The Swaziland police and state paramilitary forces are preparing to brutally attack the labour unions demonstration due in Mbabane tomorrow (Friday 18 March 2011).
The Swaziland United Democratic Front (SUDF) says there are signals ‘that the regime is preparing to brutally crush the peaceful demonstrations’.
It says in a statement that the Manzini Regional Police Commander, ‘has twice this week alone led a battalion of his paramilitary troops to menacingly disrupt civil society meetings aimed at preparing for the marches’.
SUDF says, ‘The streets of Manzini have also since Monday been littered with police officers and prison warders. Leaders of labour unions and the SUDF have been stalked and their mobile phones bugged.’
The SUDF has asked for the international media to publicise the threat and to be present during tomorrow’s protest to witness the anger felt by Swazi people who are demanding multi-party democracy in the kingdom, ruled by King Mswati III, sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch.
‘We invite you to come and see for yourselves so that you can alert the rest of the international community to the scale of human rights violations inside Swaziland. All evidence to this claim will be on display for you on Friday,’ SUDF says.
SUDF is also appealing to the international community to impose targeted sanctions on the collective leadership of the Tinkhundla regime that controls Swaziland.
See also
PROTEST ‘WILL HALT SWAZILAND’
http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2011/03/protest-will-halt-swaziland.html
SWAZI KING’S DAYS ARE NUMBERED
http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2011/03/swazi-kings-days-are-numbered.html
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