.000-07:00

More Plans for Repression in Swaziland

On Monday, the Prime Minister informed Parliament that his government was preparing legislation targeted at public workers who are viewed to be political and critical of the oppressive regime. He boldly declared that his government already has identified targets and the Intelligence Branch will be used to hunt down and identify more targets. All the identified public workers will be forced to resign/denounce their membership in political organization. These are members of political organizations that are anti-status quo in general, PUDEMO in particular is the intended target.

As PUDEMO we have come to the following conclusion with regard to the government’s new repressive strategy:

a)In the near future, there will be politically enforced retrenchments within the public sector especially on those who are critical of the state’s dictatorship.

b)The offensive will not only end in the public sector, but will be extended to the private sector, especially because the king and government hold shares in many of the leading companies and parastatals.

c)Comrades will now be rendered unemployable in the country. Job opportunities will now be reserved as a reward for the passive and those who are pro-status quo. Employers will be forced to either toe the line or lose business.

d)The king’s mandate, that was issued last year when appointing the current Prime Minister, is firmly in motion. The strangulation of critics of the Swazi dictatorial regime is being implemented and varying strategies are constantly being crafted.

All this happens in a country that has its head, King Mswati III, currently entrusted by the SADC to chair the organization’s TROIKA on Peace, Politics and Governance. We ask ourselves if the country really deserves this honour when it has political crises, is an enemy of peace and good governance? Surely this act must be strongly condemned and not allowed to be part of a democratic, progressive and peaceful environment that characterizes the Southern Africa region.

Contacts:
Dep. President – Sikhumbuzo Phakathi 27-731427594
Sec. General – Sphasha Dlamini 268-6089783
Sec. for International Affairs – Sonke Dlamini 27-829231401
Information and Publicity – Zakhele Mabuza 268-6073453

NAKED STATE PROPAGANDA TO PROMOTE OFFENSIVE AGAINST CALLS FOR DEMOCRATIC TRANSFORMATION

2009-03-08T14:41:00.000-07:00

NAKED STATE PROPAGANDA TO PROMOTE OFFENSIVE AGAINST CALLS FOR DEMOCRATIC TRANSFORMATION

8 March 2009

As PUDEMO, we wish to address ourselves to two important issues as propagated by the royal regime in Swaziland with regard to what the state called ‘salary increase’, for workers in the public sector, and the so called proposed ‘national dialogue.’ As the vanguard organization we wish to clearly state that we disagree and condemn this state propaganda aimed at patronizing the populace.

1. Salary increase
The so much publicized declaration that the Finance Minister has requested Parliament to approve of a supplementary budget, so as to finance a planned increase in the salaries of public workers, is not honest. Workers in the public sector must be informed that the money requested is not meant to benefit them. On the contrary, it is meant to finance the king’s project of ‘strangling’ the democracy seeking elements in the country by all means necessary. We recognize that the police are going to benefit, but at a limited scale. The real destination of the bulk of the money is the military. The leadership of this country no longer has complete trust in the police force, but has full trust on the army in the campaign to suppress calls for democracy in the country. It is not a co-incidence that a new Ministry of Defence is soon to be created with the view to work towards sustaining the dictatorial regime. The regime is using the name of the public workers in its plan to finance the ever growing repression in the country!

2. National Dialogue
Responding to the growing pressure domestically and internationally for the Swazi regime to democratize, the government has resorted to its old tricks again in an effort to ease the pressure! Addressing editors this week, the Prime Minister declared that the regime is preparing for a national dialogue to resolve the political challenges in the country. However, he emphasized that the agenda will be pre-determined by the state and cannot be changed by anyone; and only labour formations will be invited to attend! We view this as cheap propaganda by the state aimed at deceiving the local populace as well as the international community that something is being done to address the peoples concerns on the political crises that the country finds itself in. PUDEMO condemns and does not recognize this initiative, but view it as poisonous propaganda which must not be accepted and believed by our people and the international community. In 1992, PUDEMO clearly put forward the correct and all inclusive approach to be adopted towards democratizing the politics of the country. As it is, we see no commitment from the King and his government towards embarking on a process towards genuine democratic transition in Swaziland; and the representation is not broad based. The regime seeks to undermine the existence of political parties including PUDEMO and its influence in the struggle for democratic change. We still maintain that there can be no democratic process without the involvement of political parties; and a broad based representation in the process.

Contacts
Deputy President - Sikhumbuzo Phakathi 0731427594
Sec General - Spasha Dlamini 009268 6089783
Sec for International Affairs - Sonke Dlamini 0829231401
Sec for Publicity and Information - Zakhele Mabuza 009268 6073453

STATEMENT ON SWAZILAND’S BUDGET FOR THE SUPPRESSION OF REVOLUTIONARY DEMOCRATIC FORCES

2009-03-05T14:54:00.000-08:00

STATEMENT ON SWAZILAND’S BUDGET FOR THE SUPPRESSION OF REVOLUTIONARY DEMOCRATIC FORCES

5 March 2009

We wish to remind our friends and allies, locally and abroad, that the king’s mandate of suppressing voices calling for democracy in Swaziland is still alive. The king’s cabinet is fully determined to carryout the mandate. The Finance Minister made it known that this financial year the regime has made a special budget for this mandate amounting to R43 million ($4.7m).

We further note the arrogance of the state security agents as represented by the Police Commissioner, in his press statement this week, when he declared that they will suppress any protest marches in demand for democracy in the country with ‘military precision.’ This follows the successful rally last weekend by our Youth League. With all this money and threats we have reason enough to believe and suspect that the state is even preparing itself to create killer squads as part fulfillment of the king’s mandate to hunt down perceived enemies of the regime, both domestically and outside the borders of the country. This is happening at a time when the king is Head of the SADC Troika, an organ that is tasked with ensuring democratic governance and peace in member states. We condemn this misplaced priority and wastage of national resources when:
Unemployment has exceeded 40% recently.
HIV/AIDS also stands at over 40%.
Health care is very poor and inaccessible to the majority and poverty stricken population that make up 70% of the overall populace.
There is lack of clean water and accessible roads in rural communities.
The government cannot afford to provide free education.

All that is in the mind of the Swazi regime is to spend available resources to kill, maim, harass and suppress the democratic forces in the country.

However, PUDEMO remains resolute and focused on the national demands which are:

The introduction of constitutional multiparty democracy that shall guarantee the freedom of association, assembly and expression.
An end to the 36 year old state of emergency.
A people driven national constitution.
The scrapping of the Suppression of Terrorism Act of 2008.
The release of President Mario Masuku.
The return of all political exiles.

Surely the SADC region cannot afford to continue harboring this dirty sport in its midst!

Contacts:
Deputy President – Sikhumbuzo Phakathi 27-731427594
Sec. General – Sphasha Dlamini 268 6089783
Publicity Sec. – Zakhele Mabuza 268 6073453

STATEMENT ON THE PUDEMO YOUTH LEAGUE (SWAYOCO) RALLY MARCH 1, 2009

2009-03-01T14:09:00.000-08:00

PUDEMO Statement:

STATEMENT ON THE PUDEMO YOUTH LEAGUE (SWAYOCO) RALLY

ISSUED ON 1 MARCH 2009

The Youth League of PUDEMO successfully organized and held a rally yesterday (28 February) in the township of Msunduza in Mbabane. This was against the backdrop of arrogant threats by the Swazi regime that the rally must not be held because SWAYOCO is banned and so cannot freely operate in the country.

It must be noted that the objectives of the rally centred on the very issue of lack of democracy in the way the country is governed. Thus the Youth League demanded:

The release of the PUDEMO President, Mario Masuku detained under the Suppression of Terrorism Act of 2008 that is meant to target and deal with all those who are perceived as anti-status quo. The regime still refuses him visitation rights in complete and arrogant defiance of a ruling by the High Court of Swaziland that the rights must be restored.

The introduction of a constitutional multiparty democratic order in Swaziland that will guarantee freedom of speech, assembly and association.

The provision of basic, very necessary services to the people including free education, quality health care, meaningful social grants to the elderly, clean water, accessible roads, etc.

We further note that the regime continued to display its arrogance by deploying scores of armed security personnel in the capital city just to ensure that the rally does not succeed as the Police Commissioner had promised. However, against all these threats the rally went on and was successful, marking an important victory in the struggle for democracy in Swaziland.

That the state decided to unleash a huge amount of force in an attempt to stop the rally is further proof that the country is a dictatorship that cannot be accepted in the modern world. In its effort to stop the youth from expressing their demands, the whole area was turned into a war zone by the state police. In the process, young children, vendors and the whole community was not sparred from the police violence. Several comrades including the SWAYOCO President Wandile Dludlu are currently detained under the Suppression of Terrorism Act and the state security agents still continue to hunt down more with the intention of detaining them. However, this is victory to the struggle for democracy and a huge blow to the dictatorial regime in Swaziland.

Contacts:

Information and Publicity – Zakhele Mabuza 268-607-3453

Secretary General – Sphasha Dlamini 268-608-9783

Deputy President – Sikhumbuzo Phakathi 27-73-142-7594

Sec. for International Affairs (SWAYOCO) – Siyabonga Hlongwane 27-79467577

Durban Declaration: Extraordinary Congress of PUDEMO held 16-18 January 2009

2009-02-04T08:22:00.000-08:00

Durban Declaration
Extraordinary Congress of PUDEMO held 16-18 January 2009

“The People Must Be and Will Be Free!"

Introduction

Concluding the second leg of our Extra-Ordinary Congress in Durban, we the delegates representing PUDEMO structures throughout Swaziland and the mass of our people in workplaces, rural areas, social and cultural centers, educational institutions, and every other space where our people are found, hereby fully accept the responsibility placed on our shoulders by the historic expectations and tasks arising from the political situation in our country.

We are gathered as freedom fighters and revolutionary militants responding to the emergencies imposed by the growing conditions of desperation, hopelessness, political suppression, hunger, extreme poverty and unemployment in our country. Our people want change now. They want a better life with improved material conditions. They no longer need promises and empathy but decisive action. They want a clear direction about the next step that we should, as an oppressed people, take towards eradicating the source of our collective misery.

We affirm the centrality of PUDEMO as a critical force for liberation in Swaziland, with the full responsibility to build, co-ordinate and support our people’s efforts towards their own liberation. It is with the fullest appreciation of this situation that we take seriously the tasks assigned to us by the situation in our country and our declared commitment to change the situation in the interest of the poor and oppressed masses of our country.

We also extend our warmest and most profound salutation to our President, Comrade Mario Masuku, the gallant son of the Swazi people, who is currently in a tinkhundla jail (Matsapha Central Prison) for his courage, inspiration and untiring determination to lead our people to their desired freedom. He is held on false and baseless charges of terrorism. Tinkhundla seeks to demonize him; destroy his spirit of determination and resilience; isolate him from the masses of our people who adore him and on whose behalf he has made all the sacrifices. The tinkhundla regime will fail dismally in their immoral efforts!

We recognize that in trying to destroy him by constantly jailing him, the tinkhundla regime has only served to reaffirm the fullest confidence of the people, and the international community, in Cde Mario Masuku; the Movement he leads and the nobility of the cause he stands for.

We also note that the levels of harassment, arrest, intimidation and victimization of PUDEMO members and activists have dramatically escalated in the recent past because the regime has engaged in a full-blown policy to suffocate dissenting political views in line with mandate given by the head of state to his current cabinet.

We take this opportunity to salute our fallen heroes, in particular, our Deputy President Dr Gabriel Mkhumane who was assassinated in cold blood and our devoted cadre, MJ Dlamini, who fell in the line of duty, as well as that outstanding internationalist, Jack Govender who died in the cause of other people. We also demand the immediate and unconditional release of our dear comrade Amos Mbedzi, who is languishing in tinkhundla jails and who has suffered severe torture for supporting the struggle of the Swazi people.

PUDEMO: The tested weapon of our people’s desire to build a new and democratic Swaziland

PUDEMO is synonymous with liberation. It has become a buzzword for change and an icon of the people’s aspirations in Swaziland. It is very clear to everyone that there is no genuine solution to the crisis in Swaziland outside engagement with PUDEMO and the mass democratic movement as a whole. Surely, for any lasting solution to emerge in Swaziland the people’s organizations must be involved and the people’s demands must be the determinant factor. This means the people must own and control the entire process of engagement.

PUDEMO emerged in the context of an extremely hostile political environment, characterized by demonizing propaganda, state brutality and even a corrupt moral fibre and economic setup that enriches only a few parasites at the expense of the poor majority of our people. PUDEMO had to contest tinkhundla hegemony and create space for a new democratic and progressive culture where respect for human rights and dignity are central. Through bitter struggles, PUDEMO has contributed in transforming the political landscape towards the realization of the goals set out in the People’s Manifesto.

We have come a long way, with difficulties, challenges, advances and setbacks. Certain tendencies in the very recent past point to the need for intensified induction of members, political education and cadreship development as part of an established culture in the movement. There is also a need for strengthening of a culture of discipline and high moral standards in our society through the exemplary conduct of PUDEMO cadres in struggle.

PUDEMO represents the most advanced, highly disciplined and unwaveringly dedicated members of society and this must be upheld as a yardstick for the renewal of our noble traditions and principles. PUDEMO members do all, everything, for the people and nothing against them!

This Extra-Ordinary Congress calls upon all cadres of PUDEMO, other Swazi patriots and democracy-loving people all over the world to heed one call: “a day more of tinkhundla suffering means more deaths from curable diseases, more hunger, more unemployment, more arrests and more royal extravagance and corruption."

Charting a New Path: Those who do not fight are voluntarily choosing to perish!

The Extra-Ordinary Congress conducted a mid-term review of our political programme since the last National Congress in 2006; also provided an opportunity to reflect on the state of PUDEMO and the urgent need to reposition our movement in order to decisively respond to the current political environment in our country. It also sought to put PUDEMO at the center of the people struggle to be free by acting to inspire confidence towards renewed momentum.

A five-point focus plan was adopted towards this end:

*We reaffirm our determination that the people will and must be free. In this instance, we noted that while major progress has been made in several areas and fronts of our struggle, a lot still remains to be done. Therefore, Congress calls upon the NEC to immediately consolidate the Road Map Operational Plan as adopted at Ermelo in 2007 to take forward the 2006 Congress directives even more decisively by convening a Special NGC session for that purpose. The plan should have clear targets, time frames and implementation strategy. It should take us to the next Congress, through mass action and rolling activism.

*In the wake of tinkhundla royal intensified terror, with the enactment of the Suppression of Terrorism Act as the epitome of that, which has resulted in the arrest of our President Cde Mario Masuku on false charges of terrorism, we once again, reaffirm our salutations to this gallant and heroic son of our people and freedom fighter. We pledge our unconditional support to him for his outstanding courage, bravery, visionary inspiration and leadership by example. He has vehemently refused to be cowed into submission by tinkhundla persecution.

In relation to the arrest of the People’s President, we hereby resolve:

1: To prioritize as a matter of urgency a well-coordinated and clearly articulated campaign for the unconditional release of our President Cde Mario Masuku. The NEC soonest possible must assemble a task team for this purpose.

2: To intensify the campaign against the draconian Suppression of Terrorism Act and all undemocratic laws in order to stimulate further the momentum towards multi-party democracy and freedom in Swaziland.

3: To carefully and cohesively integrate all four of our struggles into an effective, efficient and mutually reinforcing and well-coordinated strategy, with all pillars equally and fully at work in a manner that ensures they fully complement each other. Towards that end, we reaffirm the existence of fully active structures both above and below surface which must be strengthened and capacitated to meet the challenges of the new era much more effectively and in a sustainable manner.

*We recognize SWAYOCO as an autonomous body within PUDEMO, which requires that we ensure at all times and in the best interests of our struggle, we provide all the necessary support and prudent guidance to our youth movement with honesty and firmness but without compromising its autonomy and space to critically engage issues. Therefore, in our pursuit of the highest standards of democratic organisation, constitutional supremacy and organizational discipline built on our historic traditions, policies and revolutionary imperatives, we hereby welcome and adopt the report presented to Congress on the events at the recent SWAYOCO Extra ordinary Congress and the steps taken to resolve them, which culminated in the NGC decision to reinstate the democratically elected NEC of SWAYOCO. We further call upon the NEC to develop a clear and concrete action plan to assist SWAYOCO deepen its organizational capacity and strength in the face of the growing challenges; urgency of unity and organizational cohesion, so that the main focus remain the real enemy of our people, the tinkhundla savage system.

*The need for a bold, decisive and urgent effort to strengthen the Swazi solidarity movement all over the world to reposition the global momentum and profile of the Swazi struggle as well as upgrade its scale given the latest developments in the country. This requires a profoundly improved capacity for PUDEMO to coordinate all these efforts and activities. PUDEMO must always make decisive interventions to protect and advance the good image of the Swazi people’s struggle and that of the movement as a critical force at the helm of that very noble cause.

Conclusion

“if yesterday belonged to tinkhundla oppression, surely, tomorrow belongs to the people. This means, today…..we must begin our journey…..to a new democratic Swaziland based on the aspirations of the people.” Road Map Programme of PUDEMO (2006).

PUDEMO must continue to prove in the battlefield that it is the true leader of the people and that it is at the center of a political solution to our country’s deepening crisis. Never again shall this giant of the people’s struggle be ignored. The challenge remains for all PUDEMO cadres to increase the momentum through high moral standards, humility and honest leadership in struggle.

We also wish to convey fraternal greetings to all people struggling for democracy and justice across the globe. We continue to call for peace, justice and democracy for all and support all efforts towards that end. It is in our interest to live in a peaceful world, but there can be no peace without justice. Therefore, we are all required to struggle for justice.

Royal terrorists protect their interests at the expense of peoples' lives

2009-01-23T06:55:00.000-08:00

Viva the People’s struggle Viva!!

Royal Terrorist Against the People of Swaziland & their Struggle.

Victory to the People's Struggle. Phansi nge Royal Terror Phansi!

The struggle will triumph; the scale will tilt, through labour and pain we shall Overcome.

Royal terrorists protect their interests at the expense of peoples' lives

Introduction

What will be left for the people with their hope of freedom when the peoples' hope, PUDEMO, could be allowed to be destroyed by the royal criminals? This moment is a test to the commitment and determination of the people in their desire for freedom and social prosperity. Mswati’s terror campaign deserves the utmost response from all democracy loving people of our country and the world.

Mswati continues to insult the integrity of the people of our land, and the world, to say laws of aggression are equivalent to a peaceful transition to democracy. We had doubted his reasoning ability yet accepted it to some degree but now he has taken it too far and to a point that endangers our lives and the future of our country; its people, environment and entire habitation. His madness has reached an intolerable point. To allow him authority and power over our land will be our contribution to the destruction of our country to which new generations will condemn us even at our demise.

Mswati has declared our country a "terrorist" country. He has passed "terror" laws and assumes the front line position in the implementation of these "terror" acts. He mobilizes his armed forces to advance his "terror" interests. He goes beyond all that and undermines the peoples' intelligence by calling upon the nation to accept and adapt to his "terror" interests. He has terrorized our communities.

He has made our society celebrate all his dirty acts with bleeding hearts. With all this he is still not satisfied, he needs more and now he wants all of us to lie down so that he can walk over us as carpet. Enough is enough! Let's all call it over, stand firm in our struggle for freedom and the liberation of our country before we lose it all. We will use all means at our disposal to defend our dignity. No rule of terror can stop us from finishing this last and important lap our struggle. Let’s make Mswati pay for the price of our freedom.

State of emergency- Reign of terror!

The regime intensifies its rule of terror by reinforcing the 1973 decree which is constantly being weakened by the peoples' struggle. Pillars of the people’s freedom have grown all over the country, students, workers, women, disabled, unemployed, rural, professional and many more have worked extremely hard under difficult conditions to build their hope, PUDEMO, to lead them to the liberation victory -a victory for the majority of the oppressed people of our land. Mswati wants to destroy these efforts over his night dream. It is only those weakened, like the opportunists in his parliament, who can allow the efforts of the people to be watered down. But they constitute a weak and vulnerable minority that will perish without history and they will be judged for their action. History never forgets.

Who in our land can accept royal criminals to terrorize the wealth of our country, abuse and loot our resources, abuse women and young children, evict people from the land of their birth, promote slave labour, or legalize fraud and corruption because she or he is afraid of being labeled a terrorist by Mswati! This means anyone who expresses her or his conscious is a terrorist and must be arrested and or killed. This is what Mswati has concluded and his parliament has approved. We must prove all of them failures including his right-hand men whom he has organized for these criminal acts.

Mswati has a hope that he can maintain his criminal life by obstructing people with violence. We promise him that he is a failure both in his thinking and in his dreams. Violence is not his monopoly - even a tamed dog can not allow its owner to monopolize violence. If animals with a lower mental capacity than humans can reason and act successfully against violence upon themselves, how can we fail to unleash an even more violent strength than his. We are in a better position for violent action against him than he has against us.

Power to the people

To all the people of our land who love peace and democracy, to whom this terror is directed: we must stand up in unity against these evil policies and acts of royal greed. The aim of this "terror" programmed by Mswati aims at nothing more than to raise the empire of the royal state against the people. It’s the destructive creation of a new lifestyle of our society; if not defeated, it will subjugate people to fear and expose not only our wealth but also our lives to danger and to a terrible point of demise.

Mswati’s terror infrastructure must be destroyed even to the point of its sustenance. New personal has been mobilized quite greased with world class vehicles, technology and weapons Mswati amasses from his allies in the world market of dirt and cruelty. The industries in the country that choose to pay workers low wages and give Mswati the rest, in order to grease his terror infrastructure, must not be spared but be targets of sabotage. We must unite to investigate the operations of this infrastructure and the economy in order to make informed decisions to guide our action. This moment defines the trying times of the history of our struggle which we must survive at all costs.

Action and only Action for our survival

*People must always be ready to mill on the streets to protest about this evils, arrogance, stubbornness and failures of the royal government.

*Boycott and destroy all Mswati and his friend’s businesses and institutions.

*Destroy all forms of government’s symbols of oppression.

*Destroy all the installations that keep the oppressive government alive and all that keep the rule of terror - including its personnel - as a matter of survival. The state of emergence must be resisted by all means necessary.

Mswati must be defeated in his own game for the victory of our struggle and triumph of peace and democracy in our land. AMANDLA!

