PUDEMO FOUNDER: WE SAVED THE MONARCHY

Swazi Mail had an in-depth interview with PUDEMO founder Dr Raynauld Russon (PhD). In this interesting interview he revealed why and how PUDEMO was formed. Enjoy

Swazi Mail: As a long and senior member known to be associated with PUDEMO, do you still have links with the organization, if so how and if not why?

Dr Ray: Yes I was involved in the formation of PUDEMO in the early 1980s. This was precipitated by a number of factors following the passing on of King Sobhuza II on 21 August 1982. The infighting within the Royal Family confounded the situation and made it difficult for anybody to sit back and relax. The Liqoqo (an informal advisory body then) quickly consolidated itself and took control of state power under the stewardship of Prince Mfanasibili. Queen Regent Dzeliwe was compelled to expel Prime Minister Prince Mabandla and she was, herself subsequently deposed and placed under house arrest with charges of High Treason preferred against her. This created the political vacuum that the Liqoqo strong men required to occupy the driving seat and run the country.  Nigerian tycoon Mr. Fernandez was appointed as Minister of Foreign Affairs and then Minister without Portfolio and rumours that a Republic was imminent became widespread. Prince Dumisa Dlamini wrote:  ‘We shudder to think what would have happened to little Swaziland had Mfanasibili and his “Gang of Four” succeeded in selling the country to a Nigerian hustler, one Mr. Fernandez who already boasted a Swazi Royal Police security guard reserved for a Head of State together with a government country guest house, a Swazi diplomatic international passport, a fleet of government cars, and what else? “Top police and army officers, together with senior government ministers who refused to support the Liqoqo move were languishing in cells at Matsapa Central Prison. This was too fast and frightening to every thinking Swazi”[1] ([1] http://princedumisa.com/WayForward3.html. Retrieved 20 February 2010)

Certain concerned Princes rushed to the University to mobilize students to stall this process. Mass demonstrations organized by the Swaziland National Union of Students were held in Mbabane and Manzini and PUDEMO was born in this myriad of activities to take leadership of the disquiet. The threat of Swaziland being swallowed by a new regime of perceived autocrats had serious implications for the country and the sub-region particularly the struggle for liberation in South Africa? It was obvious that the new regime was very unfriendly to the liberation movement of South Africa as many comrades were arrested and handed over to apartheid South Africa. I was part of a delegation that crossed the border to Mozambique to consult with the senior leadership of the South African liberation movement on this issue. We agreed that democracy in Swaziland and all the other frontline states was intricately linked to the achievement of democracy in South Africa. The protection of Swaziland from falling into the wrong hands that would strangle the South African liberation struggle was a priority. King Sobhuza II had been supportive of the liberation movement until he was compelled to sign the Pretoria Accord, a Non Aggression Treaty that proscribed the activities of the South African liberation movement in Swaziland in February 1982. PUDEMO was formed to begin a process of stopping the degeneration of Swaziland into an oppressive dictatorship that would also destroy the little gains that the South African liberation movement had made in the frontline states. PUDEMO demanded an immediate removal of the nascent regime that was obviously dictatorial. The campaign was widely supported even by the security forces to such a point that rumours of a military coup d’état were spreading very quickly. The attempt to dislodge the monarchy was shaken and in desperation, the Liqoqo strong men hastily announced the appointment of Makhosetive as Crown Prince and Ntombi Tfwala as Queen Regent to try and quell the disquiet that had developed under the stewardship of PUDEMO. Prince Makhosetive was subsequently crowned King Mswati III on 25 April 1986. In a nutshell, PUDEMO saved the monarchy of Swaziland. It is paradoxical that PUDEMO, is today, the biggest enemy of the monarchy. It is also true that, although PUDEMO has repeatedly called for the preservation of the monarchy, it has been forced to drift further away from the monarchy as an institution.  I believe that the two groups can find each other in a sincere and open process of dialogue. Dialogue is the answer to many of our political problems worldwide and the guiding principle to successful dialogue is a win-win outcome not a win-lose. Before I left Swaziland in the early 1990s I had started a process of dialogue with the support of then British High Commissioner Mr. Brain Watkins. The late Mr. Arthur Khoza was another key player in the process. The process had gone a long way but was scuttled by Mr. Watkin’s departure and later my own departure. Yes I am not ashamed to declare that I was one of the founding members of PUDEMO and that I still have a lot of respect for the organization, its integrity and beliefs in building a better society for all the people of Swaziland. I am however conscious of the fact that a lot has changed over the years.

Swazi Mail: Do you still come to Swaziland, if so how often and if not why?

Dr Ray: I have been coming to Swaziland very regularly in the past year and I hope to continue doing so this year and into the future. Swaziland is home for me because I was born here and my mother is Swazi although my father is South African.

Swazi Mail: What do you do as an individual in the Diaspora for democracy?

