The last elections, in 2008, were marred by widespread politically motivated violence committed by President Mugabe’s political supporters in the state apparatus and Amnesty International documented thousands of cases of torture, disappearances, killings and violence.

This years elections in Zimbabwe will also see severe repression of the political opponents of Mugabe’s ZANU-PF, the Amnesty report says. “Police continued to suppress free expression, association and assembly throughout the year, through arbitrary arrest, unlawful detentions and politically motivated prosecutions … at least 300 people were injured as a result of politically motivated acts of torture or other violence.”

Nevertheless, due to political pressure from both the Southern African Development Community and internationally, ZANU-PF is seemingly intent on manipulating the upcoming elections in a less violent, and more covert, manner than in 2008.

According to a recently published report by non-profit organisation Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition, “ZANU-PF is embarking on a more sophisticated and multi-pronged approach to cover its terror tactics in order to re-gain political legitimacy … Hence, political violence in 2013 will not be as blatant and as extreme as in the previous June 27, 2008 ‘election’.”

Not that ZANU-PF will not try to manipulate voters into voting for them, says Crisis in Zimbabwe. But this manipulation will be done primarily by more peaceful means such as “partisan registration of voters, ideologically appealing to popular groups, state financed patronage, control of state media and targeted persecution (devoid of physical harm) against civil society leaders and opposition supporters.”

And such manipulation is bound to increase because Mugabe and his allies have an important reason to be re-elected, apart from the wish to retain power in Zimbabwe, says Crisis in Zimbabwe. “The cost of losing is too high given the allegations of gross human [rights] violations and corruption by the incumbent and those who surround him.”

The pressure on Mugabe is not as high as it ought to be, regardless of his obvious authoritarian tendencies, however. This is due to the fact that “Zimbabwe is not an exception in the world or in the region,” says Crisis in Zimbabwe. “About 55% of all countries outside the Western world do not qualify as either a liberal democracy or at least an electoral democracy.”

Swaziland is an absolute monarchy where a 40-year-long state of emergency and oppressive anti-terror laws have meant that the space for peaceful political protest is virtually non-existent. The political space there is has been filled mainly by the unions, who Swaziland’s government have attempted to neutralize by de-registering the newly formed Trade Union Congress of Swaziland (TUCOSWA).

“On the eve of its participation in planned demonstrations in April, TUCOSWA was informed by the Attorney general that it was unlawfully registered, despite registration having been confirmed by the Acting Commissioner of Labour under the Industrial Relations Act,” the report says.

The report also describes how this de-registration has been seen by the police as a reason to arrest, assault and threaten union officials and activists who in any way display affinity to TUCOSWA. “Police disrupted their gatherings, confiscated banners displaying TUCOSWA insignia, conducted arbitrary arrests and threatened union officials and activists.”

Amnesty’s report also describes the ill-treatment and unfair trials that union members and others face in Swaziland, including the “repeated allegations by accused in criminal trials that they had been subjected to torture, which included beatings and suffocation. Deaths under suspicious circumstances and the failure of the authorities to ensure independent investigation and accountability continued to cause concern.”

Western Sahara is the last colony in Africa. The territory has been illegally occupied by Morocco since 1975. No country accepts Morocco’s claim to Western Sahara, but over 80 countries have recognised Western Sahara’s exile government, the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), which is a member of the African Union.

The Amnesty report specifically points to case of the Gdeim Izik protest camp as an example of Moroccan brutality and human rights violations. 15.000 peaceful Saharawi protesters – including women and children – had wished to protest against the discrimination and human rights violations committed by the Moroccan occupiers, but were met with water cannons and tear gas when Moroccan security police raided the camp. The organizers of the camp were tortured, hauled before a military court, and given long prison sentences.

“Police were reported to have injured dozens of people who demonstrated in Laayoune on 13 January in support of 23 Sahrawi prisoners … Many [of the prisoners] said they had been tortured or otherwise ill-treated in detention,” Amnesty stated.

PUDEMO er et politisk parti eller bevægelse i Swaziland – et enevældigt kongedømme hvor alle partier er forbudt, hvor kongen bestemmer alt, og hvor al opposition til kongen brutalt undertrykkes. Enhedslisten har et partnerskab med PUDEMO der støttes af Institut for Flerpartisamarbejde, og Skhumbuzo besøgte i denne forbindelse Enhedslisten sidste år.

