METALWORKERS BACK SWAZI ACTION

National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA), South Africa

Statement

5 September 2011

SOURCE

NUMSA supports Global Week of Action against the illegitimate and unelected King Mswati’s oligarchic regime

The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) fully backs the Global Week of Action against Swaziland as led by Swaziland Democracy Campaign and its international trade union movement allies across the globe.

This Global Week of Action should be supported by all progressive forces inside our country given our strategic proximity to Swaziland and the bond of friendship shaped and built with the progressive forces of Swaziland under the leadership of PUDEMO during our struggle for liberation and an end to apartheid minority rule. These bonds of friendship were nurtured and nourished through the selfless blood of uMkhonto weSizwe cadres who perished in Swaziland, such as Cde Mzwakhe Nyanda.

We are pledging our support to the SDC and the people of Swaziland with eggs over our faces given un-strategic and ill-informed decision by our government as led by the ANC to accede to King Mswati’s request for a financial loan or bail-out.

We all know that this bail-out or loan will be bloated by the royal family through their opulent shopping trips overseas and good taste for niceties by King Mswati’s wives, as opposed to meeting the pressing needs of the people of Swaziland, particularly addressing medication shortages or workers wages. The decision by our government remains distasteful and feeds correctly to the assertions made by the then ANC President Oliver Tambo when the Mozambican government signed a Komati Accord with the apartheid regime in 1984 when he said “our brothers and sisters have hugged and kissed the most hated hyena by the people of the world”.

We call on the ANC as a ruling and governing party to withdraw the bail-out or loan as approved by the Cabinet and instruct the South African Reserve Bank to reverse any transactions that could have been made. This will give strength to our solidarity efforts for the democratization and liberation of Swaziland from the illegitimate and unelected King Mswati’s oligarchy and stooges. This revolutionary gesture will further restore the international image and credibility of the ANC, particularly to the democratic forces of Swaziland who felt betrayed by the organization they pride themselves to identify with as a result of the historical relations.

As Metalworkers, we call on the people of Swaziland to draw inspiration from popular revolts by the workers, youth, intelligentsia and poor of Egypt and Tunisia to squeeze King Mswati’s regime until its surrenders power to the people of Swaziland as a whole. The people of Swaziland should refuse any maneuvers by the regime for negotiations since this will weaken and demobilize the forces behind change and democratic reforms.

We re-iterate our calls for all South African owned companies operating in Swaziland to de-invest until King Mswati’s regime is replaced by a democratically elected government of the people. They continued operation in Swaziland directly or indirectly contributes in funding King Mswati’s military strategy directed towards eliminating his political opponents as led by PUDEMO.

See also

POPCRU SUPPORTS SWAZI GLOBAL WEEK

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2011/09/popcru-supports-swazi-globalweek.html

CALL FOR SANCTIONS AGAINST KING

The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) supports today’s mass demonstration for democracy in Swaziland today (18 March 2011). In a statement it calls on the South African Government to ‘cut trade and economic ties with King Mswati’s regime until democratic reforms and a transition to democracy is in place.’

SOURCE

NUMSA CALLS ON SA GOVERNMENT & BUSINESS TO CUT TIES WITH THE ILLEGITMATE KING MSWATI REGIME!

18 March 2011

The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) supports the ongoing popular mass actions, starting today 18 March 2011, by workers and the rural peasantry of Swaziland under the leadership of Swaziland United Democratic Front (SUDF).

Today’s popular mass actions are part of exerting pressure to the oppressive and undemocratic regime of King Mswati to introduce democratic reforms, abolish the Tinkhundla system, the immediate release of all political prisoners and unbanning of all political parties by the regime.

The people of Swaziland should be inspired by the fighting spirit of the late ANC President Oliver Tambo, an internationalist par excellence, when he made a call to the people of South Africa to make the apartheid South Africa ungovernable until it is governed by the people.

We call on all South Africans, particularly the workers and the poor to support the ongoing struggles of the oppressed people of Swaziland. Our freedom and democracy will be meaningless if the people of Swaziland are still oppressed, under the guise of failed, illegitimate and rejected systems of Kingdoms or Monarchies. The people of Swaziland have a right to choose a democratic government of their own, under a transparent and popular democratic process, as opposed to an illegitimate and hereditary system that imposes King Mswati as a leader. If King Mswati wants to rule in Swaziland, he should be subject himself into a secret ballot box to test his popularity amongst the masses of Swaziland.

King Mswati’s ascendency to power is no different from our own past and rejected Bantustan systems and its leaders, such as Kgosi Lucas Mangope, in the then Bophuthatswana or Gatsha Buthelezi in the then KwaZulu.