Dr Ray: I do not consider myself in the Diaspora here in South Africa because of my double heritage. South Africa is home just as Swaziland is. Even politically I have always played a double role. I was in the trenches with the liberation movement of South Africa and I was and still am active in the political process in Swaziland although I now wear a different cap. I am committed to a political solution through meaningful dialogue.

Swazi Mail: Lastly; what do you consider to be strengths and weaknesses of the pro-democracy groups in Swaziland and what interventions can be done?

Dr Ray: I am not competent to answer this question save to say that there is a need for Constructive Engagement from both sides of the political spectrum. The standoff is not helpful and can only worsen relations and throw the country into a state of anarchy. Southern Africa and the whole continent really doesn’t need any conflict or confrontation at the moment. Swaziland is one of the very unique countries in Africa because its homogeneity. We can sit around the table and speak one language without any translators and resolve many of our problems. A bit of maturity on both sides can go a long way to resolving the political impasse. I believe that a solution will be found soon and that the 2013 elections will be all inclusive.

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October Declaration of the SDC

October Declaration of the SDC

Background

Following the highly successful global week of action for democracy in Swaziland that took place during the month of September, joint chapters of the Swaziland Democracy Campaign (SDC) gathered in Johannesburg to review the events before, during and after the global week of action in order to prepare for the coming two days of action in November and a comprehensive programme for next year.

We believe the momentum generated by the global week of action has created a state of irreversibility, which has placed the Swazi people’s struggle on the global political map in a way never achieved before, not without a fair recognition of previous such instances, such as the border blockades. The rich lessons from these historic events and those preceding it have demonstrated the massive potential for both popular action inside Swaziland and an effective global solidarity movement. The biggest lesson of the recent action is that solidarity in action offers more prospects for meaningful impact than pledges and statements.

As the SDC, we are heirs to the rich traditions of the border blockade movement and the various initiatives driven by the trade union movements of Swaziland and South Africa, together with all progressive and civil society forces. The campaign for democracy is not an organisation, but a wave and movement that co-ordinates all the activities, inside and outside Swaziland that aim to draw in the active participation and build unity of all the forces committed to democracy in Swaziland for the full realisation of the popular aspirations of the people.
We have set ourselves the task of building the biggest global solidarity movement in the history of the Swazi struggle to effectively isolate the ruling regime and mobilise support for the cause of the people in practical terms.

SDC has emerged as a uniting force, bringing together all forces committed to the struggle for democracy in Swaziland. In this regard, it must continue to act in a manner that befits the status of a uniting force. It must be non-sectarian in both theory and practice, always striving to work together and unite all those who share the vision and ideals of a democratic future.

We believe that the world is now listening, therefore an opportune moment for a loud and clear message that it is in the interest of humanity as a whole that Tinkhundla is ended and democracy victors in Swaziland. Through their massive sacrifices and struggles on the streets of Swaziland, the people have expressed their intentions to be free and the fact that they cannot wait any longer for the reclamation of their dignity. In this regard, therefore, we are being afforded an opportunity by the emerging circumstances to assert a new path to a new and democratic Swaziland.

Offering solidarity is our moral obligation and historic duty

We take this opportunity to salute the work of SDC Swaziland in particular, given the extreme hostility they operate under. Their hard work and determination has inspired the world to derive lessons and pledge to double their efforts towards the realisation of our objectives.

We reaffirm that the Swazi struggle is led by and in the interest of the suffering people of Swaziland through their humble struggles and sacrifices. There can be no substitute as to where political perspectives and guidance must come from. In this regard, all other role players act in accordance with these interests.

Participation in the Swazi struggle is in accordance with an invitation by the organisations and legitimate representatives of the Swazi people themselves. This is the spirit of all the volunteers who sacrificed their lives and comfort to offer practical solidarity with the struggling people of Swaziland in the trenches, which is an abiding culture and prime feature of SDC work. We salute all these volunteers from all over the world, more particularly from South Africa, Zimbabwe, Denmark, Britain and other parts of the world. In particular, we pay special tribute to the outstanding role of COSATU and its affiliates for affirming the true traditions of internationalism as about solidarity in action. We value and treasure their sacrifices.
SDC South Africa Chapter has taken steps to report the dirty work of MTN in Swaziland, which has entangled itself in the web of security structures of the oppressive Tinkhundla regime by collaborating in providing personalised and private information about contract holders to the state which in turn is used to persecute political and trade union activists. This was further confirmed by the total shutdown of network around the whole of Manzini during the Global week of action, including that of South Africans who were roaming. We have identified MTN for serious campaigning work. We note that even in Mozambique during the recent food riots, the same happened around Maputo and the case is with the International Telecommunications Organisation.

We also note that we must do active campaigning against Coca-cola, particularly CONCO which produces concentrates that supply the whole of Africa and the Middle east and to a large extent sustains or subsidise the royal economy in Swaziland.