PUDEMO opfordrer alle Swazier til at boykotte valget, hvilket flere og flere gør ifølge Phakathi. ”Boykotten virker. Mellem det første valg i Swaziland i 1964 til det tredje valg i 1972, øgedes valgdeltagelsen under flerpartisystemet. Men fra valget i 1978 [der var det første efter undtagelsestilstanden og forbuddet mod politiske partier i 1973] til det seneste valg i 2008 stemte færre og færre”, siger han.

I 1998 var valgdeltagelsen kun 30%, hvilket tydelig viser både vælgernes stigende apati overfor det politiske system i Swaziland, og at vores kampagne har virket, fortæller Phakathi. ”Og i 2008 – hvor regeringen nægtede at frigive officielle valgstatistikker – viste vores egne beregninger, at færre end 20% stemte”.

”Vi tror på at Swaziland snart bliver et demokrati”, siger han, ”men vi opfordrer alle lande til at lægge pres på Swaziland ved bl.a. ikke at acceptere valgresultatet fra dette års valg, samt ikke at sende valgobservatører. For Swaziland kan først blive et demokrati må partier lovliggøres, når politiske fanger løslades, når kvinder får samme retsstilling som mænd, og når vi får en demokratisk forfatning. Når  dette er sket, skal PUDEMO nok deltage i efterfølgende valg, og acceptere valgresultatet”.

Wonder, who is the National Organising Secretary of Swazi liberation movement PUDEMO and Deputy General Secretary of the Swaziland Processing, Refining and Allied Workers Union (SPRAWU), spent a month in prison on charges of sedition but was released on bail yesterday. His alleged crime -  being in possession of political pamphlets.

“I was interrogated by an army of police who used a variety of strategies to make me speak,” Wonder said of his prison ordeal. “The prison authorities refused me visitation rights for my colleagues and friends and I was to moved to the maximum section in solitary confinement at Matsapha.”

Wonder thanked those who had contributed to his bail and campaigned for his release. “I appreciate the support that was given to SPRAWU, PUDEMO and to me and family personally” he said. “And I appreciate the support from our international allies – both organizations and individuals – who went out of their way to support our struggle for a just society in Swaziland. On that note I wish to applaud the speed with which the campaign for my release was implemented; it made a huge difference.”

Although he is now out of prison, Wonder is not a free man. Amongst other things he has to report every week to a police station and surrender his passport, and the court cases of political activists in Swaziland such as Wonder are deliberately drawn out for years.

“He joins a growing list of many political prisoners [in Swaziland] who have been out on bail, but their cases are deliberately not finalized. In the process these are suffering from the extremely stringent conditions that are imposed on them,” as PUDEMO National Spokesperson Zakhele Mabuza put it.

“This is quite a huge ransom to pay for ordinary poor Swazis who live on under $ 1 per day,” says the statement. “But Leo Gama, Wonder’s lawyer has been able to convince the court and secure the release on bail.”

Mabuza thanked those who had campaigned for Wonder’s release, but insisted that Wonder remained a political prisoner even though he was released on bail. “The ransom he is to pay for his freedom is only meant to keep him away from the prison while out there he is still a prisoner. He joins a growing list of many political prisoners who are all our members that have been out on bail, but their cases are deliberately not finalized. In the process these are suffering from the extremely stringent conditions that are imposed on them. Such include unreasonable reporting at a police station and the removal of their freedom to travel outside Swaziland.”

The fight for the release of political prisoners such as Wonder is linked directly to the fight for democracy and human rights in Africa’s last absolute monarchy, said the statement. “However difficult the route to democracy might be, we are never intimidated and we shall continue to call for the release of all political prisoners; respect for people’s rights; unbanning of all political parties; and the democratization of the country’s politics.”

Contact: Zakhele Mabuza, PUDEMO National Spokesperson, Cell: +268 76073453

Linus Mavimbela, International Secretary of the banned Swazi party the People’s United Democratic Movement (PUDEMO), visited Denmark between the April 25 and May 2 2013. He was meant to have been accompanied by PUDEMO’s Organising  Secretary, Wonder Mkhonza, but Wonder was symptomatically arrested by just prior to the visit, charged with sedition for allegedly being in possession of 5000 political pamphlets.