FORWARD TO THE DEFIANCE CAMPAIGN

PUDEMO End of Year Statement 2008

2008-12-31T06:36:00.000-08:00

The People’s United Democratic Movement’s (PUDEMO) End of Year Statement

PUDEMO wishes to extend revolutionary and the warmest greetings to the fellow people of Swaziland and the peace and democracy loving citizens of the world. As we enter the year 2009, we are saying let us endure the pain and suffering together and travel this last mile to a new and democratic Swaziland . We call upon all of our structures within and outside the country to stand up to the task ahead and fulfil the revolutionary strategic objective of PUDEMO.

As we make a cross-over to the New Year, we are ware that tinkhundla has continued to force its misrule, characterised by oppression and exploitation, to the people of our country. We are aware of the fact that tens of thousands of half-naked and desperate children are on the streets and have deliberately been rejected by tinkhundla regime. The people’s movement is also aware of the reality that there are no drugs in hospitals owing to the dilapidating health care system that has been produced by this regime – our people are dying! We are as well cognizant of the incontrovertible fact that there are hundreds of thousands of poverty-stricken citizens who are without such basics as food and clean water, particularly in the remote area. We are further aware of the continuous exploitation of workers and the treating of Swazis as subjects and not citizens in their own land. Also, we do not forget that a majority of Swazis do not own land and that many are still victims of the regime’s senseless land evictions. The only message we can pass to our suffering people is that the Tinkhundla Empire is crumbling and that before you know it, the system will have been destroyed and replaced with a people driven system.

The year 2008 has not been smooth for our mass-based democratic movement. What with the brutal and barbaric assassination of our deputy president Dr. Gabriel Thandokuhle Mkhumane who was shot dead at KaNyamazane in the republic of South Africa where he was living as an exile. As PUDEMO, we still maintain that the senseless killing of this gallant servant of the Swazi people was political and that the truth shall be revealed in future.

There are many cadres who have died in our movement and whose blood shall water the tree of liberation. We pledge ourselves to lift up the spear and continue the noble fight. A majority of our comrades have continuously been threatened and terrorised by state police while some have been forced into exile. Be that as it may, all these have strengthened our glorious movement and have given it more power to soldier on. In fact, today we are stronger than yesterday.

Sadly, we had entered the year 2008 with many police brutality instances and we say one day the people of Swaziland shall be defended. The police declared war as they assaulted UNISWA students who were demanding their right to quality education. Textile workers were also assaulted by state police as they were engaged in a legal strike action. In both the students and the textile workers’ struggles, the police used live bullets to shoot peaceful citizens of the land! We repeat that one day the people shall be defended and we do not intent to threaten anyone when we say that.

The police also attacked members of the Swaziland United Democratic Front (SUDF), including its leaders, during a border blockade activity that was meant at raising the international awareness on the Swazi struggle for democracy. A group of peaceful PUDEMO members, including its leaders, were severely beaten and detained by tinkhundla police during a PUDEMO day rally in Manzini in July. Swayoco and PUDEMO members, including the people’s president, were subjected to the same treatment during a march that was organised by our youth league recently. The march had been allowed by the city council of Mbabane and the police but was stopped by the police on the actual day. It was intended to demand from the prime minister the resumption of the treason trial with which many of our members were charged and are out on bail. The continuous assault on political activists by police confirms what PUDEMO has been saying over the years; that the security forces are for the ruling elite and not the ordinary people of Swaziland and that they are used to harass the advocates of democracy in our country. However, more than the hatred of the pain to which we are subjected to on daily basis is our hatred of the conditions to which our people are subjected to throughout this country. We want to liberate all our people and we shall achieve this by all means necessary.

PUDEMO is not taken by surprise on the sudden banning of the people’s vanguard for the second time. Also, we are equally not surprised by the new suppression of terrorism Act and the incarceration of the people’s president Cde Mario Masuku. Such things are bound to happen in a country that is a dictatorship. We take comfort from history since such have happened to almost all liberation movements the world over. On the incarceration of our leader, we want to warn the regime by overemphasizing what we have just said; that we shall do all that is in our power to defend our
leaders, organization and the people of our country against everything that threatens the Swaziland Democratic Revolution (SDR). Only time will tell.

The regime also defied warning from progressives and the international community and went on to host the luxurious 40/40 double celebrations and thereby squandering millions of the tax payers’ money. Again here, this confirmed what PUDEMO has been saying over the years; that we are waging a struggle against an autocratic regime that has got a high appetite for leisure. The ordinary Swazi never benefited anything from those so called celebrations.

Of fundamental note is that the regime continues to ignore international conventions on democratic, free and fair elections as it held its circus called national elections even in the year 2008. Swaziland is a signatory to a plethora of international conventions on democratic elections. These are, inter alia, International Convention on Political and Civil Rights, the Mauritius Declaration, the Cotonou Agreement and the Harare Declaration of 1991, where Common Wealth countries agreed that totalitarianism was giving way to democracy and freedom. We call upon respectful signatories to the above stated conventions to put pressure on tinkhundla to democratize as we enter 2009.The Common Wealth expert team encapsulated all when they openly stated their disregard of the credibility of the 2008 Swaziland National Elections. This was their position even in the year 2003 as they reported, “We do not regard the credibility of these national elections as an issue. No elections can be credible when they are for a parliament that does not have power and when political parties remain banned.”

PUDEMO maintains its long standing position that the zillions of problems engulfing Swaziland shall only be solved when a genuine dialogue has been called and a legitimate government is in place. We therefore demand a Constitutional Multiparty Democracy Now.

Essentially, the political and civic organizations of our beloved nation are united and this was evidenced by their coming together into the Swaziland United Democratic Front (SUDF). The people’s vanguard party hails the labour movement for celebrating 2008’s May Day together for the first time after so many years. As we do that, we reiterate our old principle of ‘One industry one Union , one country one federation’. This barbaric and backward system of Tinkhundla shall only be dismantled by a more united progressive force. The 2008 September 3-4 Mass Stay away was a clear indication that our unity can overcome the brutal power of this cruel dictatorship. We need to redouble our effort in 2009 as we march forward to a democratic Swaziland . PUDEMO urges all the forces under the banner of the united front to seize this opportunity since to relax our effort now will be a great mistake which generations to come will fail to forgive. Let us consolidate and advance.

On the international front, our struggle has intensified and our international allies have practically offered solidarity with the Swazi struggle as led by our glorious movement. We are particularly indebted to our South African allies in the tripartite alliance. They are to us what sunlight is to plants and we say only history shall reward them. We urge the international community to intensify its campaign against the Tinkhundla inhuman regime in the year 2009. We have got no hesitation in saying that the people of Swaziland have got no future under the current political set up.

The People’s United Democratic Movement has one demand as we enter then year 2009: Talks about talks that will culminate into a genuine dialogue exercise involving all national stakeholders to discuss a way forward on the politics of our country.

It is our genuine view as PUDEMO that only such an exercise can lead to a people’s constitution and democratic government. The only historic route that can be taken by the ruling class this year is dialogue and not war.

We have seen how the latter has failed in other African countries as it only results in bloodshed and unnecessary loss of lives. Our most treasured nation can not afford to take this dangerous route hence the need for dialogue as soon as possible. This is the very position that we took as early as 1992 in our document entitled, “THE PEOPLE’S WAY FORWARD DOCUMENT; TOWARDS A CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY THROUGH A NEGOTIATED SETTLEMENT.” We want to emphasize that we see genuine dialogue as the only possible remedy for our ailing nation.

OUTSIDE SWAZILAND
We are in solidarity with the suffering people of Zimbabwe and we call upon the SADC and AU to take a decisive action and protect the people of that land from the quagmire they are currently in. Our movement further appeals to the international bodies, in particular the UN to intervene and save the people of Palestine . Nothing can justify the raping of young innocent children and women as well as the mass killing of peaceful civilians.

BY CDE SPHASHA DLAMINI

Strangling the King's opponents: Swaziland's "war on terrorism"

2008-11-24T08:08:00.000-08:00

Statement from PUDEMO Regional Office
(Australia, Asia and the South East Pacific Region)
Date: November 24, 2008

Strangling the King's opponents: Swaziland's "war on terrorism"

When King Mswati III addressed the 63rd Session of the United Nations General Assembly in 2008, the emphasis of his speech was on the threat of terrorism. His speech was a carbon copy of what is now an outdated political discourse that dominated global politics in the turn of the 21st century. Out of touch with the shift in global politics, he sounded hollow when he called upon the world to unite and fight terrorism. World unity was achieved in 2001 but discourses about the threat of terrorism have receded from the centre stage of global politics. The recent 63rd Session of the UN General Assembly and the presidential election in the United States of America are examples of this shift in global politics. Whilst world leaders focused their attention on the global financial crisis and climate change, King Mswati III looked like a yesterday man. Nobody paid attention to him and he returned home a disillusioned, embarrassed and a frustrated man.

Rejected as a yesterday man and a hopeless actor in the global political theatre, King Mswati III returned to home ground to vent his anger and frustration on Swazi citizens. Shortly after the United Nations General Assembly, he summoned the nation to his royal residence for what local and international media widely described as a historical event in which the ruling monarch declared war on Swazi and South African citizens. He accused Swazis and South Africans of engaging in acts of terrorism against Swaziland. The rage in his tone and use of sadistic words such as abakhanywe (strangle them) generated a deep sense of fear and anxiety in many people. It caused significant concern that a new wave of political repression will soon follow.

From the speech, it was clear that strangling the King's political opponents was to become the mainstay of government policy. For the King, there is no one more capable of turning this desire into practical action than his most trusted henchman, Sibusiso Dlamini, a member of the King's advisory body. In disregard of his own laws enshrined in the Constitution of the Kingdom of Swaziland Act, 2005, King Mswati III appointed Dlamini the new Prime Minister in charge of government business and the police force. The Constitution states that the Prime Minister must be appointed from members of the House of Assembly. Sibusiso Dlamini was not a member of the House at the time of his appointment. His appointment was, therefore, unconstitutional. Dlamini's immediate responsibility was that of forming a war cabinet to strangle what the King described "enemies of peace".

There were no doubts in many people's minds that members of the pro-democracy movement in Swaziland and the South Africa-based Swaziland Solidarity Network (SSN) are the obvious targets of this rage and war mongering. In the past few weeks SSN, PUDEMO and its youth wing, the Swaziland Youth Congress (SWAYOCO) have featured predominantly in media reports and official statements about recent sabotage attempts against public road infrastructure. However, no concrete evidence has yet been produced to link these organisations to these activities. Furthermore, the police have not been able to confidently declare that these are indeed acts of terrorism carried out by identifiable organisations for political, social, religious or economic reasons. Thus talks about the presence of a terrorist threat are empty rhetoric and speculation with no substance. Such talks are, at best, acts of political indulgence.

If the government fuels speculation about the threat of terrorism, it streams into public fear. This is good news for King Mswati III and his government. It makes governing relatively easy because a fearful population is more susceptible to social control than a fearless population. The ultimate goal of this government is to reclaim the power to rule absolutely by retransforming the nation into docile bodies paralysed by fear. One of PUDEMO's great achievements has been the empowerment of the Swazi population to be less fearful of state power and to openly demand political change. As the population of fearless citizens grew bigger, the state's power-base has been gradually diminished. Swazis have long known that there is rottenness in the state of Swaziland but gradually people have been more able to proclaim this loudly rather than in fearful whispers. As a consequence, the regime is scrambling to regain control, a scenario reminiscent of the late King Sobhuza II's response to the resurgence of pro-democracy politics in the early 1970s.

In all aspects, King Mswati III's declaration of war resonates with King Sobhuza II's Proclamation to the Nation in 1973 in which he proscribed opposition political parties. Although supporters of the regime would like us to believe that the enactment of the 2005 Constitution eclipsed the Proclamation, it is indubitable that the principles which underpin this Proclamation remain a major influence in government thinking. All the key aspects of the Proclamation – political fear, hatred and intolerance of political dissent, constitutional vandalism and dictatorship – are evident in the current political development.

The proclamation placed dictatorship at the centre of governance. Today, dictatorship remains the cornerstone of the monarchy-led government. Under this system, those capable of furthering this most abhorrent form of political repression are appointed to public office. Thus, the choice of Sibusiso Dlamini is not surprising, given King Mswati III's emphasis on a form of governance based on strangulation rather than peaceful political engagement. In his capacity as Prime Minister from the late 1990s to early 2000s, Dlamini acquired a shocking reputation as a heartless and ruthless political operator. From 2001 to 2003, he was famous for senseless spending on royal luxuries, interference in the administration of justice, media censorship and engaging in political witch-hunts against state critics. He also presided over spectacular examples of government incompetence, such as the disastrous failure to reign in the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Sibusiso Dlamini has the ability of a typical ruthless dictator to act swiftly against state opponents and sluggishly on issues of national development.

In 2002, PUDEMO warned that the Sibusiso-led government resembled a steamroller driven by a drunk and that it was capable of causing harm to the nation. At the time, PUDEMO was responding to the government's decision to close down two print media organisations, The Nation and the Swazi Observer, because it didn't like what they published. Despite local and international condemnation against the closure of these media organisations, the steamroller was allowed to continue on its way, causing widespread havoc. It brought Swaziland into the realms of failed statehood by crushing flat one of the most vital institutions of government, the judiciary. On November 28, 2002 Dlamini shocked the nation and international community when he publicly declared that his Majesty's Government would disobey the Court of Appeal judgements in Gwebu and Bhembe v. Rex and Minister of Home Affairs et al. v. Fakudze et al. According to Dlamini, the rulings sought to strip His Majesty King Mswati III of powers accorded to Swazi Kings since "time immemorial". No judge, Mr Dlamini declared, could question the King's decision or challenge his power. An avalanche of local and international condemnation was brought to bear on the regime. King Mswati III recapitulated and removed Dlamini from office. Many Swazis were hopeful that the drunk would be institutionalised in a detoxication centre for good. But alas, that was not to be. The drunk is back behind the wheel of the steamroller looking more intoxicated than he was in his previous term of office. He is back to kill and pillage national resources with impunity.

King Mswati III and his chosen henchman, Sibusiso Dlamini, are hoping to use the yesteryear strategy, "war on terrorism", to wage a proxy war against the pro-democracy movement. In 2008, The Suppression of Terrorism Act was enacted as a vehicle to waging this war. The Act gives authorities such as the Prime Minister unlimited powers to proscribe political organisations and wage a vicious witch-hunt against their membership. Immediately after his appointment as Prime Minister, Dlamini proscribed a number of political organisations including PUDEMO as "terrorist entities".

Globally, the effectiveness of this strategy to retain unpopular government in office has long receded. In the turn of the 21st century, citizens of various nation states were cajoled into believing that terrorist attacks were imminent and that the state was acting in their interests when it suspended basic rights and freedoms in the name of fighting terrorism. Threats of terrorism, as described by state officials and the media, began to infuse a deep sense of fear, anxiety and insecurity among citizens and fellow travellers. Through advanced technology, acts of "terrorism" were brought into people's living rooms. In most cases, images of terrorism were accompanied by harsh official statements to hunt down "terrorists", "sympathisers", "acquaintances" and "supporters" of terrorism.

As nation states became increasingly relentless in their pursuit of "terrorists", they acquired greater presence in people's private lives. Consequently, a state of paralysis emerged among populations of various nation states gripped with fear of "terrorism" and fear of the state. People were fearful of the ever looming terrorist attack and that their political views could be construed by the state as rendering support to terrorism. In the "war on terrorism", over zealous states transformed into terrorist entities causing fear, insecurity and enormous harm to the people they claimed to protect. In many instances, nation states with reputable records of democratic rule used the "war on terrorism" to shred away civil liberties. Kidnapping, arrest, rendition, eavesdropping, persecution and detention without trial were common tools of the "war on terrorism". Indeed, the turn of the 21st century was an era of great fear and strong statehood.

Whilst in some countries, particularly democratic nations, the "war on terrorism" introduced political conditions unfamiliar to many people, the majority of Swazis were born into conditions of fear and repression. These conditions, unbearable as they are, have enabled many in Swaziland, particularly those in the pro-democracy movement, to build a strong culture of resilience. PUDEMO leader, Mario Masuku, is a living example of this culture of resilience. Since the formation of PUDEMO more than 20 years ago, he has been in the forefront of the struggle for democracy and has endured the brutality of King Mswati III and his predecessors. He was the first to be arrested under the new terrorism laws. On November 15, 2008, Prime Minister Sibusiso Dlamini ordered the police to arrest Masuku on charges of terrorism. Masuku is accused of providing support to "terrorism" following his response to reports about attempts to bomb bridges.

In our view, the charges preferred against Masuku are part of the government's long-term strategy to persecute PUDEMO members. Masuku did not render support to terrorism as alleged by the police. What he said was what all responsible Swazis would have said. He called upon the government to reflect on why these bombing incidents were occurring. In his view, these incidents were an indication that some people in the community have reached the end of their tether and the time had come for the government to reconsider its position on the question of democracy. He implored the government to open talks with the pro-democracy movement to chart a way to a future political dispensation. This is not a statement of support for terrorism but a genuine and forward-looking gesture of goodwill from a man who has committed his life to build a democratic system of governance in Swaziland. A week after Masuku's arrest, the Catholic Church Bishop, Ncamiso Ndlovu expressed similar sentiments and condemned the terrorism laws, the proscription of pro-democracy organisations and the incarceration of Masuku (see All.Africa.com, November 21, 2008 report). It remains to be seen if the government will now arrest Bishop Ndlovu and charge him with supporting terrorism.

Masuku has endured frequent arrests and detention because of his political views. However, the determination of the regime to break his spirit has failed to yield results. Instead, it has strengthened his resolve to soldier on and fight for his people. It is against this background that when Sibusiso Dlamini proscribed the pro-democracy movement, Masuku was resolute that we will fight on and we will exercise our rights as members of the global community to disobey unjust laws.

The regime may arrest, incarcerate and strangle our members to death but they will never kill our spirit and our movement. PUDEMO has deep roots in the community as a people's political party. It is not a terrorist organisation. PUDEMO has not killed or threatened to kill anyone, caused or attempted to cause fear among the Swazi population and it has not, in its history, threatened to use force to overthrow the government. PUDEMO is, however, committed to the overthrow of the dictatorship monarchy regime through peaceful political processes. This is the core principle of our movement.

Various PUDEMO leaders have repeatedly stated that the movement will not be drawn into a military confrontation on terms defined by the regime. It is well known that the government has, on numerous occasions, engaged in activities akin to spoiling for a war. We refused to be party to this and we will continue to do so. It is, therefore, ludicrous to declare PUDEMO a terrorist organisation. Similarly, it is preposterous to arrest and charge PUDEMO leader, Mario Masuku, with acts of terrorism. Masuku has never handled a firearm or explosives, threatened anyone with violence, contemplated to wage a war or supported acts of terrorism.

PUDEMO calls upon the people of Swaziland to stay strong and not allow the government to push them back to the 1970s and 1980s. People should disobey the terrorism laws and continue to publicly declare their support and membership to the movement for democracy without fear.

The declaration of the "war on terrorism" must be seen as none other than a stunt designed to rejuvenate the culture of political fear in Swaziland. It is important that people understand that this war is part of the government's long-standing agenda to liquidate the pro-democracy movement and to use fear as a political resource. It is not about fighting terrorism because there are no terrorists to fight in Swaziland - just pro-democracy activists demanding a democratic system of governance and respect for basic rights and freedoms.

In a remarkable admission, the Prime Minister told diplomats that there are no terrorists in Swaziland yet but maintains that there are terrorist organisations (see Times of Swaziland, November 22, 2008). This statement does not make sense. It is like saying there are no soldiers in Swaziland but there is an army. If the Prime Minster believes that there are no terrorists in Swaziland, he must reverse the government's decision and release the PUDEMO leader from prison. The Prime Minister and his government need to revise their understanding of terrorism, particularly the fundamental question of what makes a person a terrorist. Does a person becomes a terrorist merely because of his/her membership of an organisation that has been officially classified a terrorist entity? Or can an individual become a terrorist, independent of his/her association with an organisation, if he/she engages in the activities outlined in the Suppression of Terrorism Act? The people of Swaziland demand answers to these questions.

Signed
Dr. Jabulane Matsebula
PUDEMO Representative
Australia, Asia and the South Pacific Region
Contact: j.matsebula@ecu.edu.au

PUDEMO'S PRESS STATEMENT ON THE ARREST AND DETENTION THE PRESIDENT, CDE MARIO MASUKU AFTER THE BANNING OF THE PEOPLE'S VANGUARD:

2008-11-19T08:33:00.000-08:00

PUDEMO'S PRESS STATEMENT ON THE ARREST AND DETENTION THE PRESIDENT, CDE MARIO MASUKU AFTER THE BANNING OF THE PEOPLE'S VANGAURD:

We the people have learnt with great shock that the country's specific premier has decided to implement the 'Khama Mandate' in his star month, November so bluntly to the effect of banning the People's Movement and its Youth League.

Desperate means of a system that has started eating itself up.

We the people were formed in 1983, during an error when all political parties in the country were banned, save for the Imbokodvo National Movement (INM) under the draconian law or instrument for that matter, called the 1973 Proclamation. The people's movement was formed for a specific purpose, that of fighting for and defending a constitutional multi-party democracy in this very same land of the Swazis.

Our members have been oppressed, harassed, detained, tortured to the effect of jumping out of their father land and to death, shot at, injured and even killed all by the forces of oppression as instructed by the regime wielding its unlimited powers, much to the disregard of the rule of law .

Swaziland is part of the global village and that being the case, she can not come up with laws that are going to oppress citizens of this country which we all belong to, whether we agree with the status quo or others have a dissenting view on the question of governance. We the people, have a manifesto which is internationally acceptable since it clearly shows that power belongs to the people and not individuals, and it is therefore not befitting for the Prime Minister of Swaziland, under the instruction of King Mswati 111 to cunningly come up with a legislation that is aimed at throwing our country, the beloved Swaziland, into disarray and fear.

Swaziland is a member and signatory to almost all the international conventions, which does not leave out African Union and SADC, in which His Majesty is Head of Troika organ on Politics, Peace and Security. Surprising enough, the person who is supposed to be advocating for peace has literally and out-rightly declared war on the citizens of the country. Such an act is un-acceptable and shall never be even in the next millennium to come.

Swaziland's system of governance has always been exploitative from time immemorial, before and after 1973 and 2008 with its Suppression of Terrorism Act.

