In Solidarity With The People Of Sudan And Eswatini

Sudan

The Sudanese military, under General Abdel Fattah Burhan, on Monday 25 October 2021 announced the dissolution of civilian rule in Sudan. The announcement was followed by the detention of the country’s civilian Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok, his wife and members of his Cabinet. This unilateral action effectively undermines the hybrid civilian-military body set up to guide Sudan to democracy following the fall of long-time dictator Omar al Bashir in 2019. We stand in solidarity with the people of Sudan’s demand for an immediate return to civilian government under the transitional authority as the first step towards democratic civilian rule in the country. The 2019 transition deal must be honoured in letter and spirit. Any deviation from it is an unacceptable betrayal of the people of Sudan whose sacrifices resulted in the fall of Al Bashir. May we remind General Burhan and his accomplices that anybody who stands between the people and their quest for freedom is likely to face the same fate that Al Bashir and other dictators have faced. We also join the international community and other progressive forces in calling for the immediate release of the civilian Prime Minister, his family and members of his Cabinet. In the same vein, we condemn in the strongest of terms the opening of fire on unarmed citizens who are peacefully protesting against the military take-over. We are particularly concerned about the rising number of the injured and reports of killing of protesters in cold blood by the military and hereby demand that those involved must be made accountable for their despicable actions without fear or favour. Meanwhile, we encourage the people of Sudan, in their numbers, to peacefully continue pressing for a return to civilian government and clear the path for credible democratic elections as agreed in 2019.

Eswatini

Eswatini has once again been plunged into protests. While the people of Sudan are protesting against a military take-over, their Eswatini counterparts have risen against the despotic rule of King Mswati III who is known for ruling with an iron fist and a lavish life in the face of pervasive grinding poverty in the kingdom. What unites the peoples of the two countries is their quest for democracy and the freedom to elect governments of their choices, ideals which we, as the Citizens’ Cabinet of Zimbabwe, not only share but hold dear. We therefore urge the pro-democracy movement of Eswatini led by students, workers and the ordinary poor to press on with peaceful protests until a clear path to democratic change has been cleared.  At the same time, we applaud the people of Eswatini and their representatives for rejecting muted calls for dialogue by the beleaguered King and urge them to subject themselves only to genuine dialogue underwritten by a credible mediating team. Meanwhile, we condemn the abhorrent deployment of the military on unarmed citizens which has sadly resulted in the death of over 80 innocent people according to human rights groups in the country, and the serious injury of many more since the protests broke out in June of this year. Recent reports of police officers storming hospitals to shoot randomly at even nurses as they attend to the injured are not only sad, but clearly unacceptable. We therefore demand that the government of Eswatini exercise extreme restraint in the manner in which it handles the protests. Those responsible for the despicable atrocities against unarmed citizens should be held accountable and allow the rule of law to take its course against them.

Conclusion

The lesson from the experiences of Sudan and Eswatini is that sustainable peace is only achievable when the interests of the people are placed at the centre of national political and economic processes. Unilateral decisions by either the military in the case of Sudan or by a despotic monarchy in the case of Eswatini only serve to breed animosity and trigger national protests. We reiterate our call for people-centred, inclusive and participatory socio-economic and political processes that build national consensus and cohesion. The most basic of these processes include democratic mechanisms that enhance people’s freedom to elect their own accountable governments. Related to this, is the need for more inclusive economic policies. Only last week, our Weekly Bulletin 11/2021 carried the story of how the Zimbabwean government’s handling of currency policies has excluded the majority of ordinary people from meaningful economic activity as well as how the instability of the RTGs currency has decimated ordinary people’s livelihoods. Today veterans of Zimbabwe’s liberation struggle were in the streets protesting against their measly pension earnings. Tomorrow it is likely to be another section of the population, and if left unresolved, this may easily trigger national protests and destabilize the country. We therefore urge authorities whether in Sudan, Eswatini or Zimbabwe to seriously consider adopting participatory political and economic policies that place the interests of the people at the heart of governance.