FOUR YOUTH LEADERS RE-ARRESTED

Police have rearrested the four youth leaders who were initially detained at a roadblock on Sunday and kept for two days. Together with them is the President of the Swaziland National Association of Civil Servants, Quinton Dlamini, the Swaziland Solidarity Network reports.

The four youth leaders are:

1. Maxwell Dlamini: The President of the Swaziland National Union Of Students.

2. Themba Mabuza: An organiser for the Swaziland United Democratic Front.

3. Sonkhe Dube: Executive member of SWAYOCO

4. Sifiso Mabuza: SWAYOCO member

Information on the ground is that the protests are continuing with renewed fervour. The action has now shifted from Manzini to Mbabane, the capital.

RELEASE YOUTH DETAINEES UNHARMED

Africa Contact Press Release,

12 April 2011

We demand that the Swazi regime release detained democracy advocates abducted by police unharmed, says Africa Contact in a Press Release today.

Swaziland's brutal regime is presently holding an undisclosed number of democracy advocates incommunicado and we fear they are being tortured. We strongly urge Swaziland's government to ensure their immediate release. We also urge the international community, including governments, NGOs and all others who believe in the rule of law, to put pressure on Swaziland to release them, and the news media everywhere to draw attention to this injustice, says Danish solidarity movement, Africa Contact, who has worked with several of these organizations for many years.

Amongst those detained are several members of Africa Contact's partner organizations, including Maxwell Dlamini, President of the Swaziland National Union of Students, and Themba Mazuba, National Organizing Secretary of the Swaziland United Democratic Front. Both were arrested on April 10 together with several other members of the democratic movement at a roadblock in Sidvwashini near Swaziland's capital Mbabane, coming back from neighboring South Africa, where they had attended a meeting on preparations of today’s demonstrations.

The whereabouts of Maxwell and Themba and the other detainees is not known at this time, even though lawyers representing them have sought relentlessly for them since their abduction. Their mobile phones have been switched of, even though they had agreed to be in constant communication with members of the democratic movement, usually an indication of police misconduct or mistreatment.

Police and security forces have been clamping down on the perceived organizers of the expected demonstrations later today, April 12, for days now, as well as holding the entire country hostage to innumerable road blocks and more or less random searches, and allegations of torture of those who they bring in for questioning already started to appear days ago.

On many previous occasions, where members of the Swazi democracy movement have been held incommunicado by the police and/or by security forces, there have been numerous credible accusations, backed up by e.g. Amnesty International, of police beating and torturing detainees by e.g. suffocating them with plastic bags. Pius Vilakati, a former student leader in Swaziland who is now living in exile in South Africa, told South African newspapers of his torture at the hands of Swazi police recently, and in the case of PUDEMO member Sipho Jele last year, the police have even been known to murder democracy advocates, wittingly or unwittingly.

As for tomorrow's demonstrations, called by a majority of the democracy-seeking organizations in Swaziland, including the unions, the students' organizations and the Swaziland United Democratic Front, Africa Contact also urges the international community to demand that the Swazi regime refrains from ”crushing the protests,” as Swaziland's Prime Minister, Barnabas Dlamini said they would, and instead allow them to peacefully air their legitimate demands for democracy and socio-economical justice.

Swaziland's constitution declares all members of political parties to be terrorists and its controversial Suppression of Terrorism Act defines terrorism very vaguely, thus in effect allowing virtually anybody to be locked up for any behavior not to the liking of the regime. This gives the police and security forces a virtual carte blanche to apprehend and mistreat whoever they see fit, and the only protection that ordinary Swazis have against such police abuse is the pressure applied by the international community, as well as by constant new coverage of its wrongdoings.

AMNESTY: ENSURE SAFETY OF DETAINEES

Amnesty International calls for Swaziland authorities to ensure safety of activists detained as part of the protests.

SOURCE

Swaziland activists detained ahead of banned protests

by: Amnesty International | Apr 11th, 2011

Authorities in Swaziland must ensure the safety of four activists who were detained last night (Sunday 10 April 2011) in an apparent bid to disrupt planned protests marches.

Authorities in Swaziland must ensure the safety of four key activists who were detained last night in an apparent bid to disrupt planned protests marches, Amnesty International said today.

The arrests of the activists, which took place at a roadblock near Mbabane last night according to eyewitnesses, follow the Swaziland government’s recent announcement that all protests from 12 to 14 April are illegal.

“We are deeply concerned for the safety of these activists, who are held incommunicado and at risk of torture,” said Amnesty International’s deputy Africa Program Director, Michelle Kagari.

“The authorities must ensure that the detainees are given immediate access to legal counsel and that their families are told where they are.

“The fact that several of the arrested men have been previously unlawfully detained, ill-treated and had police raids on their homes increases the concerns about their well-being.”