AU Charter:

Swaziland was amongst the first 17 African States to sign the convention and has been doing so in many many other conventions, and the other African States are fooled to think that Swaziland is a pace setter but little did they know that Swaziland is the number one violator of these conventions that she becomes the first to sign as a symbol of commitment.

This Charter declares one fundamental concept, that all other African States shall not recognize any government that has assumed state power illegitimately and this was signed in 2007. The AU Charterist made one grave mistake, not revamping and removing all those governments that usurped powers from the people, such governments as King Mswati 111's government which so did by repealing the 1968 Constitution and replace it with then 1973 Proclamation first and latter with the 2005 Constitution that was not people driven and was a second edition of the Decree.

PUDEMO and all its organs are and shall be terrorist organisations, but the people's movement is a multi-class organisation that has a biass for the poor and the working class. It fights for democracy in its totality as displayed by the tenets and or basic principles. No one single class of society shall dictate its own so called unique democracy. We the people refuse to accept there is such a thing called unique democracy, but we declare to the world that in Swaziland there is more crisis over and above that of Zimbabwe because in this Africa's only remaining kingdom, there is no democracy at all, and no political space.

AU therefore must remove King Mswati's government from power, or rather refuse to recognise it because it is illegitimately in power, no matter how new the Charter is, more so because the regime is refusing democratic transformations that should totally overhaul the system and replace it with one that shall have the interest of the majority of the country, and these are 70% populace that do not even understand politics and have no interest on where state power lies, yet they are the primary victims of this heartless government that brandishes man and women of substance as terrorists.

SADC Protocol on democratic Free and Fair Elections:

This protocol is just and extension of the AU Charter many more international conventions and we the people, are disgraced that SADC Leaders sit around the table and be convened by the likes of the king of Swaziland who does not understand the simple called meaningful dialogue. Banning organisations that are freedom fighters and brandishing them specified entities and terrorists for that matter and then come up with harsh laws that are aimed at silencing our members and leaders shall not solve our problems as a country but shall lead to the most undesirable consequences which have been seen in many African Countries. PUDEMO calls upon SADC to seek the truth and the truth set set Africa free and Africa shall be free indeed.

This Act is just another version of the 60 days detention and has been specifically put into force solely to silence PUDEMO's ideology so that the minority class continues to waste state resources, privatise state owned entrepreneurs, breed corruption, disregard of the rule of law, victimise workers, make unlawful arrests, randomly search homesteads and in the process plant subversive literature, condone impunity, the list is endless.

THE ARREST OF THE PEOPLE'S PRESIDENT

We the people condemn the arrest of cde Mario Masuku with strongest terms possible based on the following:

To the simplest Swazi out there:

What is the national question?

Who is the real terrorist?

Why is it that for the past 40 years the socio-economic problems get worse each parliamentary term?

Why is it that every Prime Minister is deemed having failed during his tenure, even the current one who has been recycled for a specific mandate?

Why do we have recycled leadership?

Why did we have almost all the members of the CDC as Senators in last parliament which then adopted the Swazi Constitution was not people driven.

PUDEMO LIVES AND PUDEMO LEADS

THE PEOPLE SHALL SHARE AND THE PEOPLE SHALL GOVERN.

THE STRENGTH OF A FISH IS IN WATER

Issued by the office of the SECRETARY GENERAL

CDE SIPHASHA DLAMINI:

Contact: +268 608 9783

PUDEMO EXTERNAL REGION PRESS STATEMENT 18 November 2008

2008-11-18T08:23:00.000-08:00

PUDEMO EXTERNAL REGION
PRESS STATEMENT

18th November 2008

On the Arrest of PUDEMO President Cde. Mario Masuku on 15th November 2008 and on the re banning of PUDEMO and its leagues

The PUDEMO External Region Membership condemn with disgust the arrest of the Peoples President Cde. Mario Masuku on the 15th November 2008 and calls for his immediate release. It is our firm belief that this is a desperate attempt by a terrified regime which is hearing the loudly echoing and approaching marching sounds of freedom approaching in the nearest horizon and the loud calls of the People of Swaziland shouting "Enough is Enough we demand our democracy now "

The Peoples United Democratic Movement (PUDEM0) and all its leagues and strategic partners is not intimidated nor fazed by the recent pronouncements by the thick head chief gate keeper Sibusiso Dlamini who parades as a prime minister and his family affair run injustice system run by a family coalition of the royal page bow majahenkaba Dlamini masquerading as the attorney general and his emotionally charged and law illiterate wife mumcy dlamini who has forever been acting ( due to her incompetence) as the royal director of public persecution. Their intimidatory wailing of more arrests of the Movement's Cadres does not faze us since the Peoples President declared, we shall fight on!

We call upon all disciplined Cadres of our Movement to stand firm and never denounce their membership in PUDEMO and all its leagues.

We further call upon the Swazi people not to be deceived by the royal regime by branding our Movement and its members as terrorists as we are only fighting for our democracitic right to self rule and determination. Who is / are the real terrorist(s).............. ?

1. Mswati . He terrorised the nation and declared war on a defenceless unarmed Swazi nation in his family cattle kraal way back in the 80s' when he branded Civil Servants as "......people who are SNAACKs (DISGUSTING!!!) while they engaged on a strike action demanding better conditions of service,

2. In the mid 90s' at his family's' cattle kraal he terrorised the people when he declared war by telling "emabutfo" to be "ready for war" against Swazi workers who had engaged on strike action for better working conditions and an alternative political climate in Swaziland.

3. Most recently he terrorised by declaring war on proponents of democratic change, their families, friends, associates the list is endless. By extension had declared war against the whole nation as we are a tightly knit and related nation.

4. Deliberately and by design he allows the Swazi people to be ravaged by poverty, starvation, HIV & AIDS, underdevelopment while he loots millions of Swazi money to deposit in personal bank accounts in the east oversees.

5. He takes his wives on a R45million shopping spree oversees with the costs borne by the struggling Swazi people, which continues unabated waste Swazi money on his lavish life style and birthdays annually .

6. He continues to enjoy a three months holiday overseas every end of year spending millions of dollars, while he "tries to fool" the Swazi nation to believing he is in seclusion. On return from holiday continues to bewitch the Swazi nation with his family's ritual called incwala. Let the Church and true Man and Women of the living God condemn this.

This behaviour has to be brought to an end now, mswati is only "king" through the people as he tries to eliminate and subdue the nation through strategic poverty and disease affliction , the nation must collectively stand up and fight for its survival. Let the people of Swaziland remember that no one is immune from this madness.

Lastly, we call upon Regional Bodies like the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the African Union (AU) to proactively swiftly address through constituting a dialogue process to avert the political situation from boiling over.

Issued by PUDEMO external region

For more information contact

Vusi Shongwe- PUDEMO EXTERNAL Regional Secretary

072 717 1225

PUDEMO External Region REC Call for full Support and Participation at the Planned Protests

2008-09-03T08:13:00.000-07:00

PUDEMO External Region REC Call for full Support and Participation at the Planned Protests

Following the planned protest action organised by the Swaziland Solidarity Network against the wasteful regime of king mswati III’s King’s Birthday/ Independence “40/40 Celebrations” and sham elections, the PUDEMO External Region REC calls upon all Swazi Comrades, Allies and Friends of the Swazi people to support these all important protest action by participating in both marches . The Swazi struggle is at a very crucial and decisive juncture and this is the time for all true compatriots of our country and Allies to put combine all our efforts and force the mswati royal regime to commit and open a process for democratic change in Swaziland.

Let the prevailing injustice in Zimbabwe and the recent xenophobic attacks in South Africa remind us of the words of Martin Luther King Jr. “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere…”

The marches are scheduled to take place as follows;

1. Protest 1: Against the King Birthday/ Independence Celebration
Date: 6 Sept. 2008
Venue: Swazi Embassy, cnr 715 Government Avenue and Blackwood Street, Arcadia, Pretoria
Time: 10am to 1pm

2. Protest 2: Against the sham elections
Date: 19 Sept 2008
Venue: Swazi Embassy, cnr 715 Government Avenue and Blackwood Street, Arcadia, Pretoria
Contacts: Tell: 011 339 3621 or Cell: 082 792 3165

Comradely,

Vusi Shongwe
Secretary

PUDEMO Extra – Ordinary Congress Declaration

2008-08-24T14:04:00.000-07:00

PUDEMO Extra – Ordinary Congress

held at

Elijah Mango College of Education,

Nelspruit, Republic of South Africa

22^nd – 24^th August 2008

Declaration

1. The Peoples fighting organ and the trusted fighters and defenders of our People have met here in the Republic of South Africa, Elijah Manago Collage of Education to reflect on the political situation in Swaziland and accordingly position the Movement to meet the challenges of the time , adopt a correct mode of doing work and usher our freedom.

2. The conditions under which our people are living requires us to double our efforts in the fight against the parasitic tinkhundla royal ruling regime. We can not as a People's Movement allow the calculated killing of our People though starvation with acute food shortages, a poor health care system which has become genocidal with hospitals being slaughter houses, the rise in the cost of food and other commodities making life unbearable, the HIV & AIDS pandemic which has spiraled to uncontrollable levels and the regime being arrogant to the needs of the people.

3. Understanding and acknowledging the attack by the regime on the Peoples resources through the extravagance as displayed by the regime's high appetite for leisure and in the process sending the country's economy into the doldrums. The poor people of our country continue living on hand outs and literally scavenging in dustbins.

4. The Peoples fighting spirit for self emancipation and determination has been demonstrated in the mass action activities undertaken by the organs of the people as a demonstration of unity against a common enemy and their determination to end the many years of royal oppression and exploitation .

5. We are inspired by the determination and combat radical action of the woman of our country , which must be built as a foundation towards the National Women's Movement "Nsondonzima" to fight the arrogant plundering of the national resources and monies by the royal family.

6. It must be understood from now on that this display of arrogance in handling national resources forces us to target all tinkhundla activities as an expression by the Peoples United Democratic Movement's and the poor's anger at the the manner in which we are being governed.

7. The regime desires to remain in power and its total refusal to facilitate genuine democratic processes towards transition into a free and democratic Swaziland has resulted in its adopting a military offensive toward the Peoples Movement and the Poor.

8. We undertake to ensure that Mswati comes to his sense and stops the joke called national elections and in this regard to raise the level of struggle by turning every community into a site of struggle against elections towards a free and democratic Swaziland whose primary mandate is to make the lives of the People better through free and democratic elections.

9. We declare to the world that the regime will not be allowed to monopolize violence against the Peoples Movement, its Leadership, Cadres and their families. The Peoples Movement has also noted that our People and Comrades are no longer safe both inside and outside the country's borders.

10. We therefore declare that we are taking a decisive action to protect our People and Comrades . We declare that PUDEMO is embarking on the highest form of struggle and sacrifice of military and combat action against the Mswati regime and all its structures and extensions.

11. We further declare and embrace the existence of the PUDEMO military organ, the Swaziland Peoples Liberation Army. The Peoples Army shall protect the People of Swaziland , our Leadership and our Cadres. The Peoples Army shall embark on a total military onslaught against the enemy.

12. The struggle will be advanced through the political, military and combat action, the action will be a) a military strategy for the attainment of the Peoples power for the poor and the oppressed and b) specific responses to enemy attacks.

13. We take this opportunity to salute the People of Swaziland for having stood by the Peoples Movement under the prevailing trying conditions over the years. PUDEMO, its Leagues and the Peoples Army want to assure the People of Swaziland even at this late hour that we shall execute this task and noble cause with utmost discipline, dedication and respect of life.

14. We shall never abandon the course of the People until the People of Swaziland are free. We declare to the world that we will not rest until there is freedom and democracy in the country which will be a product of a free and democratic elections.

15. We welcome the Peoples resolve to move in unison towards a free and democratic Swaziland and the birth of the Swaziland United Democratic Front (SUDF) hails a historic moment in the struggle of the People of Swaziland and we declare to work with and support this mass of organ of the People of Swaziland.

16. The year 2008 presents an opportunity for the People of Swaziland to take decisive action against the ruling royal regime and end the 40 years of royal slavery.

FORWARD TO REVOLUTIONARY VIOLENCE FOR FREEDOM, FORWARD !!!!!!

LONG LIVE PUDEMO LONG LIVE!!!!!

LONG LIVE SWAYOCO LONG LIVE!!!!!!

LONG LIVE SBHEJANE LONG LIVE!!!!!

LONG LIVE NSONDONZIMA LONG LIVE!!!!!!

LONG LIVE THE SWAZILAND PEOPLES LIBERATION ARMY (SWAPLA) LONG LIVE!!!!!!

THE HISTORICAL AND CURRENT POLITICAL SITUATION OF SWAZILAND

2008-08-10T05:29:00.000-07:00

THE HISTORICAL AND CURRENT POLITICAL SITUATION OF SWAZILAND: WHAT HAS BEEN DONE AND WHAT REMAINS TO BE DONE?

A Paper Presented by the Peoples United Democratic Movement (PUDEMO) President, Mario Masuku at the Zimbabwe - Swaziland Solidarity Conference organised by COSATU held at the St. George Hotel, South Africa on the 10th – 11 August 2008.

Introduction

COSATU General Secretary, Cde Zwelinzima Vavi
The entire leadership of COSATU,
SACP and ANC leadership,
International guests and friends.

Dear Comrades,

On behalf of the fighting people of Swaziland, dear comrades, please receive warm and fraternal greetings from the oppressed masses of our country. Our country stands on the brink of disaster, a catastrophe that has become accepted by some as beyond redemption, for its magnitude runs deeper than the source of the mighty volcanic eruptions.

This revolutionary gathering is a fitting tribute to the great work and contribution of our assassinated stalwart, leader and outstanding cadre of PUDEMO, the late Dr Gabriel T. Mkhumane. From where I am, I can already see where he could be seated were he amongst us today, a seat that is still not occupied, for few amongst us would dare fit the shoes of such a great legend.

Background to the crisis in Swaziland

The more things change, the more they remain the same, words of wisdom have always echoed. Since 1973, so many things have happened to the lives of the people of Swaziland, but all those things have not changed the quality of life of the people for the better.

With these provocative words, PUDEMO appreciates this opportunity to interact with you all dear comrades on a subject matter so close to all our hearts, how far have we come and how far are we to the promised land.

We do not seek to speak narrowly on behalf of our own selves, but to acknowledge the massive contribution we have made together as progressive forces in our country, including all our comrades from Swaziland present here today.

We also appreciate unreservedly the support from our South African comrades, particularly from the alliance, who have done all in their power to raise the issue of Swaziland, much to the annoyance of certain forces who believe that Swaziland should still belong to some 17th century archive or political museum, which must be a source of tourist attraction and academic interest for European anthropologists keen on studying how 17th century Africa looked like, a classical example of backwardness and primitive social relations of the worst order, with no regard for human dignity, women in particular.

Since the first march and blockade against the Swazi regime, we have made great strides, but have also suffered setbacks and no moment than this one provides such a great space for deeper reflection on all these for a renewed momentum forward.

Should it not be of interest to all of us that in our region we have a country that has evaded the powerful media screens, academic freedom train of political scientists and all the world’s watchdogs who should be ashamed of their witting or unwitting silence and failure to uncover more than 35 years of legalised political fraud in the name of Swazi culture and tradition.

But why should a fast evolving world of information highways and super governance systems on a global scale, afford to tolerate the longest state of emergence in the region and most probably on the continent as a whole. These are the questions we should pose to our governments, multilateral institutions of governance in our region and continent, as well as beyond. But even more uncomfortably, we must also pose them to ourselves. Should we be pardoned, for we did not know, or we did not see or we just chose silence, for it is golden sometimes and very convenient than the sacrifice that comes with challenging things.

Swaziland was a British colony until 1968 when an arrangement of convenience was made between the colonialists and the local traditional leadership under the monarchy for a settlement that would comfortably accommodate both forces in some form of partnership, that would not upset the conditions designed by colonialism, but only integrate a few amongst the historically oppressed in the form of the monarchy and its appendages. This is what is usually referred to as independence, which in less than a month from now will be costing the taxpayer millions to “celebrate” together with the birthday of the king, popularly known as the 40/40, as both are marking their 40th anniversary.

In 1973, the king proclaimed a decree that banned political parties and criminalised all forms of political activity, which paved the way for the monopoly over public affairs and politics by the royal family and their friends, a case that holds to date. We have a royal family that regards all of us as mere objects of exploitation, oppression and the satisfaction of its greedy interests, disguised as our national pride and culture.

The luxury of elections is too far fetched for our people. Since 1973 the whole nation has never seen what it is like to participate in free and democratic elections, where you can openly contest, freely persuade people, be openly scrutinised and finally, be held accountable for your promises other than singing royal praises and automatically landing a juicy position.

Even when SADC adopted the protocol of guidelines on the conduct of democratic elections, we raised our eyebrows that a new glimmer of hope is emerging on the horizon, guess what, we were to yet learn the mechanics of reality that, the nearer we get, the further we move away from our final destination.

Having considered all the factors above and seeking to characterise the ruling system in Swaziland, we can safely say, despite resistance from some quarters, the tinkhundla system is and remains a neo-colonial and semi-feudal system, founded on the premise of the exclusion of the overwhelming majority of our people, because of a royal regime that failed to transform society and the economy to serve the interests of the people, but instead integrated itself as an extension and corrupt elite into the well-oiled system of accumulation already in place then.

A brief balance sheet of the socio-economic profile of Swaziland

• Swaziland has the highest HIV/AIDS prevalence in the world, which is now at 38 % from around 40%.

• Swaziland has one of the highest levels of inequality between the rich and poor, with the wealth being so unevenly distributed.

• The economy is no longer growing, but has stagnated and has, in fact been going down every year since around 2000.

• Women abuse is dressed in nice gowns, called Swazi tradition and culture, which undermines the rich heritage in our culture, thus serving the narrow selfish interests of a royal minority.

• About 70% of the population live below the $1 a day and over 300,000 of the around 1 million citizens depend on food aid, as means for survival and livelihood have been crushed by a failing economy.

• The bulk of the economy is now based on the informal sector, casual and contractual labour which are all, very insecure jobs and pay very low, thus creating a further crisis for decent livelihoods.

• It is common knowledge that more than 52% of the total income of the government is derived from the Southern African Customs Union pool, and were this not so, and our reliance on the South African Rand (to which the Swazi currency is pegged), inflation would be in the double digit
figures.

Like all other undemocratic regimes the world over, the economy of Swaziland is centred around the royal family and their friends. Cabinet dance to whatever tune sang by the master; recently the royal family receive funds and aid and distributes as it wishes through the king, queen mother, princes and princesses, to be perceived as benevolent and caring for the poor and suffering, whilst they are the primary cause of the hunger experienced by our people. Balancing these hand-outs with the extravagant expenditures by this family on itself is like chasing a wild goose.

A new constitution or a revised 1973 king’s draconian decree

In his proclamation to the nation, the monarchy on the 12th April, 1973 said,

"Now, therefore I, Sobhuza II, King of Swaziland, hereby declare that, in collaboration with my cabinet ministers and supported by the whole nation, I have assumed supreme power in the kingdom of Swaziland and that all legislative, executive and judicial powers is now vested in myself and shall, for the meantime be exercised in collaboration with my cabinet ministers. I further declare that to ensure the continued maintenance of peace, order and good government, my armed forces have been posted to all strategic places and have taken charge of all government places and all public services. All political parties and similar bodies that cultivate and bring about disturbances and ill-feelings within the nation are hereby dissolved and prohibited."

Many speculators have convinced themselves that this decree has ceased to be the foundation of the ruling political architecture of our country. Our view is that, it still continues to be the force behind the establishment. The new constitution is rather a reinforcement and further entrenchment of this decree and its fundamental provisions.

The royal regime, in response to the pressures of our people’s struggles, tried a hasty constitutional review process in which it was the player, the referee and the match commissioner at the same time and all we were privileged to be, was being spectators in a game we were supposed to be the players.

This is why we rejected the process and its outcomes with the contempt it deserved and still maintain that no short-cuts will take Swaziland to the promised land of milk and honey, but a protracted, honest and all-inclusive process leading to a multiparty democratic constitutional dispensation will deliver us to the land of our dreams.

That is why the constitution reaffirms the fundamental perspectives of banning political parties and all forms of political activity, frustrating the popular aspirations of the whole population and
undermining the supremacy of the rule of law. Such an arrangement will not take us forward.

Undemocratic elections or elections without democracy

In the obtaining circumstances in Swaziland, what are the possibilities of holding free, fair and democratic elections that should constitute the basis of a legitimately acceptable outcome and whose product could be the express will of the people.

We have, time and again, affirmed the centrality of a process that will lead to a democratic outcome for our country, in many documents, such as the “Way Forward to a Constituent Assembly Through a Negotiated Settlement” and the “Road Map to a New and Democratic Swaziland”, which fundamentally outlines the essence of our alternative route out of the mess tinkhundla has plunged our country into.

The regime has, once again, as expected, defied all logic and organised an electoral process that lacks even the most basic semblance of democratic participation. To test its authenticity and claims for a free democratic space, as PUDEMO we held our rally to commemorate our 25th anniversary in Manzini on the 6th July, 2008 and about four of our leaders were arrested and brutalised, whilst other comrades were hospitalised as a result of police brutality. Further, it has been made clear beyond doubt that, political parties remain banned and illegal, which means they cannot contest the coming elections.

The following conditions obtain as regards elections;

• Political parties remain banned.

• The media, judiciary and all public institutions remain tightly in the monopoly of the royal family and its friends and is used to criminalise political parties as divisive, fomenting war and is described as unSwazi.

• Traditional institutions and structures continue to be vehicles of intimidation and abuse, agitated against democratic practices.

• Parliament has no powers, but a mere rubber stamp of the royal family.

• The constitution remains illegitimate and does not have fundamental guarantees for the creation of a conducive environment to conduct democratic elections.

We also note that various international organisations have clearly refused to condemn Mswati, at best preferring to play hide and seek around words like, “not sufficiently democratic for proper elections”.

We further note the hypocrisy of the UN in encouraging women to participate in undemocratic elections much against the progressive movement’s call for a boycott of the elections, which is seen as an attempt to use a very legitimate issue, which is the dehumanisation and under-representation of women in decision-making processes to support an undemocratic, highly patriarchal and oppressive system, which shall turn a few women in parliament into stooges or agents of patriarchy and political tools of oppression.

