A-Infos (en) Britain, Anarchist Federation Organise #67 - Growth and degrowth - Swaziland

Like previous years in Swaziland, 21st January 2005 marked Youth Day, a day of 
protest against the absolute monarchy in Swaziland. And also like previous years, it 
was marked by savage police repression.
Swaziland has lived under a state of emergency since 1973. All political parties and 
associations are banned; arrests of opponents to the regime are frequent, as is 
torture. Several people have died in custody under suspicious circumstances.
On that day, petrol bombs had been thrown at court houses and the homes of members of 
the regime. At first, the Swazi regime accused the only revolutionary organisation in 
southern Africa, the Zabalaza Anarchist-Communist Federation (ZACF). The ZACF 
responded by recalling that they "unanimously rejected terrorism as a method of 
popular mass mobilization" and that a few people acting alone were not enough to 
change the system.

Following this, 16 members of the youth wing of the People's United Democratic 
Movement (PUDEMO), a Swazi oppositional group, were accused of high treason and 
attempted murder over the petrol bomb attacks.
There is a distinct lack of evidence in this case and the regime is using the arrests 
to further repress opposition.
The ZACF has demanded a general amnesty of all political prisoners and stated that 
militants had to go beyond their habitual demands for "the total destruction of the 
State, and its replacement by decentralized popular assemblies of the working class, 
the poor and the peasantry".
Whilst the Swazi Royal Family lives in conspicuous abundance, an average Swazi family 
lives on less than $1 a day. Most people have no access to water and nearly 42% of 
the population are victims of AIDS with no preventive programme in place. There is no 
free primary education.
The PUDEMO called for the right to education and healthcare, access to medicines to 
counter the effects of AIDS, and a guaranteed right to food for all.
The PUDEMO activists are now out on bail. However, when they come to trial they may 
face the death penalty. Pressure has to be put on the Swazi regime for the dropping 
of charges. Both South Africa and Britain are active supporters of the corrupt regime.
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