The visit was part of the Danish Institute for Parties and Democracy (DIPD) project between PUDEMO and the Red Green Alliance and centered on the Annual Conference of the Red Green Alliance. “The conference was very interesting, especially the open and frank debates where ordinary members took an active part, and the fact that the Red Green Alliance had succeeded in forming a cohesive political alliance out of several political parties,” said Mavimbela.

“In Swaziland we also need open and honest debates and to make the various organisations of the democratic movement come together and fight for democracy so that we can push the regime to a point where it is willing to talk. PUDEMO has always believed in honest dialogue and we have seen the value of this in the fact that people are beginning to question the way they are governed.”

After the conference, Linus Mavimbela met with several stakeholders, including DIPD Director Bjørn Førde, representatives of the Danish Social Democrats, members of the Red Green Alliance international department and Red Green Alliance MP Christian Juhl.

”We can learn a lot from the Red Green Alliance,” Mavimbela told Christian Juhl. “For instance it is important to understand the people when you are a party official or politician. You shouldn’t become a career politician, and the Red Green Alliance has a rotation system and wage cap for this reason.”

PUDEMO has good programmes and the will to implement them, insists Mavimbela. “But we haven’t been able to implement them properly because we don’t have the resources and because the regime has clamped down heavily on us for many years.”

“What PUDEMO has done well,” he says, “is that we have succeeded in making our people understand that another Swaziland is possible – a Swaziland where political parties are legal and where two thirds of the population do not have to live in absolute poverty. But to succeed in bringing about multi-party democracy in Swaziland we need to show ordinary Swazis that democracy is an option worth fighting for and worth risking your livelihood for. And we need a combination of mass mobilization and outside pressure.”

Applying this pressure has been difficult, however, both because of the dangers of being associated with PUDEMO – being arrested, tortured, beaten up or killed – and because the regime rewards those faithful to it with better job opportunities  and other fringe benefits.

“This means that many people are not focusing on how to achieve democracy but on how to be recognized by the regime so as to be co-opted and rewarded. Many of these people are not really loyal to the regime but want the benefits that come with being associated with the regime,” says Linus Mavimbela. “It is therefore necessary for all the sectors of the ruling elite – including traditional leaders and big business – to feel the heat.”

Signe Borker Bjerre fremhævede dannelsen af to nye arbejdsgrupper – Somalia-gruppen og Mozambique-gruppen, de mange nye aktive medlemmer, det succesfulde partnerskabsseminar i april, nyansættelsen af flere nye sekretariatsmedarbejdere, og den inklusive debat blandt medlemmer og partnere om Afrika Kontakts nye Plan of Action og Strategi, som vigtige årsager til denne styrkelse af foreningen.

Lysten til at diskutere ikke mindst Afrika Kontakt’s nye strategiplan var stor under generalforsamlingen, men denne blev til sidst vedtaget med enkelte forbehold.

Strategiplanen fokuserer på at øge organisationens politiske aktivisme, samt styrke såvel Afrika Kontakt som organisation som vores partnerskaber. Den er et resultat af mange måneders arbejde, hvor input fra medlemmerne og partnerne er blevet processeret af en til lejligheden oprettet arbejdsgruppe.

Med hensyn til de enkelte temabaserede arbejdsgruppers beretninger, der blev fremført på generalforsamlingen, vidnede disse om stor aktivitet og at Afrika Kontakt har skabt mange resultater i det forgangne år. Blandt disse kan nævnes fiskerigruppens konference om konsekvenserne af EU’s fælles fiskeripolitik på Christiansborg, Zimbabwesgruppens ”Act Now against political violence”-kampagne, og Swazilandgruppen nyligt afholdte Act Now-kampagne.