We condemn this in the same way that we condemn the Commonwealth which designed the current constitution, supported tinkhundla oppression and is now turning against the product of its own failures, the royal elections, because it has been exposed for its hypocrisy and opportunism and is shying away from associating with the mess of its own making, which unfortunately is costing our country, people and the struggle in general.

The same Commonwealth of Nations dressed down the last national elections in 2003, and ran short of calling them a sham, elections that elect a legislature which does not have political power, where power is entrusted to one person, and where political parties are banned.

The EU has romanticised the tinkhundla system, politely calling for some changes and failing to act with the decisiveness required or known of it in other instances. It is not assisting the process in any way. We did call for smart sanctions against the royal family, specifically, but the EU played its games, and preferred to passively raise concerns and not confront the evil system directly.

The regime back home prides itself on the hope that there would be various observers who would declare, at the end, that the elections were free and fair since there was no violence. In this case we ask ourselves if it is indeed worth the trouble of going to watch a basically undemocratic election process – would these observers be (actually) legitimising an illegitimate process.

As mentioned earlier in my presentation, we believe that for the process to be worth its salt, it must embrace broader democratic participation, clear constitutional safeguards and the respect of all the international human rights principles and conventions, including the Declaration On Human Rights, the African Charter on People’s and Human Rights, the Harare Declaration of the Commonwealth of Nations and the SADC Principles on National Elections.

The Swaziland United Democratic Front (SUDF) is the way forward to a new and democratic Swaziland

We are proud to be members of the newly formed Swaziland United Democratic Front, an initiative of the struggling people of Swaziland collectively. It is their united voice against the tinkhundla system, in their quest to establish a truly united and democratic Swaziland.

Indeed the history of the struggle for democracy all over the world provides one key lesson, and that is, it matters not how deep the oppression may be or whether the captain of the oppressive rule is a military junta or a traditional despot, foreign or local – Unity is a fundamental pre-condition for democratic victory!.

It has always been the collective and individual desire of the struggling forces of Swaziland to act in unity against a divisive system that always plays one against the other, sometimes infiltrating forces of progress to drive even deeper wedges between the people and their organisations and between organisations themselves. In our address to the workers in May 2005, PUDEMO clearly and articulately called for the forces of change to unite and speak in one cohesive voice, and we are, therefore, proud that this call has been achieved.

It has been our constant call for the unification of the labour movement in the country under the call for “One Country One Federation, and One Industry One Union”. This year, the workers commemorated their day together as one, and not a fragmented movement. This is a positive step towards a united mass democratic movement.

We are proud to be amongst those who have refused to be bullied by the system into the sham elections or any of its fraudulent constitutional schemes, despite massive pressures, patronage and corrupt material temptations. We have refused to be second class citizens in our own country, but continue to demand our rightful place as full citizens and not objects of royal pity and subjugation. We stand tall, in the midst of a cold world that conveniently pretends not to see what our people are going through daily, with all the indicators of a terrifying political and socio-economic crisis.

Tasks of the Swazi revolution in the current phase

We are called upon to act with renewed urgency, to arrest a deepening feeling of hopelessness, in which both local and international organisations are beginning to feel that nothing can be done to change things in Swaziland. It is a country ‘cursed by the gods’, with a monarchy that is determined to go to any lengths to destroy every element of democracy and decency in our society.

The following tasks are central to what must be done;

• Strengthening of the mass democratic forces to root themselves amongst the masses of our people, which is the core anchor of any claim to being progressive and democratic.

• Deepening of Strategic thinking and deeper ideas backed by solid and scientific facts around all the issues affecting our people in order to develop popular, workable and viable alternatives to the crisis of the system. In our Road Map Document, we were beginning to do just that as PUDEMO.

• Restructuring and broadening of the international solidarity movement, as well as strengthening all solidarity efforts in order to enhance, deepen and unite all attempts to expose tinkhundla, raise the profile of the Swazi people’s struggle and mobilise resources for the struggle of the people. In this case, we must ensure that structures of this nature are led by our international friends as we Swazis are actively involved in the frontline trenches of our struggle, which they are acting in solidarity with.

• We need to deepen political education for all-round ideological and political development of the forces of struggle, in which case, clarity around core perspectives of the struggle and its evolving line of march shall be better enhanced. In this case, we know that our South African comrades are very much advanced here, and their expertise would be useful for us.

• Uniting all the forces under the banner of the SUDF around the issue of multiparty constitutional elections, which should be able to offer a decisive Way Forward, though this does not mean undermining the individual programmes of different organisations within the front, but it is supposed to be a means to build cohesion and unity in action

Finally, we would not have done justice if we do not also add our voice, once again, to the call for speedy democratisation, stability and success in the negotiations process in Zimbabwe, which is a factor the region has felt so heavily these past days. We are encouraged by the democratic breeze seemingly emerging from the negotiation table lately, and is proof that Africa is indeed capable of resolving her own challenges amicably, for we are all and our ‘brother’s keeper’.

Our call for democracy in Swaziland is a call for democracy all over the region and continent. We believe that without a firm and revolutionary movement for the deepening of democracy all over Africa, there will be no democracy or at least, sustainable democracy in Swaziland.

“Let all who love our country join the march to a new and democratic Swaziland! All life has no meaning outside the life-affirming struggle for human dignity”.
Quote - The Road Map to A New and Democratic Swaziland.

I thank you.

When PUDEMO was born

2008-07-11T08:32:00.000-07:00

When PUDEMO was born
Letter to the Editor
Zakhele Mabuza
Information and Publicity-PUDEMO
Swazi Times July 11, 2008

Sir,

The month of July is a significant period for it marks the birth of the Peoples United Democratic Movement (PUDEMO) founded in 1983-a few months after the death of King Sobhuza II.
This was followed by heightened repression in the country orchestrated by the Supreme Council of State, Liqoqo. There was infighting in the palace, xenophobia and collusion with apartheid South Africa that resulted in detention without trial and police brutality. It was against such a background that some patriotic Swazis, including university students and workers, resolved to form this organisation with the broad aim of challenging the oppression and iron rule meted by the Liqoqo on the people of this country.
PUDEMO seeks to unite the people of this country in the struggle for constitutional multiparty democracy. The conditions of poor governance that existed in the inception of PUDEMO still exit in the present context. Swaziland is still run as a private entity (farm).

Committed
Corruption has become part of our culture and the government cannot do anything as they are part of the whole mix. Very little resources are committed on health, agriculture and education. Education has become very expensive, the country has gone hungry and the health system has virtually collapsed.
The provision of social services is very poor and at times is done as a favour to the governed. The elderly grant is so low and meaningless. The challenges faced by the people under the Tinkhundla System of Governance are countless and are by deliberate human design.
The status quo and people threatened by PUDEMO’s call for constitutional multiparty democracy have spread a lot of misinformation about the organisation. They have said that PUDEMO is anti-monarchy and anti-tradition.
All that PUDEMO seeks is a just political system under constitutional multiparty democracy that will guarantee the people of this country democracy, accountability, transparency and social security. We so much want to see Swaziland become a giant of democracy in the global stage.
PUDEMO is not anti tradition, but does not take kindly to the trend that sees culture being used as a political tool to oppress and indoctrinate the people of this country.
PUDEMO has always called for the drafting of a national constitution that will guarantee proper mechanisms for governance and a bill of rights with the involvement of all stakeholders. A very viable, transparent and all inclusive process was put forward by PUDEMO to the government of the day as early as 1992. However, being anti political pluralism the government deliberately refused to adopt the proposed strategy.

Entrenchment
Instead they short circuited this process and went the vusela, CRC and CDC route that ensured the end product would guarantee the entrenchment of the status quo in the form of the present document that is called a national constitution.
We reject this document for it does not truly represent the aspirations for a future Swaziland that is governed democratically and transparently.
The election structure under the existing status quo is deliberately designed to produce a legislature and an executive that does not have powers to independently and honestly discharge their duties.
These officers are then rewarded for agreeing to play politics, be errand boys and girls.
PUDEMO wants an election process that will provide people with real power and be able to formulate policies and implement them. This is the constitutional multiparty democracy we are calling for.
We believe the Tinkhu-ndla System of Governance and its election process is meant to promote individualism as opposed to collectivism (a clear divide and rule strategy). What can an individual without a political constituency do in Parliament and in the executive to promote good governance?
Individuals will be forever grateful to the masters of the political system for allowing them time to continue receiving benefits and privileges which are very scarce for the ordinary Swazi in the streets, slums and rural areas.

Zakhele Mabuza

Information and Publicity-PUDEMO

THE SLEEPING GRASS RE-AWAKENS

2008-07-05T08:51:00.000-07:00

THE SLEEPING GRASS RE-AWAKENS
A SPEECH PRESENTED ON THE OCCASION OF THE COMMEMORATION OF THE ORGANIZATION'S FOUNDING DAY ON THE 5th JULY 2008 IN MANZINI

Introduction.

On behalf of the Central Executive Council, I wish to humbly recognise members of the National Executive Committee, all the Regional and Branch Structures, the Swaziland Youth Congress and the Women's Wing, Isibhejane. I also greet our deployees, the invited guests and my fellow beloved citizens of Swaziland. They are in far flung worlds, out of our sight, but we honor our comrades in exile in Europe, the Americas and in the African continent.

We have all gathered here today to mark a very significant step in our quest for the liberation of our country from the yoke of the royalist minority from decades, and even centuries of repression. The Peoples United Democratic Movement (PUDEMO) is in the centre stage of this process and leads in the democratic revolution of a kind that has boggled the minds of both the oppressed and the ruling classes locally and those in the global community.

Today marks the occasion for us to look back in the past 25 years of our struggle, a time to take stock of who we are, where we come from and where we are heading with the people's mandate to emancipate them from years of economic and class oppression that has relegated our masses to beggers in their own land. This regime has relegated our masses to be less than citizens and be subjects in their land.

2.0. Who is PUDEMO?

Swaziland had been handed independence by the British Empire in September 1968 after she had been a protectorate for years. The handing over was based on the Westminster type of legislature under a multiparty system, but this government, as expected was nonetheless under the 'nose' of the king Sobhuza II, and the ruling party, Imbokodvo National Movement had no opposition after winning all the seats in the 1967 national elections.

When the first term of government expired, the second national elections were again held in 1972 and, this time, there was an upset. The Ngwane National Liberatory Congress win three sits in the East Constituency which meant that there was to be opposition in this parliament for the first time. This did not go down well with the Swazi authorities, and they went to seek advice from one Broederbond legal advisor, a Van Wyk de Vries together with the then Attorney General, a Mr. D. Cohen, who advised the king to dissolve parliament and abrogate the independence constitution.

This was the saddest moment in the lives of the Swazi people as it is on the 12th of April 1973 that the king Sobhuza 'tore' the constitution and usurped all government powers and declared himself an absolute monarch in a speech in the cattle byre that day, saying:

"Now, therefore, I Sobhuza II, king of Swaziland, hereby declare that in collaboration with my cabinet ministers and supported by the whole nation, I have assumed power in the kingdom of Swaziland and that all legislative, executive and judicial power is vested in myself and shall, for the meantime, be exercised in collaboration with a council constituted by my cabinet ministers. I further declare that, to ensure the continued maintance of peace, order and good government, my armed forces in conjunction with the Swaziland Royal Police Force have been posted to all strategic places and have taken charge of all government and public services… All political parties and similar bodies that cultivate and bring about disturbances and ill-feelings within the nation are hereby dissolved and prohibited….no meetings of a political nature and no processions or demonstrations shall be held or take place in any public place…"

But this setup was not going to go unchallenged as people were starting to feel the effects of the repression, corruption, nepotism and misdirection in the country's governance. On top of this, our brothers and sisters who were fleeing racism and color based oppressive regimes in the neighboring states were further humiliated, and some some killed, by the collaboration of the royalist security forces with those of (mainly) the apartheid regime in South Africa. Those from Mocambique were 'gladly' handed over to the Salazar led Portuguese colonial regime and suffered similar fate as that of the South Africans.

The Swazi political pot was also at boiling point when the students and teachers staged county wide protest seeking for more participation in the decision making by the Prince Maphevu and Mabandla led governments. The university students, in particular at the Kwaluseni Campus also sprang up to have their voices heard, and as a result, more tertiary institutions joined in on this band wagon of civil rights.

The death of King Sobhuza II in 1982, in a way, propelled the wishes of the people as immediately after his demise there came blood thirsty wounds within the royal family and hangers-on who exchanged daggers for power. At this point there was the compromise of the rule of law and independence of justice. The executive was controlled by the traditional royalists and the legislature was never an independent organ as it was never representative of the masses. The crisis gave rise to the people's struggles for a voice to their freedom.

Twenty-five years ago this day, a team of daunting and selfless workers, students, intellectuals and politicians came together at the banks of the Mbuluzi River, North-East of Mbabane below the sacred Mantjolo pool to chart the way forward to a better life for all. At this meeting were people of differing ideologies, religious persuation, culture and social class but all with a common objective for the country. It was agreed that this vehicle be called the Peoples United Democratic Movement, *PUDEMO*.

At this meeting, the founding Heroes and Heroenes charted the Peoples Manifesto, a document that today identifies the organization from all others s a people centred and rooted mouth piece of the oppressed masses, and in particular the poorest of the poor. The vision of the Movement is centered around the Peoples Mission Statement, preambing the People's Manifesto, and states that:
.
"We are a Political Movement committed to the creation, protection and promotion of a Constitutional Multiparty Democracy, a transparent and accountable government, an environment conducive to economic growth, and economic empowerment and to the development of a culturally vibrant and tolerant society based on maximum participation and the respect of the will of the people".

The Peoples Manifesto.

From the onset, *PUDEMO* was never a reformist, but a massed based revolutionery and multiclass in its character. It is our belief that for the liberation of our country to be achieved, we have to eradicate the "tinkhundla" * system of government with all its legacies, and replace it with a people driven multiparty government with the respect of the will of the majority, though not suppressing the voice of the minority. We were, and are still tasked with the challenge of united the oppressed masses of the Swazi society towards one goal, that of transforming our country into a democratic multiparty government.

Immediately following the birth of the organisation, material highlighting the ills and crisis of the regime were seen in both rural and urban areas and this culminated in the protests at institutions of higher learning and strikes at work areas. Comrades were hunted down and some went into hiding or exile, and others lost their employment and places at the institutions of higher learning and elementary schools. The conscientisation program was intensified and the name *PUDEMO* was all over the country.

When the young king, Mswati III was enthroned in 1986, he realised that the country was burning on all corners as a result of dissatisfaction from the governed. He had promised to deal with all the people's demands, but had dismally failed to do so and his security forces intensified their clamp down on *PUDEMO* leaders and members. This move climaxed in 1989 when, later, 10 members of the organisation were rounded up and charged with high reason. All accused were acquitted of the main charge, and two were found guilty of 'organising' illegal meetings and received suspended sentences.

The people's organisation continued with consultation and meetings inside and outside the country until, in 1992, decided to unbann itself and defy all the *tinkhundla* government laws.It was during the 1992 General Congress at Ipelegkeng, Soweto where the organisation crafted the document called *The Way Forward To A Constituent Assembly Through a Negotiated Settlement,*calling for a national constitution.

It is also at this Congress that *PUDEMO* called for Free Education, Social Grants for the Elderly, Land Back to The People and others. At this Congress we also framed the campaign of One Country One Federation, and One Industry One Union.

From the early 1990s the state unleashed its royalist forces against the activists of the organisation, and from 1992 after the formation of our youth league, SWAYOCO more of our members were unsettled and went to exile. At the same time the revolution was intensified on all sectors of society, and the regime began to impliment some reforms like the Constitution Review Commission which were totally rejected by the organisation and other civic society members. The regime has always said free or subsidised education at lower grades was not possible, but there a change direction now.

We are a revolutionary organisation by character but we note that what we have been demanding in the last twenty-five years, the regime has agreed are deliverable and in some cases, it has used our ideology. That there was consideration on the constitution making process itself cannot be denied that it was due to our campaigns, though the process was flawed. *PUDEMO*called for the social grants for the elderly and lame, and this is now in place though insignificant. Food shortage and poverty have been part of our campaigns, and the government is still fighting a losing battle here.

We pride ourselves for the positive prospect of having the labor movement working closer to themselves, and we believe that our role has been pivotal there. Thee is no doubt that *PUDEMO* and its youth SWAYOCO possess a solid and highly politicised cadre, and this has created some of the most matured activists in the country. In these twenty-five years of struggle, *PUDEMO*can pride herself with high calibre documents and presentations on policy and positions.

We had the vision of a mass broad based democratic movement and lessons were learnt from the collapse of the Swaziland Democratic Alliance. As early as 2005, discussions on the formation of a loose front with a common object was debated within *PUDEMO* structures, and today we all must be proud that we now have the Swaziland United Democratic Front. Not only because it has been launched, but even more so that all members have agreed on the common founding principles of multi-party democracy in Swaziland; declaring the national elections as undemocratic and demanding for a more accountable and transperant economic policy.

In all these years, we have had our comrades imprisoned for their political beliefs and activity, some have skipped into exile in the Americas, the United Kingdom, Europe, Australia and the African continent. Some of our members' families are suffering from constant intimidation and threats by the regime. The length of the struggle cannot be determined but this has taken the toil from some of our dedicated comrades, and the struggle goes.

Any struggle, for its success and sustanance, needs various and specific resources from time to time, and without the human, financial and material resources the struggle gets crippled in some way. All the mentioned resource have to be mobilised without priority of one above the others – they are all a priority – and we need them.

The biggest blow that the organisation has experienced in this period is the loss of our members from various reasons, from that of Comrades Domini Lefty Mngometulu our founder General Secretary to that of Comrade Gabriel Mkhumane our founder member and recent Deputy President who was assassinated in March 2008. Besides these stalwarts, numerous high calibre cadres and leaders have gone to the land beyond, robbing us of their capabilities and skills in the struggle.

For the past forty years since attaining its 'independence', Swaziland is facing a deep-seated structural crisis, an all round crisis that afflicts every sphere of our society. The demon of royal supremacy and the hegemony of a corrupted and bankrupt morality permeates every part of our life. In Swaziland corruption and moral decay seem 'official' as the disease runs from the highest seat to the lowest, hence to eradicate it would require revolutionary approach.
In all these years it is embarrassing that the government still survives through loans from the Southern African Customs Union to, even, pay monthly wages to the civil servants. The country is in dire straits in as far as economic growth is concerned, and is experiencing less and less direct investment other than the Asian partners surviving on the AGOA facilities to the impoverishment of the already poor Swazi people. International observers have blamed this state of affairs to the extravagent monarchy who holds the keys of the national coffers, competes in the economic game and manipulates the national budget.

The regime not only manipulates the national coffers, but also dictates how much and how the resources are to be spent, and recently we have noted that there is widespread recruitment drive into the security forces and more and more is spent on the armament in the defence force. This is in the backdrop of poverty and want, poor health and welfare facilities for the poor masses, the HIV/AIDS pandemic, and high educational costs coupled with soaring unemployment.

The above crisis cannot be addressed without identifying their root political causes. As long as the monarchy plays the role of a 'referee and player' in the political field, the crisis in our country will go deeper and turn more violent, and the pillar to this state of affairs is the current royalist constitution which gives the king absolute powers as an executive.

The constitution was pushed through the back door and never was it approved by the masses, but by royal command. *PUDEMO* is still prepared to engage in a constructive national dialogue as mentioned before. A constitution worth its salt is one that transfers power to the majority from a minority, and our document *The Way Forward*, mentioned before clearly states as to what process has to be agreed towards a constituent assembly.

We are convinced that, currently, the conditions in the country do not facilitate proper national dialogue, in fact, they militate against negotiations, turning every claim to negotiations under the present climate into a joke or mockery, if not an outright insult to the dignity of the people. Our honest commitment to negotiations does not mean that it should be at any cost to the interests of the our people and the cause for their liberation. We are as much committed to negotiations as we are to finding a lasting solution to the problems of our country, therefore, we shall not allow ourselves to be drowned in the cauldron of political confusion and desperate measures in order to divert us from our core mission – to liberate our people and speedy turn the country into a democratic society.

We have maintained that the constitution entrenches royal supremacy, particularly the consolidation of the monarchy's hold onto power. It negates the essence of an advance towards democracy, which therefore, requires all our condemnation and rejection. But beyond rejections, we need to build and support the momentum towards an alternative process underpinned by inclusivity and legitimacy. We do believe that it is not too late for a genuine alternative process towards a lasting solution to the constitutional crisis we face. We want to maintain that we shall not and have been part of the regime's cosmetic dialogue, because we believe that we have a sacred duty to our people, which is to preserve the dignity of our struggle and restore the confidence of the people in the movement and the cause for democracy itself.

We shall not betray them, whatever the odds.

The issue at hand is a multiparty democracy and the creation of sufficient political space for all our people to participate with all the rights and responsibilities that all civilised beings enjoy everywhere in the world. But multiparty on its own will not resolve the decades long crisis, which means that it should only serve as a space for the intensification of a national effort against all the ills afflicting our society, poverty in particular. The regime is preparing for elections to be held under the directives of the royal constitution and under the current conditions that militate against the free, fair and full participation of all the people and we expect that the international community will be forthright in its condemnation of this abominable act.

We call upon the SADC, African Union and NEPAD and the Commonwealth to stand by their provisions and conventions which they have entered into with the Swaziland government to determine if the forthcoming elections are democratic, even before they are determined as free and fair. We must not only boycott these elections, but do all in our might to make their process
unworkable.

The situation in our country, comrades, will not change unless members within *PUDEMO* and the entire masses of our country rededicate themselves to their liberation from the royal regime. I remind all our cadres that the liberation of the people can only be the act of the people themselves, and nobody can do this for us.

In any struggle it is important to recognize the critical moment, the time when decisive action can propel the struggle into a new phase. We have used all the pillars of our struggle, but it calls on us to determine the strategy and tactic on how and when specific pillars can be used and at what time.

In conclusion, this is the year for our own liberation. We have nothing to lose except our own lives for the liberation, and I call on all our people play their role in the people's program of action.

In the 6th National Congress we boldly proclaimed our profound commitment to the implimentation of the Road Map To A New And Democratic Swaziland and core to the Plan are the following:

- Building *PUDEMO's* political capacity to organise, mobilize and lead the masses.

- Building and sustaining the institutions of democratic governance and social transformation to create a new culture of mass participation in public life and respect for human dignity at all levels of society.