We also call on the people of Swaziland to use today’s mass actions to raise a finger against the loud silence by the not-so-democratic and United States sponsored United Nations (UN) for its failure to impose sanctions against the illegitimate King Mswati’s regime. The silence by the UN and the not-so-genuine advocates of democracy in the world is informed by their capitalist accumulation interests in Swaziland, at the expense of the oppressed and suffering Swazis.

We call on South African government to cut trade and economic ties with King Mswati’s regime until democratic reforms and a transition to democracy is in place. We also call on SA owned companies based Swaziland to de-invest with immediate effect. The failures by our government and SA companies based in Swaziland, it will reinforce our beliefs that our foreign relations with Swaziland do not take into account the concerns of the people of Swaziland and we have joined the side of the oppressor to oppress them.

POLICE BRUTALITY: NEW TESTIMONY

Another eyewitness has described how Swaziland police harassed and assaulted pro-democracy activists during this week’s freedom demonstrations.

Christine Olivier, deputy president of South Africa’s National Union of Metalworkers (Numsa), told how she and other non-Swazis were deported from Swaziland after they entered the kingdom, ruled by King Mswati III, sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch, and attended a meeting to support the Global Day of Action for democracy in Swaziland.

‘We were deported on the basis that we entered the country illegally and we want to disrupt peace,’ she told a press conference in Johannesburg, South Africa.

They were rounded up on Monday (6 September 2010) while meeting to be briefed on a march.

Olivier said Swazi police asked local union leaders to identify the foreigners at the meeting, and when they refused, herded everyone into police vans and took them to a police station in Mbabane.

‘We were made to write statements that we were not arrested, but being questioned for being illegally in the country,’ she said.

‘We were humiliated and if they felt that your statement is not the one they wanted, they made you rewrite it.’

She said a delegation of 33 members, six from Numsa and 27 from the SA Municipal Workers’ Union went to Swaziland for the pro-democracy campaign.

‘Two of our members were assaulted on Tuesday evening, while being taken to the border,’ the South African Press Association reports her saying.

‘We were handled in an inappropriate manner. For once, we experienced the brutality of the Swazi police.’

She said about 10 police officers escorted her to a hotel in Manzini to collect her bags.

‘It was scary, at one stage I was not sure whether I will be taken to the border,’ she said, adding that by expelling foreign nationals Swaziland's government wanted to spread fear among the locals.

‘Our telephones were bugged on Monday, even today [Wednesday 8 September 2010] our numbers have been blocked. We are unable to speak to comrades in Swaziland.’

Olivier’s eyewitness testimony follows that of Peter Kenworthy of Africa Contact, Denmark, who reported this week that he was detained by Swazi police, assaulted told he would ‘never return to your country. You will die here’.

METALWORKERS ON ACTIVIST KILLING

The following is a statement from the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA) concerning the death in jail of Sipho Jele.

Numsa Statement on the brutal death of a Swazi Activist

for wearing a Pudemo T-Shirts on May Day Celebrations!

06 May 2010

The NATIONAL UNION OF METALWORKERS OF SOUTH AFRICA (Numsa) is deeply saddened by the heinous killing of the Swazi activist and Pudemo member Comrade Sipho Jele in custody after being arrested by King Mswati’s police during May Day celebrations for wearing a Pudemo T-Shirt.

We wish to extend our heartfelt condolences to his family, friends and the liberation movement – Pudemo – for the death of a brother, grandson and comrade.

Cde Jele was detained on May Day for wearing a Pudemo T-shirt, and subsequently police took him home in search of a Pudemo membership and political material, and retuned him to custody. On Tuesday 4 May 2010, Mswati hit-squad masquedering as police officers returned to report to his grandmother that Cde Jele committed suicide whilst in custody. We all know that in old apartheid South Africa, the notorious CCB police did similar things to many activists of our movement who perished mysteriously in custody.

As our symbol of our ongoing solidarity with the oppressed people of Swaziland. We call on our revolutionary South African government as led by the people’s movement to cut all diplomatic ties with Swaziland. This call will go a long way as part of exerting pressure to the Mswati regime to introduce democratic reforms and free political activity.

We call on Pudemo and the Trade Union movement to highlight the heinous killing of Cde Jele, by intensifying the Swazi struggle, and commit to unflinching solidarity against the royal Tinkhundla regime.

Numsa calls on President Jacob Zuma who once worked in the underground / uMkhonto weSizwe inside the Southern African region, to be our custodian for democracy in Swaziland. Numsa can no longer tolerate that our ANC and Republic President Zuma can be seen with a butcher in public in the person of King Mswati who denies the Swazi citizenry the right to freely associate, to freely speak and to freely assemble. The South African government on behalf of our people must lead in calling for sanctions and all other measures to bring democracy and multi-party elections to Swaziland now.


Castro Ngobese
National Spokesperson