On Feb. 21, Swazi and South African activists launched the Swaziland Democracy Campaign, a global initiative to overthrow the country’s monarchy.
Swaziland, the tiny landlocked southern African country, is little known to people in the United States. Its absence from news broadcasts and print columns is of great assistance to King Mswati III and the royal elite who wield absolute power in the kingdom and whose vast wealth stands in stark contrast to the mass of Swazi citizens.
The efforts of the SDC come as poverty and political repression inside the country continue to mount. King Mswati maintains a stranglehold on all economic life, owning 60 percent of all land and making sure the other 40 percent remains firmly controlled by his political supplicants. The industrial sector, which is limited mainly to textiles, is dominated by Taiwanese businesses that pay sweatshop wages to Swazi workers.
Roughly 69 percent of the population lives in poverty. According to the International Monetary Fund, around 25 percent of the population requires food assistance. The Swazi population has the highest HIV/AIDS infection rate in the world—38 percent. The epidemic has reduced life expectancy from 65 to 31 in just the past 13 years. But the king has shown callous indifference, responding in 2001 with an absurd declaration banning all women under 18 from having sex for a 5-year period.
The misdeeds of the king and his retinue take on an even more disgusting character when placed on the backdrop of his ultra-lavish lifestyle. In 2008, the king took his 13 wives on a $4 million dollar shopping spree in Dubai. Swazi protesters pointed out that the average Swazi lives on the rough equivalent of 50 cents a day.
The king maintains an iron grip on political power, banning all parties or opposition, and using sham laws against “terrorism” to imprison and repress any groups opposing his rule. The SDC reports that in early February, following student protests, a number of leaders were detained and tortured by Swazi authorities. This follows a long pattern of abuses and assassinations.
Despite crushing poverty and political repression, a pro-democracy movement in Swaziland has continued to grow, and has mobilized tens of thousands. This struggle will now be extended to the international arena. The SDC has released a set of demands and actions for 2010.
The program of the SDC includes a call for an international boycott on handling luxury goods for the Swazi ruling class and the refusal to handle weapons intended for the military and police. The boycott also calls for the isolation of regime members from international schools and other places. Additionally, the SDC is calling for a global week of action beginning April 12 to raise awareness about Swaziland and a global march for democracy to take place Sept. 6, coinciding with the so-called Swazi independence day.
The new initiative aimed at breaking the information blockade on Swaziland is a welcome development that requires the active solidarity of progressive and revolutionary people worldwide.
