Ordinary people in Swaziland are being terrorised by
state forces to stop them showing opposition to King Mswati III and the Swazi
state, the kingdom’s communist party says.
In a statement to mark April 12, the 40th anniversary of
a Royal proclamation that turned Swaziland from a democracy into a kingdom
ruled by an autocratic monarchy, the Communist Party of Swaziland (CPS) said, ‘We
are now witnessing the increasing use of displays of military force to
intimidate and terrorize our people to prevent them from voicing their hatred
of the dictatorship.’
The CPS said April 12 was a day, ‘to assert the
importance and role of the pro-democracy movement’. But, it added, ‘Protests on
this day have been routinely suppressed.’
The CPS added, ‘40 years ago King Sobhuza II nullified
the constitution, dissolved parliament, prohibited party political activity and
severely restricted all other forms of political activism, including trade
union activity.
‘Under the current regime of Mswati III any offer of
political reform has been aimed at creating a buffer of constitutional window
dressing to persuade the international community and individual states that
Swaziland is on the road to freedom and full civil and civic rights.’
But, the CPS said, this was ‘posturing’ from the
king.
It added there was, ‘an increasing groundswell of
dissatisfaction and anger with the Mswati regime for imposing on the Swazi
people the world’s worst levels of impoverishment, disease and life expectancy.
‘There is increasing anger at the lavish spending and
luxuriant living of the royal family and the rest of the ruling class at the
expense of the working class and the poor.’
It said, ‘The small, confined urban spaces of our country
and tiny population make the suppression of the more obvious signs of
pro-democracy protest relatively easy for the heavily militarised regime to
carry out.
‘But there is a mass of activities aimed at securing a
democratic and liberated future for our people, including by the People’s
United Democratic Movement, the Swaziland Youth Congress, the trade union
movement and TUCOSWA – the Trade Union Congress of Swaziland– (which Mswati is
working overtime to crush), the CPS and others.’
The CPS said there was opposition to the king’s autocracy
rooted in Swazi society.
‘Internationally, the pro-democracy movement has growing
support and recognition among solidarity movements and organizations.’
Also, there was, ‘a growing interest at grassroots level,
especially among young people, to achieve greater unity in action’.
See also
SWAZILAND BECOMING MILITARY STATE
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