Beretningerne indeholdt desuden mange fremtidsplaner. Fiskerigruppen vil fokusere på privatisering inden for fiskeri, herunder lave research senere på året der skal munde ud i en workshop; Zimbabwegruppen vil arbejde på at styrke samarbejdet på tværs af grupperne i Afrika Kontakt samt genopstarte deres succesfulde ”Act Now against political violence”-kampagne; Swazilandgruppen diskuterer i øjeblikket med partnerne, hvordan man kan fortsætte samarbejdet efter 2014, hvor Swaziland falder for udenrigsministeriets BNI-grænse; Vestsaharagruppen er i gang med at planlægge sit første projekt og arbejder derudover på at styrke sit politiske arbejde i Danmark og EU; Health-rightsgruppen ville fokusere på deresnyansøgte projekt om HIV-smittede i Uganda samt et nyoprettet kvinde- og sundhedsrettighedsnetværk med partnerne; Jordgruppen vil styrke arbejdet med fortalervirksomhed, forsøge at finde nye partnere, samt sikre at det fremtidige samarbejde med de nuværende partnere i Sydafrika, efter at støtten fra CISU stopper med udgangen af 2013; den nyopstartede Mozambiquegruppe arbejder på at skaffe flere portugisisk-talende medlemmer samt at indsende en ansøgning om ”fælles færdiggørelse”, som skal gøre det muligt at besøge en potentiel kommende partner i lokalområdet; og Somalia-gruppen forsøger at finde passende partnerorganisationer.

“The democratization of Swaziland must preoccupy the work of the African National Congress and all progressive forces as we call for the release of political prisoners, return of exiles and free political activities in that country.”

The ANC has previously called for the unbanning of political parties of Swaziland without any apparent success. In October 2012, ANC Chairperson  Baleka Mbete said that “we need to make sure Swaziland is liberated including the unbanning of political parties,” and in June 2012 President Zuma’s foreign policy advisor Lindiwe Zulu said that South Africa must press Swaziland to unban political parties.

South African President Jacob Zuma is married to Mswati’s niece and has therefore seemingly been unwilling to criticize Swaziland’s absolute monarch Mswati III publicly. But Zuma’s son, Edward Zuma, has been more critically outspoken about Swaziland.

“We have spearheaded democratic change all over Africa,” said Edward Zuma in an interview with the South African Sunday Tribune in 2011, “and yet our neighbour is the one in need of democratic change. People complain about Mugabe and yet he has a more legitimate country because there is a democratic process. Mugabe is far better than Mswati.”

South Africa is Swaziland’s most important trading partner. Over 90% of Swaziland’s imports and 60% of exports are with South Africa. The ANC itself have investments in Swaziland, including an antracit mine (high quality coal).

But it also lies with “all the countries – including Denmark – who either refuse to actively recognise or support Polisario and a referendum on the status of Western Sahara or who are part of sabotaging the process by e.g. allowing their companies to take part in the plundering of the resources of Western Sahara.”

Read the full letter below:

“Africa Contact sends our most sincere and warmest solidarity greetings to Polisario – the official, UN-sanctioned representative of the Saharawi people, on this your 40th Anniversary.

We commend, and stand shoulder to shoulder with, Polisario in their peaceful fight for self-determination for the Saharawis and against the brutal Moroccan occupation of two thirds of Western Sahara’s territory, including the illegal extraction of resources rightfully belonging to the Saharawis.

Western Sahara is the last colony in Africa. The failure of the United Nations to resolve this anomaly or anachronism reflects poorly on the perceived strength and vigour of the international community as a whole, and the UN as an institution in particular.

The responsibility for this failure also lies with the individual members of the UN, not least France who have consistently blocked all attempts at finding a viable solution to the Western Sahara conflict.

But all the countries – including Denmark – who either refuse to actively recognise or support Polisario and a referendum on the status of Western Sahara or who are part of sabotaging the process by e.g. allowing their companies to take part in the plundering of the resources of Western Sahara, are equally responsible.

Africa Contact commits itself to working for the liberation of Western Sahara in the long term. In the short term this work includes – amongst other things – continuously informing ordinary people and politicians in Denmark and the EU of the ongoing human rights violations in Western Sahara and the plight of the people in the refugee camps, campaigning for the release of the organisers of the Gdeim Izik protest camps, urging the Danish parliament to recognise the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic as over 80 countries have already done, and working together with Polisario and civil society representatives in both the occupied territories and the refugee camps.”