Wednesday Protests against the monarchy in Swaziland:
Nearly 1000 members of the Young Communist League (YCL) and the Swaziland Solidarity Movement (SSM) called on “democracy-loving people of the world” and governments to impose sanctions on the Swazi government and to isolate King Mswati III and his “lavish family”.
The monarch recently came under scrutiny for purchasing a number of luxury vehicles for himself and his ten wives while poverty and HIV/Aids are rife in the small kingdom.
I’m not hip to communism but I do like the demands of the protesters:
The protesters listed the following demands for “the struggle for freedom in Swaziland”:
– the unbanning of all political parties in Swaziland and the cessation of all intimidation and cessation of hostilities against political leaders and activists,
– the unconditional end of arbitrary arrests, torture and victimisation of political leaders, trade unionist and activists
– an all-inclusive process of constitutional transformation.
The organisations appealed to the international community for support for “the genuine cause of freedom for the people of the world”, and urged the African Union, the Southern African Development Community and all multilateral bodies to intervene against human rights abuses in Swaziland.
More on the protest here.