Those detained are Maxwell Dlamini and Samkeliso Ginindza, officials from the Swaziland National Union of Students (SNUS), Sifiso Mabuza, from the banned youth organization SWAYOCO, and Themba Mabuza, an organizer for the Swaziland United Democratic Front (SUDF).

The sweeping ban announced by the Swaziland government on 7 April affects planned activities by a range of organizations, including trade unions, and is a violation of the Swazi people’s right to freedom of expression and in particular their right to peaceful assembly.

Activists have planned marches between 12-14 April in protest at political, social and economic conditions in the country.

Political and civil society organizations in Swaziland regard 12 April as the anniversary date of the 1973 King’s Proclamation, which ushered in more than three decades of emergency rule.

In recent days the police and military have set up roadblocks throughout the country in an apparent attempt to disrupt plans for this week’s protests and to arrest suspected organizers.

The home of at least one key trade union official was also raided and searched early on Monday.

“If tomorrow’s march does take place, the Swaziland police must act with restraint and not use excessive force,” Michelle Kagari said.

FEARS FOR SAFETY OF YOUTH LEADERS

The Swaziland Democracy Campaign (SDC) has been trying to make contact with the four youth leaders who were arrested last night (10 April 2011) and who have since disappeared.

In a statement SDC says that Samkeliso Ginindza, one of the four men, telephoned Mary Pais Da Silva (SDC Swaziland Convener) at 2050 hrs last night and informed her that they had been stopped and the attitude of the security forces was very hostile. He also said that they were unsure of their safety because of the conduct of the security forces towards them. It was agreed that they would keep in constant communication, however this was not the case as his mobile number is unavailable on the network (and so are the other mens’ numbers).

A legal team has been making attempts at tracing the four since word of their disappearance arrived at 1130hrs today, but so far there is no lead as to where they are. It is generally agreed that the security forces had a hand in their disappearance. Attempts to reach the Police Headquarters have been futile as there is no answer to the telephone calls being made.

Attempts at the Mbabane Police Station have not yielded any fruit, as the Station Commander is reported to be out of office and he is unreachable on his mobile number and this was as soon as attempts to call him thereon were made. At first his phone rang with no response.

Here is the full statement from SDC.

SOURCE

CRACKDOWN!!!

11 April 2011

As Swazi’s gear up for the protest march billed for tomorrow (12 April 2011) and the world waits with bated breath to witness this historic event, the Government has conducted itself true to form and in furtherance of the threats uttered by the country’s illegal Prime Minister in his statement on the protest marches.

Yesterday, comrades returning to Swaziland from the Swaziland Democracy Campaign’s one year anniversary commemoration were intensely searched and questioned at the Oshoek border post. Some of them had their belongings including t-shirts confiscated with no information as to when they would be returned to them. The items confiscated were mainly those that have the COSATU emblem on them.

There are a series of roadblocks along the route from Oshoek to Manzini including the following: at Sidwashini in Mbabane; at Mvutjini in Ezulwini, at Mhlaleni in Matsapha. At one of these roadblocks (Sidwashini), four comrades who were travelling together in the same motor vehicle went missing. They are as follows:

1. Themba Mabuza: National Organising Secretary of the Swaziland Democratic Front (SUDF).

2. Sifiso Mabuza: Deputy President SWAYOCO (Youth League of PUDEMO).

3. Maxwell Dlamini: President of Swaziland National Union of Students (SNUS).

4. Samkeliso Ginindza: Deputy Secretary General of SUDF and Secretary General of SNUS.

At 2050hrs, Samkeliso telephoned Mary Pais Da Silva (SDC SD Convener) and informed her that they had been stopped and the attitude of the security forces was very hostile. He further stated that they were unsure of their safety because of the conduct of the security forces towards them. It was agreed that they would keep in constant communication, however this was not the case as his mobile number is unavailable on the network (and so are the other comrades’ numbers).

A legal team has been making attempts at tracing the comrades since word of their disappearance arrived at 1130hrs, but so far there is no lead as to where they are. It is generally agreed that the security forces had a hand in their disappearance. Attempts to reach the Police Headquarters have been futile as there is no answer to the telephone calls being made.

Attempts at the Mbabane Police Station have not yielded any fruit, as the Station Commander is reported to be out of office and he is unreachable on his mobile number and this was as soon as attempts to call him thereon were made. At first his phone rang with no response.

The SDC condemns in the harshest terms, the manner in which the regime is attempting to derail the move to democracy. We demand that the comrades be released immediately and that these arbitrary arrests be brought to an immediate end. Arresting and detaining comrades only adds fuel to the fire that is burning in us. We shall not be deterred in flooding to the streets tomorrow.