TUCOSWA presentation to international trade union webinar in solidarity with Eswatini workers. The Webinar was organised by SATUCC and the ITUC.

SATUCC/ITUC-AFRICA WEBINAR - MOBILISING SOLIDARITY AND SUPPORT FOR ESWATINI PEOPLES STRUGGLES FOR GENUINE DEMOCRATISATION

09/07/21

PRESENTATION BY TUCOSWA ACTING SECRETARY GENERAL MDUDUZI GINA (pictured below)

Introduction.

In April 1973, the King abrogated the independence constitution which had a bill of rights inclusive of the rights for the citizens to participate in the election of a government. The King decreed that the Constitution “ has permitted the importation into our country of highly undesirable political practices alien to, and incompatible with the way of life in our society and designed to disrupt and destroy our own peaceful and constructive and essentially democratic methods of political activity; increasingly this element causes hostility , bitterness and unrest in our peaceful society”.

The King thereafter bestowed absolute powers upon himself. He declared that he was from then assuming supreme power in that, “ all Legislative , Executive and Judicial power is vested in myself …”. The King on the same day, banned political parties and criminalized all its activities. He decreed that “ all political parties and similar bodies that cultivate and bring about disturbances and ill feelings within the nation are hereby banned”. Any person who forms or attempts or conspire to form a political party or who organizes or participate in any meeting or demonstration in contravention of the decree was said to be guilty of an offense.

Its effect on trade unions.

The ban on political parties and meetings of political nature included all similar bodies that were not defined but were left at the discretion of the police to determine, affected the operations of the trade unions. Trade Union meetings were monitored and sometimes violently disrupted on the basis that they are political in nature. This state of affairs remains to date , notwithstanding that the country consequently ratified the core Conventions of the ILO, specifically Convention 87 and 98 which give garantees on the rights to Freedom of Association and that of Collective Bargaining.

During the period 1995 to 1997, the workers held national demonstrations among their demands was a call for the return of the constitutional rule, in the main was the call for the unbanning of political parties. These demonstrations resulted on the promulgation of the Constitution in 2005.

The Constitution.

The constitution had a bill of rights but continued to practically ban the operations of political parties. Political parties remained constitutionally banned from contesting for political power.

The effect of the 1973 Proclamation on workers was once examined by the ILC in 2011 after it was persistently being used by the police to disturb legitimate trade union activities. The government argued that the Proclamation was nullified by the coming into force of the constitution in 2005, an argument which failed to convince the Conference. The ILO subsequently appointed a consultant to engage stakeholders in the country for a definite understanding on the state of the existence of the decree as well as its practical implementation. The Consultant found that the constitution never repealed the Proclaimation as alleged by government. The government was advised to issue a statement nullifying the Decree to ensure that it has no practical effect. The government todate has neglected and or refused to comply with the ILO directive. In law and in practice the Monarchy remains with absolute powers and political parties and meetings of political nature are banned.

The present political turmoil.

The death of a university student in the month of May under a cloud of controversy involving the police , resulted on the youth as led by the tertiary students, taking up a campaign calling for the arrest of whosoever was involved in the murder. The killings where the police were suspect had become prevalent over the years without action being taken by the Government. There was tension in the air. Three Members of Parliament on the other hand had taken up the issues of the judicial killings and raising them in parliament as some killings occurred in their various constituencies.

These Members of Parliament then escalated their demands now to political reforms as they viewed the Prime Minister as the Minister for Police, to be having an I don’t care tendency. Their argument was that the Prime Minister behaves in the manner that he does, simple because he was not elected by the people. The Prime is appointed by the King in terms of the constitution; the Members of Parliament were in actually challenging that. In response to the motion for a prime minister to be elected, the Acting Prime Minister in Parliament doubted the mandate of the the MPs. He argued that the MPs were not mandated by their constituency to challenge the powers of the King in Parliament. He demanded minutes of the meetings of the constituencies. This demand prompted the general population and again in the main, the youth to petition their Members of Parliament with demands including the unbanning of political parties and the election of the Prime Minister.

 

The reaction by the Government.

Out of the 59 constituencies, 51 had submitted their petition in their various centres. The government was intimidated by the numbers and the uniformity of the demands and consequently banned the petition deliveries on the basis that they have been hijacked by some individuals who were not named for their political scores. The banning of the petition deliveries caused the mayhem that then ensued from the 25^th June to the 30^th.

The Government unleashed the security forces on the unarmed protesters killing 53 of them in the process. Hundreds are in jail, they are reportedly being tortured. The army is raiding homesteads in the rural areas in in towns indiscriminately assaulting mainly the youth. The country is in a very volatile security situation..

The Federation has always warned the Government on its governance policies. The Federation was once deregistered for its call for democratic reforms, thanks to all of you , we were ultimately registered through the pressure that you exerted. We believe even now that you can still contribute towards the liberation of the entire nation from autocratic rule. Workers are at the receiving end of the turmoil currently obtaining. There is a curfew from 1800rs to 0500hrs. Workers on night shifts are being assaulted despite them proving sufficiently to the army that they were destined to or from work.

Our CALL.

We call upon the workers of the world and progressive civil society to petition the Eswatini Embassies or Missions in the various countries where they exist and demand the following;

·       An end to the ongoing intimidation, threats of arrests, raids, unprovoked brutal beatings of the members of the public by the police, soldiers and agents of the government.

·       The release of all protestors under the detention of the army and the police.

·       An independent investigation under the supervision of the United Nations, to unearth the murderers of the people and for those found in the wrong to face the law.

·       The unbanning of political parties to pave way for a political negotiated settlement.

·       A signed formal commitment to a negotiated political reform process by the Government and Eswatini Civil Society and Political parties.

We appeal to you Brothers and Sisters, Dear Comrades that until these demands are met, the workers of the region and the world should refuse to process all Eswatini import and exports for a period of three months , with the exception of food and medical supplies.

We believe that such a resolution and global resolve would sent a strong message to the authorities and region that autocratic rule has no space anywhere anymore.

Immediate needs.

The quantification of these requests is still under

·       Medical expenses for protestors requiring advanced medical care.

·       Wheelchairs.

·       Walking crutches

·       Artificial legs.

·       Litigation fees

·       Data gathering , maimed, injured,missing,dead etc.

Conclusion.

We are very humbled by the show of solidarity we have already received. Various Confederations, Federations, Unions, Political parties have extended solidarity in support of the quest for democracy by the people of Swaziland. As we speak SA Cdes organised under various organizations are demonstrating at the borders in practical solidarity.

Thank you everyone for listening. Long live international solidarity!!!