These must be elements of our campaign for smart or targeted sanctions against the Tinkhundla regime. We must isolate the Tinkhundla regime at all levels and close down every space for it. All members of the royal family must not be able to access international fora and institutions until they accept democracy to rule in the country. In this regard, we salute the activities organised by the British TUC and ACTSA in London, ITUC-Africa and PSI in Togo, BFTU in Botswana, CGIL in Italy and SAC in Denmark during the week of action and before, to mention a few.

The struggle continues!
Preparing for year of decisive solidarity in action for democracy in Swaziland

Having benefitted immensely from the rich lessons of our 8 months of existence and those of our founding organisations and fore bearers who had long been involved in the Swazi struggle inside and outside Swaziland, we are in a position to assert a new and firm line of march towards a more bolder and decisive plan of action.

Herein are its critical elements;

1.      First Anniversary Swazi-South African Civil society Forum in February, to take stock of all the work done since the launch of this giant initiative in February, 2010 and determine the new path to guide our work in the medium term.

2.      The 11-15^th April, 2011 is being declared the Global week of action that shall be characterised by the biggest border blockade and mass action inside Swaziland synergised to maximise impact

3.      Global Solidarity Conference for democracy in Swaziland to be hosted mid-year 2011 to co-ordinate all the forces involved in supporting the people and workers of Swaziland, to be hosted in South Africa. It shall also have a strong element of Southern African participation given the work done and still being done throughout the region as our key focus point of mobilisation.

4.      Development and application of a comprehensive plan for smart sanctions against the Tinkhundla regime and all its associates, which should be launched in April, 2011. This shall outline the priority goods for targeting and action.

5.      SDC shall work with the SUDF to organise a Swazi Diaspora Conference 9for all Swazis based outside the country) towards the end of next year or alongside the Global Solidarity Conference as a continuum or series of events linked to each other during the same period

6.      Finally, we are proud to announce the hard work put by our Media and Publicity team towards the implementation of the February Public launch directive for the creation of a Swaziland Information Bank, which has now been coined the Swaziland Information and Communication Systems, which has now produced projects that shall be launched soon. However, of particular note is the SDC online publication, the Swazi Mail to be launched in a week’s time.

7.      Shall increase our capacity to do research, particularly on the state of the collapsing economy in Swaziland, owing to Tinkhundla corruption and greed.
Meanwhile a comprehensive action Plan for the November 16 and 17^th Global days of action shall be finalised and released after discussion and adoption by the coming SUDF Conference in Swaziland next week. Its elements were fully discussed and took into cognisance the important lessons of the past actions. In this regard, the SDC and all allied organisations send fraternal greetings and salutations to the historic gathering of its mother body, the SUDF in its coming Conference whose marching orders shall be awaited with keenness by all patriots and internationalists.

Finally, the meeting noted and saluted the growing interest and numbers of organisations and individuals increasingly inspired by the work put together by the organisations under the SDC and co-ordinated by the SDC in Swaziland and all over the world. This mighty wave and movement has drawn active interest from organisations and people in different parts of the world, eager to see and contribute to a democratic Swaziland.

We salute all our partner organisations and strategic allies, particularly the global trade union movement that forms the backbone of our work and whose support is the cornerstone of our successes.


In this regard the joint meeting adopted the following activities for the next six months.

2010 November 16-17   :        the SDC will support the global days of action led by the Swazi trade union movement to demand justice in Swaziland and respond to worker issues, socio economic issues, human rights. The SDC will be mobilising all its partners across the world to once again stand side by side with the people of Swaziland during this struggle.

2011 January 22           : The SDC will be mounting a global campaign to expose the brutality of the Swazi security forces. This will be in memory of an 11 year school girl (Noxolo Mdluli) who was shot dead by the Swazi police during a workers mass action.  This is an event that the SDC hopes to use to show the world how brutal the Swazi regime is. It will also be used to popularise the many other incidents of people who have died in police hands.

April 12-19                  : Another massive global week of action on Swaziland. The SDC working with all its partners will use this week to remind the world of the day on 12 April 1973 when the current state of emergency was first put in place. it was on this day when political parties were banned in swaziland all rights taken away from the people of Swaziland.

In the same week, on the 19th, the Swazi king will be celebrating his birthday.  We want the world to send him a wonderful present    : a clear message "unban political parties and free the people of Swaziland from royal oppression"

May 1           : The SDC will be mobilising workers across the world to be awake to the fact that while they will be celebrating workers gains across the world, in Swaziland , exactly a year ago(2010), a worker who had hoped to celebrate with other workers was abducted and killed by the Swazi police. this day will be in memory of the late Sipho Jele

June 2010       : A Global Swaziland Solidarity Conference on a date to be announced


Let all who believe in the power of democracy join the growing movement for a new and democratic Swaziland!