- Building an economy that serves the needs of the people through growth and redistribution to improve the quality of life of our people and promote the ideals of human dignity.

- Democratising traditional leadership and the institution of the monarchy to be compatible with the democratic aspirations of our people and the foundation of the new society we are striving to build.

- Actively participate in building an international solidarity movement for democracy and sovereign development in Swaziland and the whole of Africa and for justice in global governance.

We are called to create an advanced political infrastructure or organisational machinery that is capable of reaching out to all our people and providing credible leadership at all time. This is also a time for us to build cadres who have the political capacity, ideological clarity and dynamic mobility to wage and sustain the struggle, and here, Political Education and development is paramount. We need to build a strong and focused underground structure comprised of well disciplined cadres. Our international mission has to have a well crafted campaign for our cause. The struggle has had knocks, and our finance resources have to be predictable to sustain the struggle. And, lastly, having the above in place, we need technical details of transformation and governance and have in place our policies ready.

Over and above the above tasks, specific Campaigns on Anti Elections, Anti 40/40, Free Education, Land Back To The People, Free Health And Social Services are integral part of our program to the eventual breakthrough.

Long live* PUDEMO*, long live,

I thank you.

PUDEMO presentation to the European Union Ambassadors

2008-06-04T12:08:00.000-07:00

A PAPER PRESENTED BY THE CENTRAL EXECUTIVE COUNCIL TO THE EMBASSADORS OF THE EUROPEANUNION IN SOUTHERN AFRICAAT MBABANE, 4TH JUNE 2008.

THE PEOPLE SHALL GOVERN.

___
SWAZILAND
SYSTEMATIC DEGENERATION FROM
CRISIS TO SOCIAL CONFLICT

A presentation to The European Union Embassadors
In Mbabane on the 4th June 2008.

Introduction.

The Peoples United Democratic Movement (PUDEMO) views this moment of consultation with the European Union Embassadors in this region as a great opportunity in which experiences and views will be shared between us on the socio economic and political landscape of our country, Swaziland . It is not only a great opportunity for us, but it is the only means available for us to express ourselves to the current government in Swaziland – an opportunity and right not availed us.

We realise, however, that we live in an abnormal society where we, in such a small country, as stake holders, are dismally far apart and are failing to solve our socio political and economic challenges in a conference situation as this ourselves. This, then, must be an indication to you as to what kind of environment we, the partners of the people of Europe and the member states live in.

The consultations have come at a time when we needed them most, when the country is undergoing various national expriences and functions which we will deal with at later stage of this presentation. It comes at a time when Swaziland, under the SADC is faced with a challenge to take more responsibilities that will reflect more of its internal operative character and be permeated in her discharge of the duties given her.

PUDEMO wish to give honor to the European Union, and in particular, the Head of Delegation, Mr. Peter Beck Christiansen for the unequivocal statement delivered on the occasion of the commemoration of European Union Day at the Mountain Inn, Mbabane on Monday the 2nd June 2008. Indeed, lack of good governance and constructive dialogue is certain brew for enxiety, mistrust and distabilization and unnecessary conflict within citizens and nations of this world.

Swaziland at this Conjuncture.

PUDEMO firmly associates and believe in the Declaration on Fundamental Human Rights as an international guide and convention for human equity and satisfaction. We also believe in the pledge by member states, including Swaziland, towards the Millenium Development Goals (MDGs), whose broader objective is to protect the peoples' fundamental human rights and to promote social and economic progress and better living standards within the larger freedoms of human kind

This pledge is a promisory note to each citizen of our countries, signed by those in authority, and we will not accept any 'bad cheques' as part of delivery or none of it under the promise. None of the MDGs is lesser important than the other, but the eradication of poverty and hunger, achievement of universal primary education, combatting HIV/AIDS, Malaria and other diseases and the reduction of child mortality determines the level of commitment, will and delivery by any member state on these goals.

The Swaziland government is failing to meet these demands as stated in their report in 2006. But the major reason for this failure is the lack of setting and planning on national priorities.

The central challenge, however, in the hardship is the role that is played or not played by the monarchy institution. PUDEMO identifies the root of the crisis in the main 'national question' – what and where is the problem in Swaziland? Any attempt towards resolving the crisis without adressing the national question would merely be attempting cosmetic reformism, dealing with the symptoms (so to speak) and not the root causes. In Swaziland we must identify as to who wields the power in decision making, despensing expenditure and on what – here the monarch is in total control and neither the legislative, cabinet nor the masses of our people.

The welfare of the people rests on the honesty or otherwise of those in authority in any country. National assets, wealth and executive authority is vested in those in authority which gives them the ability to divert or use same for their personal benefit.

That, in Swaziland, the Tibiyo TakaNgwane is controlled in the royallty and that ordinary Swazis are made to compete with the monarchy in the economic market rubs salt into the wound and places all aspiring small entrepreneurs and citizens in an unfair economic play field. The level of corruption has reached alarming proportions with the Minister of Finance announcing that there are millionaire cabinet ministers; that the country loses over E40million a month to corruption and cases involving corruption remaining unprocessed. The wanton expenditure by those in authority; the recruitment and expansion of the security forces and uncontrolled royal trips continue to drain the national coffers and push the majority poor Swazi citizen deeper into poverty and certain death, and on the other side fatten the minority even more.

All this happens at the backdrop of a shrinking economy; abject poverty, poor health policy, drought, high education and soaring food costs.

"The Swazi citizens are further given a flogging by higher service charges and more expensive public and private goods given that prices are not set by open market economy. A people centered economy demands that this 'evil hand' be removed from the market in order to allow both the costs of doing business and prices to converge at the optima".

Economic Justice Network Swaziland
World Social Forum, Nairobi, Kenya 20 – 25th January 2007.

The crisis facing the country are also remnants of a national constitution whose establishing process, contents and implications we have made known in the past consultations with yourselves. PUDEMO maintains her position that the constitutional making process was royally managed, and eventually produced a royal desired product, which is a document that 'constitutionally embraced' the 1973 King's Proclamation, and thus 'constitutionally' gave the monarch all executive powers that he exercises absolutely or through bodies appointed by him.

That the constitution is now supreme law in Swaziland does not render it a people driven and owned document, and we will do all means possible to make our justifiable reasons heard by those in power. In spite of these shortcomings, we are prepared to engage in constructive dialogue towards a true democratically established national constitution.

In 2007, the High Court ordered that the Prime Minister set in place a Commission of Inquiry into the tortures and illtreatment of our members in prisons in the country. These are PUDEMO members who were suspects in the bombing incidents way back in 2005. Firstly, it took the Prime Minister some six months to announce the commission, and by that time, of course, any physical evidence of torture would have naturally healed. Secondly, the Commissioners finished their investigations late in 2007 and delivered their findings to the Prime Minister but over six months later the report is gathering dust in his office.

We call on the Prime Minister to release this report immediately without without any further delay.

Court Cases.

PUDEMO, in association with other members of the civic movement, challenged the authenticity of the constitutional process, seeking for the courts to rule for a democratic process. It is history now that the Supreme Court of Apeal ruled against our prayer for various reasons. This does not mean, we wish to mention, that all is lost, the major battles are 'faught on the battle field' and not at conference rooms.

There is also a court case pending before the High Court on the interpretation of the constitution as regards the position on political parties. The Supreme Court of Apeal ruled that the High Court must hear this case before the end of June 2008 to allow for any apeals before the forth coming national elections are held.

We would have opted for an immediate hearing of this matter, but the regime has opted to proceed with the registration of voters in disregard of the possibility of the ruling.

National Elections.

The process towards national elections has already begun, as said ealier, under abnormal environment in that:-

The process is based and underpinned by a constitution denying people their right to associate as espoused by the Declaration on Fundamental Human Rights, the Harare Declaration, the African Charter on Human and Peoples's Rights and the SADC Principles and Procedures on national elections. This is endorsed by a constitution that (firstly) acknowledges a Bill of Rights and (then), in Section 79, prohibits the same rights.

The Pre-elections era is clouded in acute doubts and ill-preparedness as the expected voters still have basic questions on what they are voting for. There is supposed to have been an independent civic education to inform the public on what elections are for, what choices they have and what rights they have before putting their crosses. The appointment of the Elections and Border Commission has caused enxiety due to their legal standing, and their supposed independence.

The process is managed from the throne as it is the king who issues orders through the traditional and other structures, and culturally, people do not question him.

The media in the country is partisan and only stae aligned information is permitted time on the state electric media, in particular.

This Commission was allowed to execute its duties before an Act of Parliament was tabled, debated and approved. The Minister of Justice, when queried on this, said that bringing the Act to parliament was a mere formality, and this is why we have always said that a legislative under the tinkhundla government is only a 'rubber-stamping' institution without its own independence and enjoys no power.

The regime has already invited the international community to bring in observers during the election process, and we believe that agreeing to this invitation means legitimizing an undemocratic and illigetimate process. We fully agree with what the Commonwealth Expert Team said of the 2003 similar elections, that:

"We do not regard the credibility of these National Elections as an issue: no elections can be credible when they are for a parliament which does not have power and when political parties are banned…"

The Team also observed that:

"The ban on political parties has damaged Swaziland. It denies the right to freedom of association and prevents the formulation of national manifestoes, programmes and platforms on which candidates – and a potential government – can be judged by the voters. It also removes the opportunity for the democracy and transparency in candate selection which party process can bring".

We believe, therefore, that before elections are examined as free or fair by any observer, one has to determine if they are, in the first place, democratic as stated above by the Commonwealth Secretariat Expert Team. We humbly urge the European Union Embassadors to make a decisive position of whether you wish to be part of an undemocratic process for the sake of legitimizing it.

Double Celebrations in Swaziland.

In September 2008, the king will be celebrating his 40th birthday, in conjunction with the country's 40th anniversary of 'independence'. PUDEMO has no problem with the king having his private birthday party, but we have reservations when these partys are politicised and put on the tax payers' account to the region of E100milion. These celebrations are held in a country experiencing the worst in poverty, need for primary health care and many other forms of want. Some of the members of the European Union are wtnesses to this as they are donors for a number of NGO's here.

We are aware that some of the world's leaders have been invited and will attend the celebrations with the king and his family members. Our plea to you and other would-be guests is that please note that while dining in those palaces and hotels, hundreds of Swazi people would have had no simple meal for days. Please also note that thousands of Swazi people are dying in unkept drugless health centres, and that many more children are rendered homeless orphans and are destitute.

PUDEMO believes that such occassions are extravagent, costly and unwarranted and, instead, these funds be diverted towards the poorest and disadvantaged our Swazi brothers and sisters.

Early last year, a world wide known commentator publication on the global politics, afrolNews, wrote about Swaziland as follows:

"The relatively small economic growth during the last six years has increasingly gone towards government spending. While in other countries this could have meant improved social services and wealth for the ordinary population, Swaziland is increasingly paralyzed by poor governance, corruption and the private spending of the authoritarian King Mswati 111 and his large royal family. The growing social crisis in the country and the lessening interest of donors to support King Mswati's regime has also created escalating needs for social services beyond the scale of national budgets".
afrolNews
April 2007

Our Positions on these Issues.

We have brought to the international community's attention these experiences of the people of Swaziland and we are aware and expect that the state will also present their own version of events. It is our belief that time is not on our side, the people get more frustrated by the day, and their patience will one day run out. After the court rulings on the human rights, we are, unfortunately pushed towards the wall with very limited alternatives in the quench for our freedom.

We are, never-the-less, still committed to a constructive national dialogue for the solutions of our problems.

PUDEMO unconditionally believes and respects the Declaration on Fundamental Human Rights and all the other continental and regional covenants aimed at giving people their liberties without repression. What is being done in Swaziland falls far too short of these conventions, though.

We are not about to forsake our principles and allow ourselves to legitimize an illegitimate regime and succumb to undemocratic practices of dictatorship. In this regard, the organization is in the process of mobilizing for protests and education on what democratic, free and fair national elections are in all the registration centres. This, we believe, is our right to express our opinion.

We are also embarking on the campaign against the double celebrations to take place later this year.

Our Broader Programme.

Although we have short term programmes of action towards our goal, we wish to state that the Road Map To A New and Democratic Swaziland charts the way forward on how we will achieve the major objective.

This document highlights the two main important parts as the Strategic Iliberation Plan and the other, the Democratic Governance and Social Transformation Plan. We also have, under this, the Implimentation Plan to guide us on how, when and who is key on the implimentation.

Expectations From The International Community.

We realize and respect the contribution that the European Union has done to the people of Africa, and Swaziland in particular in the economic development sector and other areas. We, however, believe that your contribution towards the socio political empowerment of the members of the civic society would go a long way towards capacitating the proponents of democracy, peace and dailogue in the country.

We also request the European Union to exercise its mutual commitments towards the ACP-EU Partnership Agreement signed in Cotonou, in particular Article 9. Without placing into effect the bounds to the objectives of an agreement, partners will see the other 'not doing good'.

Conclusion.

We are aware of the fact that only the people of Swaziland can liberate themselves, with of course the solidarity from same minded friends in the civilised community. PUDEMO is pleased that after a long time, the Swaziland United Democratic Front has taken up and we are all working towards achieving our common goal of a constitutional multiparty government in Swaziland, and believe that this is key to the achievement of a better life, peace economic growth and social stability for our people.

We, finally, wish to congratulate the people and member countries of the European Union for the commemoration of the European Day this past Monday. We agree that no country can or will remain unchanged, countries consist of dynamic people determined to ever move forward and it is our collective responsibility to manage these transitions towards a better world. Indeed, evil will prevail and triump only when good people and organizations do nothing.

We thank you.

[PUDEMO presentation made by President Mario Masuku and General Secretary Sphasha Dlamini.]

PUDEMO Statement on the Assassination of Dr. G Mkhumane

2008-04-09T12:14:00.000-07:00

THE STATEMENT
FROM THE PEOPLES UNITED DEMOCRATIC MOVEMENT
ON THE ASSASSINATION OF OUR DEPUTY PRESIDENT, COMRADE DR. GABRIEL THANDOKUHLE MKHUMANE.
09th APRIL 2008

The peoples President, comrade Mario T. Masuku and the entire National Executive Committee mourn the demise of the Movement's Deputy President, Comrade Dr. Gabriel Thandokuhle Mkhumane, who was assassinated a week ago in Nelspruit, the Republic of South Africa.

We extend our heartfelt condolences to the late comrade's wife, Zoraida, his two sons Lizwi and Lizo, to his mother, Gogo Shongwe, members of both families, members of staff at the Themba Hospital, PUDEMO and all her structures and all members of the mass democratic movement in Swaziland and beyond.

We have all lost a son, a father, husband, brother, a friend and companion, a humble and loving, hard working man that will be irreplaceable. PUDEMO has lost a father figure, a leader and a revolutionary of unequalled proportions. The Comrade was a down-to-earth people's man who had, as his second love, the liberation of the oppressed masses of our country, Swaziland. We have lost a committed visionary and strategic leader who feared nobody but the people he so honestly, loyally and constantly served all the time.

The comrade would still be alive had the royalist regime in Swaziland respected the political rights and determination of the country's citizens, and he would not have skipped the country into exile. PUDEMO condemns the callous, ruthless and self-centered cold blooded assassin who took away the life of a people's chosen leader in such a manner. We implore that the local Police Services to leave no stone unturned and track and apprehend this perpetrator and let the law take its course.

We are not deaf and blind to the visits in recent years to the deceased's home by the Swaziland secret police personnel, who confronted Gogo Shongwe, enquiring and intimidating her about the Comrade and eventually vowed that he would come back home only as a dead man. This wish by the state has now been fulfilled, and should members of the organization, the poor and helpless people of Swaziland sit down and lick the wounds?

In spite of this temporary setback, PUDEMO remains focused on the national democratic revolution and the liberation of the masses of our country from the quagmire and crisis into which the royalist tinkhundla regime has immersed our country. We now even owe to our fallen leader to take the torch with all our pillars of the struggle, for the tree of liberation has been watered by his blood.

PUDEMO humbly extends her comradely appreciation to those countries that have accepted and accommodated our members in exile, and we acknowledge the roles played by our allies particularly in the neighboring states. Their international solidarity is of necessity at this particular phase of our struggle as we intensify the call for a democratic Swaziland, and more of our members may seek political shelter in these countries in the not so distant future.

There will be a memorial service on Friday, the 11th April at 1300hrs at the Agricultural Hall, Nelspruit followed by a night vigil at the Rugby Stadium from 2100hrs until the early morning, the funeral commences from the stadium at 0700hrs and then we proceed to the Rocksdrift Cemetery in Nelspruit.

Building a Popular Movement for sustained liberation struggle.

Issued By the National Executive committee of [PUDEMO Swaziland]
For more information contact
Mario Masuku- PUDEMO-President
Cell: +268 608 3338 or

Sonkhe Dlamini [PUDEMO International Secretary Based in RSA]
Cell: 27-82 923 1401

PUDEMO STATEMENT Dysfunctional leadership at the University of Swaziland: a symptom of a failing state

2008-01-28T12:16:00.000-08:00

PUDEMO STATEMENT
Dysfunctional leadership at the University of Swaziland: a symptom of a failing state

Over the past weeks there have been numerous reports about the conflict between students and the administration at the University of Swaziland (UNISWA). This conflict stems from the so-called semisterisation or academic restructuring designed from the ivory tower and imposed on students. When students expressed concerns about these changes, the university authority responded, as it always has done, with threats, intimidation and violence. Regrettably, these hostile tactics have arrested development at the university.

In December 2006, the administration closed down the university after a student protest against the contentious academic structure. When the university reopened on January 2007, the administration failed to provide leadership and resolve the impasse. Instead, it insisted on implementing the restructuring program through threats, intimidation and violent tactics. Reminiscent of the township siege during the apartheid reign of terror in South Africa, the administration called in armed paramilitary police units to occupy university grounds. Members of the academic staff were threatened with dismissal from their jobs when they protested against the presence of armed paramilitary units.

Such behaviour by a university administration is abhorrent. Resorting to the barrel of a gun and threats rather than appealing to intellectual reasoning reflects a serious failure of leadership. It clearly demonstrates the dysfunction in this bureaucracy and its extreme irresponsibility. The way in which the administration has handled this situation has done serious harm to the reputation of the university as an institution responsible for producing the country's intellectual resources. If the people at the helm of the institution are incapable of providing role models, how does the university hope to achieve its mission?

It is obvious that there is widespread dissatisfaction with the restructuring process and that these changes have not been thought through by the university administration. The current conflict suggests that the administration does not have an effective plan to manage the restructuring process, but instead relies heavily on bullying tactics. There are strong indications that the administration did not endeavour to effectively communicate and negotiate the reasons for the structuring process and its implementation with students. For example, did the administration consider other means of achieving its goals? A staged implementation programme allowing a smooth transition from the current to the new structure would have avoided the conflict. Under this approach, the restructuring process could have been introduced to first year academic programmes allowing students in current programmes to continue uninterrupted. A well-thought through restructuring process would have an inbuilt sunset clause. In this case it would mean that schools across the university will continue to offer the old programme to current students and the new programme to a fresh intake. The old programme would then be phased out after the last cohort of current students had graduated.

We wonder if the administration has a plan to evaluate the impact of the changes on teaching, learning and academic outcomes. If the changes are implanted along the dual academic structuring process, it would require the development of a compatible evaluation programme with clearly established performance indicators. We would suggest a two-staged evaluation process - internal evaluation and external evaluation. The internal evaluation will assess the effectiveness of the changes on different areas of scholarship and will require a high level of leadership capable of responding to periodic evaluation outcomes. Evaluation should be conducted at the end of each semester, focusing mainly on student and academic staff assessment of teaching and learning under the new programme. One would assume that under the new programme, the university and different schools will develop new graduate attributes. The external evaluation should therefore, as a principle, measure the benefits of the programme to society after its first "birthday". It should cover graduate and industry evaluation. For example, to what extent has the new academic programme improved employment opportunities for graduates and how has it contributed to better outcomes in various industries and public service? That is, are graduates of this programme more or less equipped to offer the human resources the country needs for future development?

As an organisation committed to good governance, democracy, service delivery and effective leadership, we call upon the university authority to reconsider its approach to the administration of this very important institution. PUDEMO supports calls from student and academic staff bodies for the withdrawal of armed paramilitary units from university grounds. Whilst we welcome the suspension of the implementation of the restructuring process pending the court outcome, we remain concerned about the failure of the university administration and the ministry of education to deal with the situation. This is a shambled job characteristic of bad management. Bad managers are incapable of managing conflicts without resorting to heavy-handed tactics. A functioning leadership would think carefully about the implications of restructuring processes and it would endeavour to discuss and negotiate aspects of these processes with all stakeholders. Conflicts are inevitable in processes of change and they can be constructive or destructive depending on the way in which they are managed.

While the university's behaviour is indubitably appalling, it is unfortunately little more than the latest visible lesion in the diseased body of Swaziland's administration. The university's heavy-handed approach reveals the poverty of its leadership and it is utterly consistent with the way business is usually conducted at the highest levels of authority in Swaziland. Unfortunately, the royal family has entrenched a culture of dictatorship in which peaceful debate is responded to with state violence against citizens. The national administration has a well-established record of incompetence and aggression which has brought Swaziland into the realms of failing statehood. Year by year, we see severe crises in the core social institutions of the country. The administration of law and order, of health care and of education is never far from collapse in Swaziland and lurches from crisis to crisis. The ongoing marginal functioning of these institutions and the recurrent crises are due to poor leadership and the dictatorial way of doing business in Swaziland.

The university has, regrettably, become the latest visible symptom of this political malaise, but it has always aped and aided the monarchy's dictatorial practices. From the days of the notorious Liqoqo regime in the early 1980s to the current period, the university has had no visionary leadership independent of the ruling royal family's political influence. Over the years, the administration has established a strong McCarthyist culture determined to purge the state's "enemies" from the university. From the early 1980s, generations of university students have opposed the authoritarian royal family rule and called for the introduction of a democratic system of governance. Consequently, the administration and the government see students as a hostile constituency. In many ways, this has contributed to the failure of leadership at the university to respond effectively to genuine concerns of students.

