World+turns+blind+eye+to+modern+royal+slavery,+Lucky,+Star



=**World turns blind eye to modern royal slavery**=

The Star, Letters, January 11, 2006

The oppressive royal regime of Swaziland never ceases to amaze me with its undemocratic antics taking attention from the real issues affecting Swaziland.

The unabated royal plundering of people's resources continues, plus the imposed cultural hegemony through the undemocratic royal Tinkhundla system that prohibits political freedom and bans political parties.

The regime is filling its filthy jails with political activists from the main liberation movement and its youth wing in Swaziland, the People's United Democratic Movement (Pudemo).

Over the past years the King Mswati III autocracy has harassed the liberation forces with constant harassment and arbitrary arrests on trumped-up charges.

On January 5 the regime added to its litany of errors and terrible antics by the arrest of Comrade IB Dlamini, the general secretary of Pudemo, who is currently kept at the torture/detention station in Lavumisa, in southern Swaziland.

All our comrades have been severely tortured since their round-up and arrests from the beginning of November 2005, on charges of high treason and sedition.

We demand a visit by independent doctors to check on them. The torture methods used are intended to force the comrades to admit to the trumped-up charges in order to save their dear lives.

The people of Swaziland have the right to use whatever means necessary and possible to destroy their enemy and set themselves free.

No restraint can be measured against a destructive autocracy hell-bent on bringing the country to a complete crisis, and the only solace the people have is to charge against the evils of tyranny and royal slavery with all their might at any cost for their freedom.

We pledge our unwavering support to the oppressed people of Swaziland in this dreadful hour and have confidence in their course to freedom and liberty.

We demand the release of our comrades and call on our government to act immediately to block the dangerous road King Mswati III is travelling in southern Africa.

He must be stopped before he plunges Swaziland into a full-scale war of retribution.

Swaziland deserves better than this autocracy and cannot accept the permanent torture of political activists and prisoners.

Lucky Lukhele Braamfontein, Johannesburg

From: [|http://www.thestar.co.za/index.php?fSectionId=228&fArticleId=3060252]