*PRESS ALERT* *From the *
*SADC Democracy Forum* August 8, 2017. *The SADC Democracy Forum is a coalition of civil society organisations, political parties, and other formations of concerned citizens of countries in the SADC region.* *The SADC Democracy Forum includes various South African and regional organisations including COSATU, SACP, Swaziland Solidarity Network, PUDEMO, Communist Party of Swaziland, Communist Party of Lesotho, Tajamuka, ZAPU, Zimbabwe Communist Party, Africa Diaspora Forum and BDS.* *We shall be holding a protest action outside the DIRCO Office, O.R. Tambo Building, 460 Soutpansberg Road, Tshwane where there will be the Meeting of SADC Leaders which is part of the SADC Summit on Saturday 19 August 2017. Media are invited to cover and report from 10am onwards.* Please see our following statement below: If we go to the SADC website we can read wonderful statements of what SADC purports to be. In the *Consolidated Text of the Treaty of the Southern African Development Community* in its most recent form (2014) it is written in Chapter 2, Article 4 ‘Principles’: *SADC and its member states shall act according to the following principles:* *(c) human rights, democracy and the rule of law.* We are often persuaded that SADC is a progressive and democratic organisation: but the behaviour of the governments of a number of its member states tells us otherwise. The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the biggest country in both population and area in the region and the richest in natural resources is undergoing constant war in an environment in which its President is unwilling to call an election. To the south of DRC is Zambia. In Zambia, at present, progressive leaders and journalist have gone into hiding away from government sponsored violence. Further south again, in Zimbabwe, the people voted two years ago overwhelmingly for a new constitution; till now that Constitution has not been implemented. With a General Election in Zimbabwe in 2018, we call for the implementation of the Constitution as a whole; in particular the Chapter 4 *Declaration of Rights* and Chapter *7 Elections*. We further wish to point out that regardless of the existence of SADC, Zimbabwe has been systematically de-industrialised and that its workers do not go on strike for more money — they go on strike simply to be paid. In Swaziland, the feudal monarchy has banned all political parties and there is not even a vestige of democracy. It therefore does not conform to the provisions of the SADC Treaty or the Harare Commonwealth Declaration of 1991. We therefore call for the immediate removal of the 1973 decree which bans political parties, trade unions and all forms of legitimate political activity and the immediate release of all political prisoners and the end of the undemocratic Tikundla system. The pattern throughout southern Africa is one of contention between foreign monopoly capital and the local parasitic bourgeoisie as to who should benefit most from the plunder of the wealth of the region — wealth which should benefit all the people of the SADC region. The issue of democracy is not just a formal one — the lack of democracy relates directly to the plunder of resources which in turn relates directly to the growth of poverty and unemployment in the region. As citizens of countries within SADC, we demand that SADC enforces the implementation of democracy and human rights practices among its members according to the provisions of the statements in its own Treaty and other documents which it has issued. We further demand the implementation of forms of economic planning which involve all the people of the region through democratic consultation. We believe in the necessity of SADC as a regional co-ordinator for economic and social growth in the interests of the majority of the people in the southern African region. We are concerned that SADC is now in the process of becoming the opposite of what it was intended for — a vehicle for organised plunder of our resources by both external monopoly capital and by the parasitic bourgeoisie locally; a vehicle for the closure of local industry in favour of the importation of foreign goods. For more information please Contact: *Sipho Dube –Coodinator * *081 538 2932* OR *Ngqabutho Mabhena (Convenor)* *083 340 1000* *Alternatively: *Contact Lucky Lukhele – Spokesperson of Swaziland Solidarity Network [SSN] *081 458 5658 OR 0725024141* *Lucky Lukhele- * *Tell:011 339 3621* *Fax: **0866162206* *Mobile: 072 502 4141* *Email: lucky.lukh...@gmail.com <lucky.lukh...@gmail.com> * Skype: LuckyLukhele1 Twitter: @lukhelelucky -- -- NEW!!!! SSN FORUM IS ON FACEBOOK!!!! You received this message because you are subscribed to the Swaziland Solidarity Network Forum Google Group. Visit the group home page at http://groups.google.com/group/sa-swaziland-solidarity-eom-forum for more options, pages and files. To post to the group, send email to sa-swaziland-solidarity-eom-forum@googlegroups.com or reply to this message. 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