In our view, the way in which the university is managed has rendered the institution dysfunctional. This is an old fashioned style of higher education management and has generated disharmony between the student body and the administration. In the 21st century, universities around the world have pensioned off the authoritarian ivory tower management style and crafted a new identity as student-centred institutions. Serving the interests of the student population is a primary goal of 21st century universities. Swaziland University is profoundly outdated and this compromises the international standing of its educational programmes and devalues the qualifications of its students. If students are to be fit to take their place as intellectuals and society leaders, the university will have to teach them something beyond bully tactics and intimidation. Why should students bother to attend a university which has nothing to offer beyond bullying – this kind of knowledge will not help them to influence society in a positive way although it might of course prepare them well for a high-ranking government post under the current regime. Students might well ask themselves whether an institution which acts as a dictatorship and uses paramilitary forces to silence peaceful debate is really a university at all. It is a failing institution in a failing state and has little to offer students who wish to make a difference in Swaziland and beyond. Thus, there is an urgent need for far-sweeping changes in this deeply dysfunctional culture at the University of Swaziland and other Swazi institutions.

Signed:
Dr. Jabulane Matsebula
PUDEMO Representative
Australia, Asia and the South Pacific Region

PUDEMO STATEMENT Protecting the Integrity of the African Unity (AU): Swaziland Forced to Withdraw Candidate from the AU Election

2008-01-07T12:20:00.000-08:00

Protecting the Integrity of the African Unity (AU): Swaziland Forced to Withdraw Candidate from the AU Election
International Office
Date: January 7, 2008

Behind the scenes protest against the nomination of the former Prime Minister of Swaziland for the AU leadership election has yielded results. The Government of Swaziland has now withdrawn Dlamini's nomination for the Chairperson of the AU election due in January, 2007.

Unfortunately, the Swazi government has not been honest about its decision to withdraw Dlamini's nomination. It has promoted the story that it took this decision in support of a unified Southern African Development Community (SADC) campaign to present one candidate from the region. However, this explanation is not consistent with the Swazi government's behaviour. For example, why did it wait until the last minute before withdrawing its nomination of Dlamini? Furthermore, if the government believed that Dlamini was a strong candidate for the position, it should have been promoting him as the consensus candidate for Southern Africa and lobbying for regional support. Instead, the government pulled him out of the election race altogether.

The government's story is thus at odds with its behaviour and highly dubious. However, to most observers, the reason for its action is obvious. The Swazi government withdrew its nomination of Dlamini because it was unable to attract support for his campaign. The SADC and AU are organisations committed to democratic governance. If they had supported Dlamini's candidacy, the integrity and credibility of these organisations would have been severely undermined because of his terrible record in office and the refusal by Swaziland's dictatorship to adhere to SADC and AU principles of democracy.

Since his appointment as Swazi Prime Minister in 1996, Dlamini presided over some of the worst political crises in Swazi history and his government was marred by controversies and bad judgements. From 1996 to 2003, he led the authoritarian regime and he is currently a member of King Mswati III's Advisory Council, a body that has vigorously opposed the transition from royal authoritarianism to democracy. Selected from the royal family inner circles, the Advisory Council is the monarchy's eye of power making sure that public institutions and citizens conform to the royal authoritarian system. As a result, the Advisory Council exercises enormous political
influence in Swaziland's politics and is well known for its ruthless intolerance of political dissent. Dlamini also served in previous governments as Minister of Finance (1983-1992) including the notorious Liqoqo regime known for its brutality against government critics, corruption and disregard for the rule of law. Human rights abuses under the Liqoqo regime between 1983 and 1986 are well documented by various international human rights organisations such as Amnesty International. As Minister of Finance, Dlamini was responsible for the growth of a culture of corruption in government and lavish royal spending with dire economic consequences. Today, this culture is well entrenched and continues to paralyse the economy and government services.

In his term as Prime Minister, he was known for extravagant spending on royal luxuries. In 2002, the local and international communities were horrified by Dlamini's secret authorisation of the purchase of a private jet for the royal family at a cost of E450 million (US$45 million). This was a morally bankrupt decision which clearly demonstrated the government's insensibility to the effects of the drought conditions and the HIV epidemic on the general population.

However, Dlamini is probably most infamous for his exercise of naked power in 2000 and 2002 when he ruthlessly suppressed freedom of the press, political freedom and judicial independence. On February 17, 2000 the government closed down the state-owned newspaper, The Swazi Observer, for refusing to reveal sources of articles relating to the Royal Swaziland Police secret activities. A year later, on May 4, 2001, Dlamini's government closed down two independent media groups, The Nation and Guardian of Swaziland, for publishing stories criticising human rights abuses and lavish spending by the government and royal family. In September 1999, the government charged the Times Sunday Editor, Bheki Makhubu, with criminal defamation for publishing an article in which he described King Mswati III's fiancée as a high school drop-out.

As Prime Minister, Dlamini was the architect of the infamous Decree No.2, 2001, a law designed to strengthen the authoritarian position of the absolute monarchy government. Under this Decree, publication of materials containing criticisms of the system of government and its leadership were prohibited. Even the production and publication of satirical materials relating to the royal family such as impersonating the king were declared to be criminal offences punishable with a 10-year jail term. The Decree also gave the Minister of Information the power to unilaterally proscribe media organisations which failed to observe these prohibitions. Thus Decree No.2 reflects the ambition of an over zealous dictatorial regime to rule by fear. To all intents and purposes, the Decree was designed to renew the climate of fear generated by the King's Proclamation of 1973 which had been significantly weakened by the democratic movement led by PUDEMO. Hence Decree No.2 bears all the hallmarks of the 1973 Proclamation which made it a criminal offence to exercise freedom of thought in Swaziland. Ultimately, Decree No.2 was withdrawn because of sustained local and international condemnation. However, parts of this Decree such as the controversial Non-Bailable Order were incorporated into Decree No.3, 2001 which, in 2002 to 2004, was one of the key issues at the centre of the rule of law crisis. As the then Prime Minister, Dlamini must be held directly responsible for this crisis.

From 2002 to 2004, the rule of law in Swaziland was severely harmed when the former Prime Minister abandoned all judicial procedures in preference to brute political force. In what can best be described as a ruthless assault on the integrity of the judiciary, Dlamini declared on November 28, 2002 that the Government of His Majesty would not respect the Court of Appeal judgements relating to three cases – the Non-Bailable Offences Order, the mass eviction of families from Kamkhweli and Macetjeni areas and the committal of senior police officers to imprisonment for contempt of court. In his public address to the nation on November 28, 2002, the former Prime Minister ordered all law enforcement sectors to disobey the Court of Appeals rulings, creating a crisis in the rule of law hitherto unseen in Swaziland's judicial history. All judges of the Court of Appeal resigned in protest against this display of brute political attack on the independence of the judiciary. For two years, Swaziland had no functioning Court of Appeal. Details of these cases can be found in the Amnesty International Report (AFR 55/004/2004) and PUDEMO Report (September 28, 2004).

Clearly, Dlamini is not a suitable candidate for the AU position given his disastrous record in government. This record renders him completely unfit for public office and he should have not been recommended in the first place. Africa, particularly SADC, must be congratulated for its commitment to protecting the AU's integrity by refusing to endorse this tin-pot dictator to take the reins of the organisation.

As an organisation committed to democratic governance and political transparency, we are obliged to expose Dlamini's record and make sure that he is quarantined from international leadership responsibilities. We have an obligation to the people of Africa to protect the integrity of the AU as a forward looking organisation committed to political, economic and social progress. The quality of leaders at the helm of the AU is crucial to achieving the organisation's goals and building its global credibility.

Signed:
Dr. Jabulane Matsebula
PUDEMO Representative
Australia, Asia and the South Pacific Region

AISA Presentation

2007-07-25T13:07:00.000-07:00

PUDEMO
“Insika Yenkhululeko YeMaswati”
PEOPLE’S UNITED DEMOCRATIC MOVEMENT

OFFICE OF THE CHIEF REPRESENTATIVE

OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY FOR INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
P.O.BOX 8389, NELSPRUIT, 1200
PHONE 082 92 31 401.
FAX 013 778 9784.

2007-07-25

AISA PRESENTATION.

THE PATH TO A PEACEFUL RESOLUTION OF THE POLITICAL IMPASSE IN SWAZILAND:

A. BACKGROUND

Since that chilly afternoon of the 13 July 1983, on the banks of the Umbuluzi river some 10kms north-east of Mbabane- hidden by the reeds and over-shadowed by the mighty beauty of the pre-historic Sibebe rock, where fine sons and daughters of the Swazi soil met and formed PUDEMO ; yes since that day PUDEMO has been ready to meet and negotiate the future of our country. We have been ready for the past 24 years for the peaceful resolution of the political impasse in Swaziland . What has changed is the urgency and impatience with which we lust for this noble objective and the now razor sharp clarity of our thoughts as to the processes that must be followed for the transfer of government to the people.

We are not interested in the delaying tactics, and in many useless summits. These have become a specialty for the royal family regime. The royal regime sent their emissaries to meet us when we were part of National Constituent Assembly (NCA) , but their servants had neither agenda nor terms of reference from their masters. From the word go, PUDEMO could see that this is a time wasting exercise. We were criticized by the other parties in the NCA , labeled as rebels and extremists , but at the end the truth was laid bare for all to see . The empty negotiations crumbled , the repressive brutality of the regime was stepped up . Whilst their political darlings Sibahle Sinje (meaning Swaziland is ok as it is) a pseudo-cultural group serving as a training ground for young political servants of the status-qou, had an uninterrupted relaunch of themselves as a political party, our SWAYOCO members were being brutalized by the royal police a spitting distance away from the Sibahle Sinje meeting. We are not interested in meeting the regime for drinking traditional marula (buganu) and cracking jokes like the Ngwane National Limbo Congress (NNLC) that says they will bring change from within. A thousand years of collaboration and soft reprimand will never change the regime. One cannot cross a river on the back of a crocodile.

Now the question that begs to be asked is…. Who shall champion the truth ?!Who shall marshal the agenda of democracy and champion the cause of the poor and downtrodden in Swaziland. No organization can crown itself as the flag bearer of the masses, only the masses can give such a status to an organization.

The only organization that has earned the title of “ the peoples leader” “the peoples vanguard” is none other than PUDEMO. Our historic document “the road map to a new and democratic Swaziland” remains the critical analyses of the political impasse in Swaziland. The road map is not a romantic fantasy, it remains the compass, thermometer and barometer of the path we shall beat as we march to seize power for the people and seek their mandate to govern.

Democracy is like beauty; all people, even ugly ones, want to be told that they are beautiful. If they are not told this, they create praise songs that describe themselves as being beautiful. They create illusions of beauty. Just like all regimes want to be associated with democracy, no matter how undemocratic they are!! Similarly, the royal family regime of Swaziland has become experts in the creation of illusions. These illusions can fool the politically young, the naïve, those who suffer from infantile political diseases like the political measles of tribalism, sexism and narrow nationalism and those who are just too eager to be fooled. As already mentioned:

They create delaying tactics. It took the royal mafia regime almost ten years to create a constitution of just over a million of people in a country of just over 17000 square miles with the largest distance from border to border being under 200 kms. The royal constitution is riddled with contradictions. What it gives with the left-hand it takes away with the right–hand. The preparatory events to the constitution fail the test: It was not inclusive, it was not transparent, it was not participatory and it was not accountable. The constitution itself fails the eight point test; it does not guarantee

a. Multi-party democracy
b. Separation of the powers and systems of government
c. An independent judiciary
d. A legitimate bill of rights
e. Accountability and transparency
f. Regular free and fair electionsh.
g. Institutions protecting constitutional democracy
h. Fair and reasonable procedure for amendment
(adapted from OSISA)

2. The so-called negotiations that took place in the recent past were an outright mockery of those who yearn for freedom in our lifetime. Various sectors had called for negotiations and as predicted the government ignored them. (see narrative). When the event of border blockade was announced in April, for the 12th April again the regime accepted to negotiate. Predictable the pre-condition was a withdrawal of the border blockade. PUDEMO did not accept these pre-condition, but unfortunately other components of the NCA did- again mocking us as extremists. But that was just shallow and short-lived opportunism. April 12 blockades came and were a huge success. The fake negotiations were still born.

3. Other such illusions are those of an election; illusions of the rule of law; illusions of the separation of powers and illusions of pliability in the constitution.

B. THE WAY FORWARD-------- A PUDEMO DOCUMENT

1. The Preamble

2. The Preliminary negotiations
These are talks about talks. We are acutely aware to the growing divide and lack of trust amongst the protagonists. So we need a session for finding each other and allaying prejudices and natural fears, ( kutselelana emanti ). More importantly this is where we shall discuss how we shall carry on the business of negotiations. Most importantly this will be the moments where PUDEMO shall seek agreement on the Memorandum of Intent.

3.The Memorandum of Intent
The King must after the preliminary negotiations issue a statement to the nation called the Memorandum of Intent, that as of then, there exists a genuine desire to negotiate the future of our country. He is the person most suited to make this pronouncement, as he remains the single biggest impediment to the peaceful resolution of the political conflict in Swaziland. Inter-alia he shall announce the following:

The unbanning of political parties. The truth is that political parties remain banned in Swaziland (see Hilary’s letter). Only conservative parties are allowed to operate albeit unofficially. Political parties were expressly banned in 1973 and therefore it stands only to reason if not anything else that they should be officially expressly unbanned. The International Bar Association on their critique to the current royal constitution further stressed this point.
Create instruments for political parties to operate e.g. a registering office, a framework of registration regulations and possible financial resources for at least the major political players already in existence at the time.
Pronounce on the unconditional return and indemnification of all political exiles.
Make a specific pronouncement on the freedom of association as in section 25 of the royal constitution this freedom is deliberately vague and the onus of this freedom is placed on the royal police commissioner (see Hilary’s letter). The right to association, assembly and freedom of speech must be clearly re-pronounced. And that these freedoms shall be enjoyed without undue pressure and threat from the police save for the maintainance of legitimate politically neutral law and order.
Depending on the character of the conflict at that stage, the MoI may include a ceasefire agreement.
The MoI must of necessity be a legal document, agreed to by all parties especially the major adversaries PUDEMO and the royal mafia regime, and must have clear time frames for implementation of the next crucial step – the national convention.

4. The National Convention
A national convention shall be a forum where-in all political parties, political organizations, labour organizations, youth and women’s organizations, traditional institutions, NGO’s and other interest groups would come together to work out the details of the democratization process and lay down acceptable parameters on the modalities leading to a constituent assembly.
The national convention will constitute and form an interim government, based on proportional representation or some other democratic criteria. The position of the King will be in sharp focus here. The King has unwittingly (despite our age old warnings) allowed himself to be a player, referee, linesman, match official and sporting federation all at the same time in the political football of Swaziland. What will be his position then at this stage? Will he be part of a certain political party/ movement? What if this party losses the first democratic elections? It would be too late for him to take the position of impartial referee at this stage. It is my considered opinion that the King must at the stage of the interim government recluse himself and be led to a place of safety outside Swaziland and a caretaker head of state be appointed; probably an elder statesman of Southern Africa, an AU nominee or similar person of wisdom.
This interim government must be balanced and impartial, with clearly defined functions and limited powers and must ensure fairness without bias in favour of one group and most importantly secure the task of the constituent assembly. It shall have a term not exceeding two years.
An interim government will need an interim set of governance rules and regulations; an interim constitution. The royal expedition constitution of 2005 is a definite no-no. The King Sobhuza proclamation of 1973 will be already in the dustbin of history. I find the 1968 independence constitution also unacceptable, due to it’s many similarities to the current 2005 constitution, especially as it pertains to the powers of the King. Therefore it is my considered opinion that the national convention shall have to come up with an interim constitution, one that will satisfy the relevant parts of the eight point criteria.

4. The Constituent Assembly
Under the guidance of the interim government, a constituent assembly, will be formed and constituted. The constituent assembly would be a body elected by all the people, whose main responsibility is to draw up the new constitution for the democratic Swaziland.
We are at pains to ensure that the democratization process is itself democratic. Only a properly constituted constituent assembly will have the legitimate mandate to carry on the task of creating a new democratic dispensation. The electoral process of the constituent assembly will be defined at the national convention. This dispensation will be inclusive and include the monarchy, as the historic congress of PUDEMO of December 2006 articulated the movement’s desire for a constitutional monarchy.

5. Outcomes
Once the people of Swaziland have adopted a new constitution for Swaziland, the following will result:

The dissolution of the constituent assembly.
Elections for a democratic legislature, of the people, by the people and for the people in a multi party democracy.
Repeal of all previous constitutions,proclamations, amendments and the like.
The formation of a new government, filling the other arms of government i.e. the executive and the judiciary.
The dissolution of the interim government.

Thank You
Dr Sonke Dlamini
PUDEMO

PUDEMO President address to the EU delegation

2007-06-14T13:53:00.000-07:00

People’s United Democratic Movement - Swaziland

The people of Swaziland are Speaking
…….Is the world listening?

Mario Masuku – PUDEMO President

Address to the EU delegation on the 14th June 2007 in Mbabane, Swaziland

Introduction

In the past few days the world was made to observe the consolidation of royal monopoly over power in the country through a royal constitutional process, which was exclusively designed by the royal regime to serve its narrow undemocratic interests and in the process, exclude the rest of the people in such an important national process.

PUDEMO since its inception in 1983 has always made it clear that, “the pride of our sovereignty is the guaranteed respect of the will of the people” (People’s manifesto of PUDEMO). This principally means that the process of developing a legitimate national constitution can only come about as a result of a consciously inclusive, participatory and popular process. There can be no substitute for the people, because history has proven that no outcome can be sustainable unless the people themselves have determined it.

We have also watched in dismay, the cold or at best lukewarm attitude of the international community towards Swaziland, though we do appreciate the efforts from certain quarters of the international community to really pay attention to the long-standing demands and concerns of the people of Swaziland. However, there are those sectors within the international community who have chosen to stand, openly, on the side of the regime and its attempts to impose undemocratic processes down the throats of the Swazi people, key amongst them is the commonwealth.

However, we take comfort in the knowledge that the world community of civilised people are fully behind us, key amongst them are the mass of the people of South Africa under the leadership of the tripartite alliance, who have stood by us even in the midst of insults and false accusations by the royal family regime and its patrons. We salute them and vw never to let down their genuine support for democracy and people-centred development in the whole continent, Swaziland included.

Finally, we are proud of our record and consistent struggles with the full support of all Swazi patriots who have refused to be massaged by the evil system. Towards this end, we are also very proud that we have clarified our wayforward as profoundly articulated by the popular Road Map towards a new and democratic Swaziland programme of the movement adopted by the 6th General Congress recently.

We are confident that we have demonstrated without apology our profound commitment to a practical and lasting solution to the crisis facing our country. We have clarified the route from the situation of today and the struggles we seek to wage, to the transition process towards the creation of a new and democratic society, with the core elements of the new society we are struggling to build, being firmly put in place. None can ever doubt PUDEMO’s proven commitment to a real, sustainable and legitimate solution to the problems tinkhundla has plunged our country into.

We seek no short-cuts that will be reversible or avoid the foundation of the problem, but at the same time, we seek to do all within our powers to bring about a speedy solution that is inclusive, sustainable and democratic, yet anchored in fundamentally progressive traditions that civilised humanity has yet evolved.

The situation in Swaziland today

Our country is facing a deep-seated structural crisis. It al an all-round crisis that afflicts every sphere of our society. The demon of royal supremacy and the hegemony of a corrupted and bankrupt morality permeates every part of our life. It has become so normal to be corrupt that anyone questioning it, instantly has his/her mental state questioned. What kind of a society fears to challenge such terrifying levels of corruption, women and children abuse, soaring unemployment and grinding poverty levels.

The Swazi economy is at a serious crisis point and drastic measures are required to save it from ultimate collapse. Growth rate indicators point to a bleak situation as unemployment, poverty, skills and brain drain, rates of investment and general returns on investment are always pointing to a bleak picture. PUDEMO is working on a framework to begin engaging the process of how to return our economy to its rightful place, but not in isolation to, but as part of the general effort to make our country viable in all ways possible, ranging from political governance to economic performance.

Generation after generation have been subjected to the most vicious form of institutionalised subjugation. This explains why despite the massive and simmering anger, people are still sceptical of taking direct action to attack the evil system from its roots, all sorts of excuses and reasons are being put forward for lack of action. However, part of the blame should be apportioned to us as the progressive movement, surely, we could do more to organise the masses of the people to take action now. This is not to undermine the extent to which we are also facing a well-armed and finally well-resourced system, with no or bare minimum resources.

This, we believe is related to the point of the fact that the international community has not yet demonstrated their practical commitment to supporting the seeds of democracy in our country and nurturing the institutionalisation of a culture of organisation, mass participation and vibrant engagement.

On the political front, we have noted a deliberate attempt to downplay the extent of the crisis in the country by the ruling regime, with the full support of some sectors of the international community and media. They have under-recorded the significance of the numerous arrests, mass activities against the state, political statements against the regime and all the efforts of the people to expose the rottenness of the system and begin the road to a new and better society.

Most recently, we have also noted the regime’s political games to fool the world and the people through its negotiations and dialogue projects that are only meant to create an impression of engagement and open space for inclusivity in the political life of the system. It is also an attempt to buy time and renew the system’s lease of life. We have stated very clearly that the necessary climate for negotiations must be created before any meaningful process can begin. We believe that the onus is on the shoulders of the regime, they must prove they are now serious about the process of creating the necessary climate and momentum for change. The Road Map had this to say, “The removal of all laws that prohibit free political activity and the unbanning of political parties in Swaziland shall constitute a strategic victory for the movement, leading to the creation of political conditions which shall make it possible to pursue the objectives of the transfer of political power to the people through negotiations”.

We are convinced that the conditions in the country do not facilitate proper dialogue, in fact, they militate against negotiations, turning every claim to negotiations under the present climate into a joke or mockery, if not an outright insult to the dignity of the people. Our honest commitment to negotiations does not mean it should be at any cost to the interests of our people and the cause for their liberation. We are as much committed to negotiations as we are to finding a lasting solution to the problems of our country, therefore, we shall not allow ourselves to be drowned in the couldron of political confusion and desperate measures in order to divert us from our core mission – to liberate our people and speedily turn the country into a democratic society.

We have maintained that the constitution entrenches royal supremacy, particularly the consolidation of the monarchy’s hold onto power. It negates the essence of an advance towards democracy, which therefore requires all our condemnation and rejection. But beyond rejections, we need to build and support the momentum towards an alternative process underpinned by inclusivity and legitimacy. We do believe that it is not too late for a genuine alternative process towards a lasting solution to the constitutional crisis we face. We want to maintain that we shall not and have been part of the regime’s cosmetic dialogue, because we believe we have a sacred duty to our people, which is to preserve the dignity of our struggle and restore the confidence of the people in the movement and the cause for democracy itself. We shall not betray them, whatever the odds.

