The Communist Party in
Swaziland is launching a campaign including sabotage and armed struggle to
topple the absolute monarch King Mswati III.
It said, ‘At an appropriate
time, the regime and media in Swaziland must be notified of the intention to
launch armed struggle. It should be made aware that the demand for Democracy
Now! will be backed up by violent action.’
The party has been running
a peaceful campaign for nearly 10 years calling for the unbanning of political
parties, for freedom of assembly and media, and for free and fair elections,
but said this was not bringing results.
It said, ‘The response has
simply been more oppression.’
In Swaziland (renamed
eSwatini by the King) under a system of government called Tinkhundla, political
parties cannot take part in elections and groups advocating for democracy
(including the Communist Party) are banned under the Suppression of Terrorism
Act. The King appoints the Prime Minister and Cabinet ministers as well as top
judges and civil servants.
In a new statement issued
by the Communist Party Central Committee (CC) called ‘Towards
a framework for developing armed struggle,’ it said the party’s campaign must be stepped up.
The statement circulated on
social media said, ‘We do not want to negotiate with the monarchy: it must
abdicate and make way for democratic change under an interim administration.
‘We are under no illusion
that, given the many years in which we have been calling for freedom and
democracy, the regime will embrace democracy and freedom for our people. The
regime must be forced to give up power!’
It added, ‘A sabotage
campaign would be the most appropriate means of doing this.
‘We are not in a position
to wage warfare; terrorism is counter-productive; all-out or even elements of
revolutionary war is unfeasible in our situation.
‘We must also consider the
scale of existing struggle in Swaziland, the small size of our country and very
small population, the small number and size of urban areas, and so on.’
It said the campaign aimed
to prevent the King’s rule from functioning normally by disrupting power and
communications. It also wanted to deter tourism and businesses from outside the
kingdom, while also impeding the functioning of the Swazi sugar industry and
other industries.
It said, ‘In all cases the
target must be infrastructure, not individuals.
‘Threats and intimidation
aimed at individuals amount to thuggish behaviour and must be avoided. An
exception is when we aim to prevent top officials in the government, police,
army from carrying out their work.
‘It should not as far as
possible aim to prevent our people going about their work and everyday lives.’ It added, ‘We would never target schools or
other places of learning, hospitals etc. – though such soft sabotage targets
might appear easy.
‘The targets of sabotage
should in every case be linked to the state and Tinkhundla system’s capacity to
function; to disrupting the scope for the government, monarchy, police, army,
civil service to function.
‘Particular attention
should be given to disrupting government / monarchic digital communications through
cyber warfare. This requires special expertise and assistance that must be
worked out. We need to seek assistance from outside the country for this,
possibly from friendly states.’
It said details of the
means and forms of sabotage would be worked out by a small secretariat seconded
from the Communist Party’s CC. ‘Secrecy is crucial, but the support of the CC
and (trusted) membership must be secured.’
It said, ‘At an appropriate
time, the regime and media in Swaziland must be notified of the intention to
launch armed struggle. It should be made aware that the demand for Democracy
Now! will be backed up by violent action.’
See also
Communists
to launch campaign of ‘maximum defiance’ against Swaziland’s absolute monarch
King Mswati
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