Do not honour this depot 20 - 04 - 06

 

Do not honour this despot!

The Congress of South African Trade Unions is dismayed at the decision to confer one of South Africa's highest honours, "The Companions of Oliver Tambo", on the late King Sobhuza of Swaziland.

President Mbeki said that Sobhuza, along with Lesotho's King Moshoeshoe, were honoured for their exceptional contribution to the liberation movement at the time of need. In reality King Sobhuza's exceptional contribution to Southern Africa was his infamous 1973 decree which introduced Southern Africa's longest state of emergency and put in place a Tinkhundla traditional and political system of governance that undermines democracy. Because of the 1973 decree, political activity and other basic freedoms remain banned in Swaziland.

Comrade Oliver Tambo lived and died for freedom, justice, democracy and equality. Sobhuza did not practise any of these ideals during his time as the King of Swaziland, to whom the Britain handed over power at independence in 1968. His regime was, and his successor's remains, a brutal dictatorship, which flouts all the principles of good governance and respect for human rights espoused by the African Union and denies the people their basic human rights.

We demand that the award be rescinded and that the South African government speaks out against the lack of democracy in Swaziland.