The intensified arrests of our members and activists indicate the growing intransigence and arrogance of the royal regime and calls for intensified political action and international focus on Swaziland. The recent border blockade brutality and the on-going attack on our movement, with the most deafening silence on the part of the international community says volumes about the character of the international community and we are sure, this meeting should mark a new era in how the international community responds to the urgencies arising out of the crisis in our country and beyond.

We call for the unconditional release of all our comrades who are on bail, the creation of conducive conditions for the unconditional return of our exiles and the immediate cessation of all political hostilities, with the security forces behaving as a professional, rather than the private royal army that they are.

The issue at hand is a multiparty democracy and the creation of sufficient political space for all our people to participate with all the rights and responsibilities that all civilised beings enjoy everywhere in the world. But multiparty on its own will not resolve the decades long crisis, which means it should only serve as a space for the intensification of a national effort against all the ills afflicting our society, poverty in particular. The regime is preparing for elections to be held under the directives of the royal constitution and under the current conditions that militate against the free and full participation of all the people and we expect that the EU will be forthright in its condemnation of this abominable act.

SADC protocol, AU and NEPAD provisions, the Harare Declaration of the Commonwealth and several other international instruments call for multiparty democracy and adequate pluralistic space for the full and effective participation of all people as a necessary condition for sustainable and legitimate electoral systems and the deepening of democracy in Africa. It is in this context that we are surprised by the behaviour of the Commonwealth that has assisted the regime to draft a constitution that bars political parties and free political activity in the name of culture, we condemn this act of hypocrisy with all the energies at our disposal. We call upon all these multilateral institutions to enforce their conventions in defence of the dignity of our people and their own dignity as institutions, whose relevance to the people of Africa is yet to be affirmed in many instances.

On the Road to a new and democratic Swaziland - the future belongs to the people!

In our 6th National Congress we boldly proclaimed our profound commitment to the unity of all progressive forces in Swaziland and we saw ourselves as key, yet humble players in forging close working ties with our comrades and patriots in the mass democratic movement towards what Congress called the National Democratic Front.

We are glad to realise the amount of interest and enthusiasm it has generated throughout the length and breadth of our society, in particularly amongst all progressive organisations and patriots of our beloved country. We have dedicated significant energy and time to this noble effort and we hope with the momentum already generated, we are not turning back, but are looking forward to a new impetus on the Swazi political front.

There are basic fundamentals required to generate and sustain the momentum towards a genuine and legitimate alternative to the deepening crisis in our country;

Support for the efforts of civil society towards a National Democratic Front which shall be the collective expression of all the oppressed and their united desire to build a new and democratic society
A preliminary engagement process between the state and organs of civil society, particularly political parties to lay the basis for a broad and all-inclusive process of negotiations. This shall also clear all obstacles to real negotiations and remove all impediments towards that end. International multilateral instruments to safeguard it from the regime’s attack and diversion must leverage this process.
The creation of a legitimate, popular and progressive constitution with the full participation of all stakeholders, in conditions conducive to the process, which could be a product of the above process of broad engagement

However, we need to make it clear in no uncertain terms that we do believe the EU can do more to assist the people of Swaziland than it has been so far willing to do. The most immediate task that we would like to put forward to you in firmer terms is the issue of smart sanctions against the Mswati regime, particularly the royal family as clearly articulated in our 6th National Congress document, entitled, “Targeted sanctions against the ruling regime of Swaziland”. Towards this end, we specifically call upon you to ensure that in the coming EU-AU summit in Portugal in October, the Swazi regime is not invited, as is the case with other non-complying states where you have openly pronounced yourselves. We shall be glad to work with you, as well as measure your renewed commitment and determination to take Swaziland on a new road to sustainable change through this very small and humble quest on our side.

In all these, the international community shall be expected to support in all possible ways, the efforts of the Swazi people to create a new society. This requires more than just political and moral support, but essentially, material and financial support too. If political parties are the key elements of any democratic society, then they must be prepared and supported to play their part effectively. They must be capacitated to fully undertake their historic assignments of mobilising the people to act as their own liberators and custodians of their own destiny. We are alive to the reality that not all political parties represent the future of the country, some represent the past and the very essence of the current system in crisis, which indicates the fact that even the political parties themselves will not necessarily have a smooth sailing, but will have their own challenges to address about the kind of society we are struggling to build.

However, we do believe that the Swazi regime has been let off the international human rights radar for far too long and the international community is guilty for that. It has pretended not to see what is happening in this country and has remained silent in the midst of conspicuous degeneration and royal shame. We cannot allow that any more, we commit to play our own part, but also call upon the world community of democracy loving people to play theirs fully.

Conclusion

We take this opportunity to appreciate the opportunity to reflect on the challenges we face with yourselves and would be glad to count on you as our partners in the winding, yet determined march to democracy in Swaziland.

We also take this opportunity to warn that patience is desirable, but patience has a limit and would not want to be accused of having not warned that time is not on our side, our people’s suffering is daily becoming a threat to national security, if we seek to use the words of the regime. But in our own view, it is a threat to the selfish desires of the royal family.

Swaziland is the only country we have and would like to see the best come out of it, however, we are worried by the attitude displayed by the regime and the lack of urgency in attending to matters of national interest.

We have always affirmed that we are ready and willing to enter into serious dialogue with the regime, but only once the proper conditions are created and that is the challenge we are putting on the doorstep of the regime. It is not too late to save our country, but it is too late to entertain delaying tactics.

PUDEMO STATEMENT The Silence Brutality in Southern Africa- Sedition Trialists Update

2007-04-25T14:01:00.000-07:00

The Silence Brutality in Southern Africa- Sedition Trialists Update

To all friends and comrades

As today is a public holiday in Swaziland the latest sedition 6 news might take a while to get out

Yesterday at Siteki magistrate court the state withdrew sedition charges against 5 of the trialists. These 5 were simply re-charged with violation of simple traffic laws (jaywalking) after spending 2 weeks in jail. This is acute abuse of state power

For convenience and to get out of jail the Comrades decided to plead guilty to these traffic charges (even though when they were arrested they were nowhere near a major road). They were duly sentenced to R 200 fines each or 3 months in prison all wholly suspended for 2 years. They were therefore released and spent the night at their homes. The suspended sentences are strategic for the state because it means the comrades are not likely to want to participate in our peaceful rallies/protests for the next 2 years as they could be charged with traffic offences again and get into complications

Only Comrade Sicelo Vilane remains charged with sedition and after 2 weeks his bail application has still not been heard by the courts. This is another example of state brutalization of political prisoners in Swaziland

You will remember that Comrade Sicelo is the one who was severely tortured by the state during the last treason arrests in 2005/6. They tried to make him a state witness but failed. We eventually applied in the high court and got a restraining order against the police and DPP and only then was he left alone after about 5 periods of extended torture. As a result of the torture he suffered extensive damage to his ears and we had booked him for an operation at Good Shepered Hospital at Siteki on the 18th April 2007. Of coarse he was arrested on the 12th April so this operation had to be cancelled. We believe that the state is still victimizing him because of his refusal to testify for it hence the reluctance to release him with everyone else

For more information contact
Sphasha Dlamini- PUDEMO General Secretary
+268 608 9783

PUDEMO STATEMENT Swaziland police attempt to murder political activist in public

2007-04-16T14:05:00.000-07:00

Date: April 16, 2007

Swaziland police attempt to murder political activist in public

The April 13, 2007 issue of the Times of Swaziland published a horrific image of Swaziland police strangling a peaceful political protester. Five armed police officers pounced on the protester lifting his body into mid-air whilst one of the officers strangled him. In the picture, the protester is seen helplessly trying to ease the police officer's grip on his throat. As shocking as this image may be to the international community, the people of Swaziland are exposed to this kind of political violence and gross violation of human rights on a daily basis.

The strangling of the protester occurred during the commemoration of the death of democracy on April 12, 1973 when the late King Sobhuza II, through the King's Proclamation to the nation, declared himself an absolute monarch. On April 12, 2007, PUDEMO organised a peaceful border blockade in protest against the continued effects of this Proclamation, notably the ban on political parties. The event was supported by the South African-based Swaziland Solidarity Network (SSN), the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) and The South African Communist Party (SACP). Whilst the South African police assisted the peaceful protest on the South African side of the border, the Swaziland police preferred violence.

PUDEMO calls upon the international community to condemn this contemptuous display of sadistic rage by the Swaziland police. There is no other explanation of the conduct of the police other than an attempt to murder the protester by strangling him. The use of such a dangerous stranglehold is a criminal act and the police officer should be charged with attempted murder. His colleagues should be charged as accomplices to attempted murder.

It is now beyond doubt that police violence against unarmed Swazi citizens has reached extreme levels. When the police adopt extreme measures that threaten human life in an attempt to silence opposing voices, there is little hope for the future. Often these measures are characteristics of a failing state and a corrupt political regime that has invested so much in maintaining its stranglehold on political power. As is clearly demonstrated in contemporary Zimbabwean politics, such investment has great human cost. Like Zimbabwe, Swaziland has invested significant time and resources to training killer police to keep the royal family in government. Since 1973, institutionalised violence against citizens has been the hallmark of the policing culture in Swaziland. The signing into law in 2005 of the so-called constitution has had no effect on this culture. Policing of state critics is still heavily influenced by the repressive tradition established by the King's Proclamation of 1973.

Claims that the Constitution Act of 2005 repealed the 1973 Proclamation amount to pure hogwash. In its April 13, 2007 commentary, the Times of Swaziland refers to the 1973 Proclamation as a "repealed" law but there is no reference to the legal instrument that repealed the Proclamation. The Proclamation has not been formally abrogated but it is generally assumed that it has been invalidated because it is not "consistent" with the Constitution Act of 2005. However, the consistency of the Proclamation with the 2005 Act is yet to be tested in the courts. By his own admission, the Attorney General told a delegation from the International Labour Organisation in June 2006 that the Proclamation has not been repealed.

PUDEMO has consistently pointed out that the Proclamation is indeed consistent with the Act of 2005 in many respects. The ban on political parties and the concentration of legislative and executive powers in the hands of the king appear in both laws. Section 15(4) is one of the disturbing aspects of the 2005 Act, which must be seen as a reproduction of the violent police culture established under the 1973 Proclamation. This section permits the killing of citizens for purposes of crime prevention, arrest and suppression of riots. This Section is inconsistent with Article 2(2) of United Nations Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment which states:

No exceptional circumstances whatsoever, whether a state of war or a threat of war, internal political in stability or any other public emergency, may be invoked as a justification of torture.

Swaziland is State Party to the United Nations Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. Section 18(2) of the 2005 Act prohibits the subjugation of individuals "...to torture or inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment", yet Section 15(4) provides a window of opportunity for violent policing practices. The strangling of the peaceful protestor is cruel, inhumane and degrading. It contravenes both the UN Convention on Torture and regime's own constitution law. In response to public outrage, the police are already trying to justify this despicable practice in terms of Section 15(4).

Even given the existence of Section 15(4), any attempts by the police to justify the strangulation of the protester are completely unacceptable. The images clearly show that the protester was being held by five police officers. He was part of a peaceful protest and therefore not presenting a threat to anyone or to property. He was merely expressing his political opinion. Furthermore, one assumes that FIVE burly police officers are sufficient to make a civilised arrest without the need for strangulation. Therefore, there are absolutely no grounds for the police to justify their behaviour even under the provisions of Section 15 (4).

Mass arrest and sedition charges for peaceful protest

In addition to the attempted murder, the police arrested more than ten pro-democracy activists for participating in a peaceful protest during the border blockade. The activists have been charged with sedition after they were found in possession of pamphlets and placards demanding political change. Some of the detainees are still awaiting trial for treason after they were falsely accused of firebombing government property. Recently, one of the detainees, Mpandlana Shongwe, was savagely beaten by police at the Manzini police station until he was unconscious. Shongwe sustained serious injuries including broken ribs.

For several years the People's United Democratic Movement (PUDEMO) has cautioned that the Government of Swaziland is using the new Constitution as a Trojan Horse with the intention of increasing its violent political repression. Through the Constitution, the royal family masquerades as a benign dictator with no real political power. However, the truth is that King Mswati III is not a benign dictator but a malign dictator who rules Swaziland with an iron fist. The Constitution is not, as the regime and the Commonwealth Secretariat claim, a peace offering but an insidious document with great potential to harm our people. Those who placed much hope in the Constitution Act of 2005 must now hang their heads in shame for colluding with King Mswati III's attempt to hide the repression. Among these, is the Commonwealth Secretariat and sections of local media, mainly the royal-family owned The Swazi Observer, who continue to peddle false beliefs that the Constitution protects citizens' rights and freedoms.

PUDEMO reiterates its long-standing position that in the absence of political will among the ruling elite to embrace democracy, the Constitution and its Bill of Rights provision have no meaning and effect. In the absence of political will, the rights and freedoms enshrined in the so-called Bill of Rights will remain empty words with no real meaning. There are strong indications that the government is not at all committed to transforming the Bill of Rights into substantive rights and freedoms by creating the necessary conditions and institutions to allow citizens to exercise these rights. The strangling of the protester, the harassment of PUDEMO members, the arrests and sedition charges all provide unambiguous message that it is business as usual.

We demand the immediate release of all political prisoners and unconditional withdrawal of all charges against our people. PUDEMO will take this fight to the South African Development Community (SADC) and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. We will continue to voice our disgust about this sadistic regime until we are heard. They can arrest us and strangle us to death but we will never give up the fight for our rights and freedoms.

Signed:
Dr. Jabulane Matsebula
PUDEMO Representative
Australia, Asia and the South Pacific Region

PUDEMO PRESS RELEASE ON BOARDER BLOCKADE/RALLIES

2007-03-10T14:08:00.000-08:00

10TH March, 2007

PUDEMO PRESS RELEASE ON BOARDER BLOCKADE/RALLIES

We the People's United Democratic Movement take this opportunity to inform all the forces for change, working class, oppressed, marginalised and disadvantaged people of Swaziland inside the country and globally that we shall be participating in the picketing that shall be taking place in the five main boarder gates that lead into Swaziland on the 12th April 2007. This is way of showing our dissatisfaction on the manner that the country is governed since the 12th April 1973, when the then King Sobhuza 11 declared absolute Monarchy for Swaziland under the 1973 PROCLAMATION that repealed the 1968 Constitution. We can not be fooled by the present ROYAL constitution which was not people driven. From its inception, its terms of reference which allowed hand picked commissioners, it never allowed group submissions, thereby defeating universally acceptable constitution drafting environment, the content thereof, is therefore illegitimate.

We invite all concerned citizens to be party to this important activity as we shall be commemorating and condemning the grave mistake and tyranny that was committed on the said date and we the people of Swaziland still suffer the consequences to date. We are demanding a Constitutional Monarchy for Swaziland where the king shall be symbol of unity in the truest sense.

To our comrades in other parts of the globe, COSATU, SACP, SSN, and all other comrades whom we can not mention here, we would like to register our sincere appreciation for the undying and consistent support and solidarity they have give since time immemorial. The people of Swaziland shall picket on the Swaziland's side of the boarder and we fully understand what package shall this come with. But the struggle continues and it shall until sanity prevails to the balance of forces.

The boarders of interest include:
Mahamba, Mananga, Matsamo, Lavumisa, Oshoek

ALUTA CONTINUA!!!

Long Live the spirit of solidarity long live!!!!
For more information please contact
Sphasha Dlamini – PUDEMO-General Secretary
00268 6089783
00268 6083338

MATSULU DECLARATION

2006-12-24T14:28:00.000-08:00

MATSULU DECLARATION OF PUDEMO

Road Map to a new and democratic Swaziland

As adopted at the PUDEMO 6th General Congress – Matsulu Conference Center, Mpumalanga, 19-24 December 2006

Introduction

Our journey towards a new and democratic Swaziland has been and continues to be one of pain and sacrifice on the one hand and joy and fulfillment on the other. As we proceed along this road, we have and continue to persevere against one the most vicious, primitive and barbaric political systems in history.

Swaziland is bleeding from years of plunder and parasitism resulting from a system of organized royal rule characterized as semi-feudal and neo-colonial. This system is structured to serve the narrow interests of a royal elite and their friends. Tinkhundla is based on parasitic methods of wealth accumulation hence it’s fundamentally rooted in the most ruthless, highly exploitative and corrupt forms of social organization.

PUDEMO was formed in 1983 as a political home for all people committed to fundamental social change in the interest of the poor and oppressed majority in our country. It has consistently championed the broad interests of the overwhelming majority of the people of Swaziland. This has earned PUDEMO the task of political leadership of the Swazi struggle, working with all forces committed to change whatever their orientation and understanding of change.

PUDEMO remains committed to the Swazi struggle through fully representing the aspirations of the people and working always to unite the Swazi people around an alternative program for fundamental social change. The program is anchored in the following key principles:

Swaziland is facing a political crisis and only a genuine all-inclusive political process can form the basis for a lasting solution.

The Tinkhundla system cannot be reformed, but needs to be fundamentally transformed.

The fundamental uprooting of Tinkhundla’s cancerous corruption that has destroyed the moral fibre of our society.

The building of a vibrant society in which people actively participate in shaping their own destiny and take responsibility for running their affairs.

The transformation of economic land ownership patterns in order to enhance the redistribution of the country’s wealth and provide for balanced development in the country and eliminate the conditions that reproduce poverty, inequalities and desperation.

The right of the people and their fundamental responsibility to remain vigilant through their organized power and constantly use mass action, must be protected and promoted at all times.

The future of Swaziland is in the hands of the Swazi people themselves. They are the true custodians of the promise for a better life and only them can jealously defend the country as it plunges into ruin orchestrated by the royal elite.

Tinkhundla Crisis

The all-round crisis facing the Tinkhundla system forces it to continuously attempt symbolic reforms as part of its window-dressing exercises. PUDEMO asserts that this system cannot be reformed but should be fundamentally transformed. The Royal Constitution is part of the system’s reform package. Full of flaws right from the beginning, this constitution continues to bounce from one crisis to another bringing more confusion to the people including its own architects. The Royal constitution brings freedom and power to the ruling elite and their friends whilst it spells immense oppression for the masses. It is a political calamity of untold proportions.

The people of Swaziland and indeed the rest of the world look up to PUDEMO to lead the masses out of this crisis to their long cherished freedom. The people are tired of the increasing poverty levels; high unemployment; increasing numbers of people dependent on food aid; lack of drugs and medicines in health care facilities; high HIV/AIDS infection rates; corruption, etc.

PUDEMO is under no illusion that the extent to which this crisis can be resolved relies on the levels of organization and mobilization of the masses and the intensity of struggles these masses can wage on a sustained basis. Therefore, we reaffirm our Piet Retief Declaration that PUDEMO must give serious attention to the organization and mobilization organized workers, the unemployed, women, the youth and students and pay special attention to the rural masses.

The Rural Masses and Land

We must devise suitable organizational and mechanisms to reach out to the rural masses and provide them with the organizational and political tools to defend themselves and to assert their inalienable right to land.

We understand that land is a very powerful political tool used by royal supremacists to entrench their strangle hold on power through the use of chiefs and local tindvunas who intimidate the people with eviction from time to time. We reaffirm that the land belongs to the people and that land is the primary source of livelihood for them. Therefore we recommit ourselves to the “Land Back to the People Campaign.” We acknowledge the further interrogate our implementation strategy regarding this campaign in order to make it a tangible reality.

The Education Crisis

Our country’s education system is in shambles and needs a complete overhaul. Education is used a propaganda weapon and instrument of royal control and hegemony in the battle to win the hearts and minds of our people to accept royal rule as divine and inevitable.

The transformation of our education system must involve ensuring that principles of democratic practice form the core of the new curriculum in order to instill the values of respect, equality and human solidarity. Our schools must allow democratic representation of all stakeholders in governing bodies so that everyone can actively participate in determining their own destiny.

PUDEMO therefore, declares that we shall assist in forming a National Education Crisis Committee (NECC) to coordinate and lead a national progressive response to the crisis in country’s institutions from primary to tertiary level.

Health and HIV/AIDS

We must mobilize the people to demand quality health from all health care facilities around the country. Our people must not die due to the man-made crisis of drug shortages, unbearably long queues, qualified staff shortages, etc. The people must be organized and rallied around a “Health and Treatment Rights Campaign’ led by our cadres from local to national level. This campaign must also respond to the HIV/AIDS disaster that is ravaging our people with impunity.

We reaffirm our Sikhawini Declaration, which stated that “while HIV/AIDS can affect anybody, it hits the poor hardest. This requires that the fight against the pandemic is a central element of the struggle against poverty and its root causes. It should be part of the struggle to make basic health services, clean water, good nutrition and sanitation accessible to fight against opportunistic diseases and related causes.”

Women Emancipation

The task of liberating women is central to our struggle as they are the worst victims of the Tinkhundla rule. They are victims of patriarchal domination by men, are underpaid by brief case investors, are abused in the family situation, are generally poorer than men, etc. There are more women at the low levels of income than men. That is why the struggle for democracy must, as a matter of necessity is also a struggle to transform gender relations in our country.

Youth and Students

The young people of our country have been anointed by history to shoulder the task of actively engaging in radical and militant struggles against the Tinkhundla regime. Young people and students have a task in building a new and democratic Swaziland because of their relatively unlimited political energy and rebellion.

We call upon all young people and students to organize themselves and advance the struggle as we march forward on the road to a new and democratic Swaziland. The youth can stop the dehumanization of the elderly and the poor by the ruling clique who take joy at mocking them on a daily basis. The youth carry the hopes of a nation yearning to be free and to restore its dignity amongst other nations in the 21st century.

Workers in the era of Globalization

The global economy is undergoing serious neo-liberal restructuring, which has deepened poverty in our country through high levels of unemployment, retrenchments, outsourcing of jobs, casualization and the general erosion of minimum labour standards. Globalization and privatization have also resulted in expensive and unaffordable services to our people. This has fuelled the skyrocketing crime rate and violence against vulnerable members of society such as women and children.

Not only have workers rights been eroded but also the numbers of unionisable workers have drastically diminished. The power of organized workers has decreased. This has a direct negative impact on the liberation movement and its capacity to engage the Tinkhundla regime in militant struggles on a consistent basis. New and advanced methods of struggle are required to counter the devastating effects of globalization on workers who are a key motive force. It is a matter of must for PUDEMO cadres to actively organize unorganized workers and strengthen organized workers as part of our daily work.
Huge divisions arising out of undemocratic practices and ideological misdirection, characterize the Swazi labour movement. PUDEMO must work tirelessly to provide a platform for unity of these forces in order to strengthen the workers movement and hence the liberation struggle.

The increasing levels of poverty have also resulted in the mushrooming of numerous social movements in the country. We must strengthen progressive ones and ensure to constantly provide leadership and direction to these.

Smart Sanctions Campaign

PUDEMO has adopted the smart sanctions campaign against the ruling clique and the friends as well as their business and social interests abroad. This campaign requires increased and sustainable mass struggles inside Swaziland in order for it to succeed. We pledge to rise to the challenge as we march towards our freedom.

International Solidarity

The levels of support given to the struggling people of Swaziland by many individuals, organizations and institutions across the globe inspire us. In this regard, we make special mention of the progressive movement in the Republic of South Africa i.e., COSATU, SACP, ANC, ANC-YL, YCL, SASCO and COSAS as well as other progressive organizations in the republic.

We are also indebted to our friends in the Scandinavian Countries whose contributions have been invaluable. These levels of solidarity keep our spirits high even under the most depressing conditions. We salute the work done by the Swaziland Solidarity Network in coordinating most of the solidarity effort.

On the other hand, we pledge our solidarity to all other struggling peoples of the world. We call for a speedy resolution of the crisis in Darfur, Zimbabwe, Western Sahara, Palestine, Iraq, Somalia, Afghanistan and an end to the American embargo on Cuba, etc.

Conclusion

The 6th General Congress of PUDEMO has ended. It was held outside our country not because we like but because it is a crime in our country to exercise fundamental rights and freedoms. This 6th Congress is dedicated as a Christmas present to our leader, the People’s President Comrade Mario Masuku who is recovering in hospital. His recovery is testimony to the resilience of the human spirit to free itself from all forms oppression, physical and otherwise.

As 2008 draws nearer, PUDEMO is reminded of the historic significance of this date in Swaziland’s political calendar:

2008 marks 35 years of the 1973 King’s Proclamation which banned political activity and declared freedom a crime;

It marks 25 years since the introduction of the Tinkhundla system of governance which has brought untold suffering, underdevelopment and poverty to our people;

2008 will mark 25 years since the birth of the liberation giant, PUDEMO. This is 25 years of unbroken militant struggles against dictatorship;

In 2008 PUDEMO will have decisively shifted the balance of forces in favour of the struggling masses and the transformation agenda must be firmly in our hands at that time.

We declare to the people of Swaziland and the entire world that PUDEMO shall relentlessly strive, side by side with all freedom-loving compatriots and friends, to bring an end to the political crisis in our country as well as the suffering of our people.

PUDEMO STATEMENT: TARGETED SANCTIONS AGAINST THE RULING REGIME IN SWAZILAND

2006-12-24T14:22:00.000-08:00

PUDEMO STATEMENT:
TARGETED SANCTIONS AGAINST THE RULING REGIME IN SWAZILAND

As adopted in 6th General Congress held at Matsulu Conference Centre, Mpumalanga Province, RSA on the 20th – 24th December, 2006

INTRODUCTION

Inspired by our commitment to democracy and the international spirit of solidarity with oppressed people, The People’s United Democratic Movement (PUDEMO) call upon the people of the world to impose sanctions against the repressive government of Swaziland. We appeal to all people of conscience, countries with diplomatic relationship with Swaziland and international corporations doing business in Swaziland to use their political and economic influence to force the government to allow a return to democratic governance. We specifically appeal for immediate action targeted at the government and the royal family interests. These sanctions are directed at both individuals and institutions.

PUDEMO subscribes to the idea that sanctions are means to an end and not an end in themselves. Sanctions can help to encourage a process of dialogue and negotiation but they cannot by themselves remove the targeted royal regime. We believe that sanctions will work best in combination with other forms of internal and external influences designed to resolve the political conflict in our country. These targeted sanctions must be a strategic component of a larger coercive policy and broader international as well as local struggles and not just a stand-alone policy.

We understand completely and without any illusions that the political situation on the ground must be one of intensified struggles in order for this noble call to find meaning across the peoples of the world. Progressive forces must be seen contesting power and confronting the regime on a daily basis. History has proven that the more internally challenged a regime threatened by sanctions, or on which sanctions are imposed, the more likely that the target will comply. In this regard, PUDEMO must continue to exert leadership and moral guidance to the struggles of the people of Swaziland.

BACKGROUND OF THE PROBLEM

Swaziland is the smallest country in Southern Africa governed by an absolute monarch. It is the only country in the region that has resisted calls for multi-party democracy. As a small country, Swaziland remains invisible to global politics. Hence, the absolute monarchy government has successfully evaded the international censure directed against other dictatorial regimes.

This has not only cushioned the regime from international reprimand, but also opened up space for gross violation of human rights and neglect of public responsibility to the people of Swaziland. Consequently, the regime has cultivated and promoted a policy of institutionalised political violence against citizens. Recently, the regime has stepped up political violence against members of the pro-democracy movement. Over the years many suspects have died in the hands of the police as a result of torture. For example, in 2005 a woman was arrested and died as a result of police torture. Torture is a routine practice. Members of parliament condone it and the judiciary is powerless to intervene. In 1996, armed police shot dead a 16 year old school girl during a peaceful pro-democracy protest. Thousands of pro-democracy activists have been badly injured in peaceful protests since the early 1990s. Numerous members of PUDEMO, the Swaziland Youth Congress (SWAYOCO) and the labour movement have been incarcerated, tortured and tried under laws which prevent freedom of political activity. Hundreds have fled to neighbouring South Africa in fear of persecution.

The background to this situation is the King’s Proclamation of 1973, which destroyed the four-year old democracy obtained at Independence in 1968 and replaced it with an absolute executive monarchy system of government. In his proclamation to the nation, the late King Sobhuza II unilaterally declared a State of Emergency, dissolved parliament, denounced democracy and declared himself an absolute ruler with supreme power over the three arms of government usurping judicial, legislative and executive powers and vesting them upon himself. A key feature of this Proclamation is the prohibition of political parties and hostility towards democracy and democratic processes. Although parliament was re-established in 1978, it was placed under the authority of the king, consistent with the provisions of the 1973 Proclamation. The State of Emergency has never been lifted and remains effective today. For 33 years, the Proclamation has cemented a political culture of violence against dissenting voices, hence the long history of gross violation of human rights.

The 1973 Proclamation was a vicious attack on democracy and human rights. Regrettably, most of the key aspects of the Proclamation have been incorporated into the Commonwealth-sponsored Constitution Act of 2005. These include the ban on political parties, concentration of state powers in the hands of the King and hostility towards democracy and democratic processes. Thus it remains unlawful for anyone to contest elections and canvass for political office under a banner of a political party. Whilst the Constitution gives an illusion of an independent judiciary with jurisdiction in all civil and criminal matters, this is only possible as far as the judiciary does not concern itself with “matters relating to the office of iNgwenyama [the King]; the office of iNdlovukazi (the Queen Mother);…the Swazi National Council…” (The Constitution of the Kingdom of Swaziland Act, 2005, section 151(8). These offices are central to the governance of Swaziland and the epicentre of the gross violation of human rights.

BRIEF SOCIO-ECONOMIC PROFILE OF SWAZILAND

The royal regime has pushed Swaziland to be amongst the most economically unequal (skewed) and poverty stricken countries of the world as shown by the following indicators:

69% of the population lives below the poverty line of E128 per month or less than $1 per day (Budget Speech 2006).

48% of the population lives under extreme poverty; 76% of the poor are found in rural areas and more than 40% of households have never had enough to eat (SHIES 2001).

An estimated 300 000 people annually depend on food aid to survive.

56.4% of the wealth is held by the richest 20% whilst the poorest 20% hold only 4.3% (SHIES 2001).

Unemployment is estimated at around 40% (2005 est.) Youth unemployment is around 40% and it is estimated at 70% for women.

54% of the population are children below 19 years of age and 3.1% are adults above 64 years. Women make up 54% of the total population.

HIV/ AIDS prevalence rate is estimated at around 39.5%. Meanwhile the 2006/2007 budget allocated a paltry E30M ($ 5M) to NERCHA for anti-HIV/AIDS programmes and a whopping E200M ($35M) for Royal expenditure!

There is no meaningful social security scheme to provide for the elderly, orphans, the unemployed, children, the disabled, etc., except for the chaotic OVC Fund run by the Ministry of Education and the token E80 per month given some elderly people.

About 70% of the population lives in the rural areas and derive their livelihood mainly from subsistence agriculture on Swazi Nation Land (SNL). SNL is controlled entirely by the King.

Population density is approximately 69 persons per square km. Only 11% of the country’s land area of 17,360 square kilometers is arable. 56% of this is SNL, communal land held by the King in trust for the nation and administered by chiefs; 43% is TDL, privately owned by government, companies and individuals (including royalty) and less than 1% is for urban development.

Real GDP is estimated at 1.8% per annum (Central Bank Report 31/03/06).

Total population of disadvantaged people was estimated at 756,000 in 2001 (SHIES 2001).

CHALLENGING THE REGIME

Swaziland is a failing state and is sliding into the category of failed states at great speed. Swaziland is a state in crisis, but like all violent dictatorial regimes, the absolute monarch government is determined to cling to power through violent means.

However, since its formation in 1983, PUDEMO has not been deterred by this violence. It remains resolute to struggle for multi-party democracy. Over the years, PUDEMO has grown from strength to strength. Today, it speaks through the voices of hundreds of thousands of our people. PUDEMO is a modern, progressive, democratic party with a solid social democratic values. We have committed ourselves to liberating the people of Swaziland through peaceful means. Our chief objective is to rebuild Swaziland on strong democratic principles based on a solid culture of civil and political rights, good and responsible governance, transparency and public accountability. We are driven by the commitment to humanity and the desire to give the people of Swaziland a chance to regain their dignity and to live like all free human beings. These are core values of social democracy and we are proud to be a committed party to these values. The people of Swaziland are in dire straits and, as a liberation organisation, we are confronted with an immediate task – to halt Swaziland’s decline into the social, political and economic abyss.

It is against this background that we passionately appeal to the conscience of the entire peoples of the world to help us achieve this noble goal by imposing sanctions targeted towards the interests of the royal family and its government.

JUSTIFICATION FOR THE SANCTIONS

As an organisation committed to peaceful change, PUDEMO has tirelessly tried to draw the government into peace talks in an attempt to find amicable solutions to the crisis in Swaziland. However, our peaceful effort has been undermined by the hostile reception of this government which regards violence as the only approach to dealing with our concerns. To date, the government is stubbornly refusing to engage the pro-democracy movement in any meaningful political talks.

It is our belief that such talks are, perhaps, the most viable and important method of resolving the crisis peacefully and restoring democratic rule in Swaziland. As demonstrated in various international experiences, a combined internal and external effort has great potential to yield substantial results in Swaziland. Central as they may be in the struggle for democracy, internal efforts acquire much strength from global solidarity. History shows that no regime, no matter how powerful and repressive, can withstand combined international and internal aspirations for change. In essence, international solidarity is the fulcrum of local strength.

The government has, for a considerable period, been convinced that it is invulnerable to international pressure because of its geo-political position as a small state. Hence, the impunity with which it continues to reject calls for democratic governance. The government believes that no body is watching and that it can violate civil and political rights as it wishes.

The current conditions are clearly characterised by political repression, the endemic abuse of human rights and general neglect of public responsibility to the people of Swaziland. This must change. These conditions are no longer sustainable as their harmful effects have become unmanageable under the current regime. It is against this background that we strongly believe that international sanctions are justifiable and necessary to:

· exert political pressure on the government to embrace democracy;
· protect life and human dignity;
· restore the conditions necessary for decent human existence; and
· securing basic human rights

WHY PUDEMO BELIEVES SMART SANCTIONS ARE A VIABLE OPTION

- Smart or targeted sanctions leave the international community with the means at its disposal to react and address Swaziland’s political situation which threatens international peace and security using non-military action;

- Targeted sanctions, if applied effectively, can be less costly than other options (e.g. military) and can be tailored to specific circumstances directly hitting the Swazi dictatorship;

- Targeted sanctions will avoid unintended negative effects, which the international community may be unwilling to tolerate. This gives sanctions greater moral acceptability through the avoidance of significant humanitarian costs.

- Targeted sanctions will be directed towards particular political leaders and members of the repressive machinery in Swaziland whose tyrannical actions are a threat to democracy and freedom nationally and internationally. This reduces the possibility of a “rally-around-the-flag” response from the targeted regime.

- Targeted sanctions, by affecting the leaders, as well as their key supporters, family members, important institutions under their control or specific flows of goods and services, can convey the message of the international community to the Swazi regime in very direct manner;

- Smart sanctions will more effectively target and penalize--- via arms embargoes, financial sanctions, and travel restrictions--- the Swazi political elites who espouse policies and commit actions against our people deemed reprehensible by the international community;

- Smart sanctions against the Swazi regime will protect vulnerable social groups (for example children, women, and the elderly) from so-called collateral damage specified commodities (such as food and medical supplies) from embargo.

WHAT THE SANCTIONS MUST TARGET

PUDEMO’S campaign is in favour of targeted sanctions against specific interests such as:

Exports of luxurious merchandise for the royal family, the government and individual politicians;

International travel involving individual members of the royal family, the royal family as an institution and government officials;

Study permits and other visa requirements for members of the royal family and government officials;

International investments, monetary and physical asserts, targeting the government, individual members of the royal family, the royal family as an institution, royal family companies mainly Tibiyo TakaNgwane and Tisuka TakaNgwane and other companies in which the royal family and top politicians have shares;

The tourism industry which firmly anchored on cultural practices that are inconsistent with basic human rights and freedoms;

Arms trade and technical support to the Swazi regime.

There is strong moral justification for international sanction against these targeted interests.

- Lavish royal family spending has put enormous strain on the country’s meagre resources, which could be best used, in needy areas such as health and poverty alleviation. It is morally repugnant for King Mswati III to build expensive palaces for each of his thirteen wives and to purchase a fleet of ultra expensive cars when the general population is often starving and has limited access to basic health services. A travel ban and restriction of exports of luxury goods to members of the royal family and the government will release the much-needed resources for social and economic development.

- The government has relied heavily on violence to sustain its opposition to democracy. Its capacity to use violence against our people is dependent upon continued access to the arms trade and external military technical support. Swaziland has no arms industry and imports all its military hardware from democratic countries. These weapons are used entirely to commit gross human rights violations against citizens, to suppress the pro-democracy movement and intimidate the population. In every single protest organised by PUDEMO and SWAYOCO, the armed forces have arrogantly displayed these weapons of intimidation and used them indiscriminately against members of the public.

- And most importantly, opportunities for international investment of dirty money have fostered corruption and official pillaging of the country’s resources. The regime knows that it cannot hold power by force indefinitely and is transferring public moneys overseas. The country badly needs these resources and urgently needs help to stop the looting. It would be morally responsible for institutions and governments where the investments are held to freeze the assets and release them to a democratically elected government. We particularly request financial institutions to appeal to their moral conscience not to put profit before humanity.

- The government has subverted the booming tourism industry into a political propaganda to reconstruct a false identity of the country as peaceful. This identity, which is a key feature in travel brochures, is a facade designed to mislead. PUDEMO appeals to travel agents to discourage travel to Swaziland. We particularly appeal to the conscience of all travellers not to assist this propaganda by excluding Swaziland from their future travelling plans.

DURATION OF THE SANCTIONS

The international community should maintain sanctions against the Swazi regime until such time that the Swazi regime, amongst other things:

· Unequivocally commits itself to democratisation by embracing the people’s demands for a democratically driven constitution making exercise,

· Moves quickly towards a negotiation process by repealing all laws restricting political activity, particularly the prohibition of political parties,

· Stops the violence and inciting public hatred and intolerance towards the pro-democracy movement,

· Exercises greater public responsibility to the people of Swaziland by taking active and effective measures to alleviate the effects of poverty and the degrading conditions at the healthcare sector,

· Takes responsibility and provide leadership for the HIV/AIDS epidemic, and

· Ends the pillaging of public resources including lavish royal family spending and endemic corruption.

CONCLUSION

Targeted sanctions against the Swazi regime make intuitive sense and respond directly to the question of what effective role the international community can play towards bring freedom and democracy to the suffering masses of our country. Sanctions, if effectively applied, can be a powerful instrument beyond diplomatic support but short of military action that can force the Swazi regime to negotiate the transfer of power to the people. This campaign provides an opportunity for PUDEMO to demonstrate organizational maturity, diplomatic skills as well as the moral authority to be a credible alternative government. However, it requires a great deal of human, material and financial resources and sacrifice from membership in order to succeed. Our external mission should be strengthened to galvanise more international and regional consensus surrounding the sanctions campaign against the oppressive regime in Swaziland. It is equally important to note that internal (inside Swaziland) support for the campaign is crucial and that PUDEMO must intensify the struggle for freedom inside Swaziland and lead the masses to their victory.

PUDEMO

Swaziland, a state of lawlessness

COMRADE SIPHO JELE FINALLY LAID TO REST

Killed for wearing his PUDEMO T-shirt

PRAYER FOR MARIO MASUKU

STATEMENT ON THE MARIO MASUKU TRIAL

The Planned COSATU Visit To Swaziland

PUDEMO Press Release - 5 September 2009

PUDEMO Day 2009

STATEMENT ON THE ARREST OF THE PEOPLE’S LAWYER

PUDEMO STATEMENT

ON THE ARREST OF THE PEOPLE’S LAWYER

3 June 2009

The People’s United Democratic Movement strongly condemns the arrest of the People’s Lawyer Thulani Maseko this morning by the state’s security agents acting on the instructions of the country’s authorities.

PUDEMO and the people of Swaziland shall always stand by Comrade Maseko in the fight for democracy in Swaziland .

Contacts

Dep President – Sikhumbuzo Phakathi – =27 731427594 (South Africa)

National Spokesperson – Zakhele Mabuza - +268 607 3453 (Swaziland)

Lawyer of PUDEMO President Arrested

RE-AFFIRMING PUDEMO'S MAIN PROGRAMME OF ACTION

STATEMENT ON THE ONGOING POLICE RAIDS ON PUDEMO MEMBERS IN SWAZILAND

STATEMENT ON WORKERS' DAY

PUDEMO PRESS RELEASE

SPECIAL MESSAGE ON THE PEOPLES PRESIDENT

Statement on the Amnesty International Initiative to Apply Pressure on Swaziland

Statement on the Victory by the Swaziland National Ex-Mineworkers Association

More Plans for Repression in Swaziland

NAKED STATE PROPAGANDA TO PROMOTE OFFENSIVE AGAINST CALLS FOR DEMOCRATIC TRANSFORMATION

STATEMENT ON SWAZILAND’S BUDGET FOR THE SUPPRESSION OF REVOLUTIONARY DEMOCRATIC FORCES

STATEMENT ON THE PUDEMO YOUTH LEAGUE (SWAYOCO) RALLY MARCH 1, 2009

PUDEMO Statement:

STATEMENT ON THE PUDEMO YOUTH LEAGUE (SWAYOCO) RALLY

ISSUED ON 1 MARCH 2009

It must be noted that the objectives of the rally centred on the very issue of lack of democracy in the way the country is governed. Thus the Youth League demanded:

The introduction of a constitutional multiparty democratic order in Swaziland that will guarantee freedom of speech, assembly and association.

The provision of basic, very necessary services to the people including free education, quality health care, meaningful social grants to the elderly, clean water, accessible roads, etc.

Information and Publicity – Zakhele Mabuza 268-607-3453

Secretary General – Sphasha Dlamini 268-608-9783

Deputy President – Sikhumbuzo Phakathi 27-73-142-7594

Sec. for International Affairs (SWAYOCO) – Siyabonga Hlongwane 27-79467577

Durban Declaration: Extraordinary Congress of PUDEMO held 16-18 January 2009

Royal terrorists protect their interests at the expense of peoples' lives

PUDEMO End of Year Statement 2008

Strangling the King's opponents: Swaziland's "war on terrorism"

PUDEMO'S PRESS STATEMENT ON THE ARREST AND DETENTION THE PRESIDENT, CDE MARIO MASUKU AFTER THE BANNING OF THE PEOPLE'S VANGUARD:

PUDEMO EXTERNAL REGION PRESS STATEMENT 18 November 2008

PUDEMO External Region REC Call for full Support and Participation at the Planned Protests

PUDEMO Extra – Ordinary Congress Declaration

THE HISTORICAL AND CURRENT POLITICAL SITUATION OF SWAZILAND

When PUDEMO was born

THE SLEEPING GRASS RE-AWAKENS

PUDEMO presentation to the European Union Ambassadors

PUDEMO Statement on the Assassination of Dr. G Mkhumane

PUDEMO STATEMENT Dysfunctional leadership at the University of Swaziland: a symptom of a failing state

PUDEMO STATEMENT Protecting the Integrity of the African Unity (AU): Swaziland Forced to Withdraw Candidate from the AU Election

AISA Presentation

OFFICE OF THE CHIEF REPRESENTATIVE

PUDEMO President address to the EU delegation

Mario Masuku – PUDEMO President

Introduction

The situation in Swaziland today

On the Road to a new and democratic Swaziland - the future belongs to the people!

Conclusion

PUDEMO STATEMENT The Silence Brutality in Southern Africa- Sedition Trialists Update

The Silence Brutality in Southern Africa- Sedition Trialists Update

PUDEMO STATEMENT Swaziland police attempt to murder political activist in public

PUDEMO PRESS RELEASE ON BOARDER BLOCKADE/RALLIES

PUDEMO PRESS RELEASE ON BOARDER BLOCKADE/RALLIES

MATSULU DECLARATION

MATSULU DECLARATION OF PUDEMO

Tinkhundla Crisis

The Rural Masses and Land

The Education Crisis

Health and HIV/AIDS

Women Emancipation

Youth and Students

Smart Sanctions Campaign

International Solidarity

Conclusion

PUDEMO STATEMENT: TARGETED SANCTIONS AGAINST THE RULING REGIME IN SWAZILAND