SW Radio Africa (London)
Alex Bell
19 April 2011
A mass public rally that will take place in Soweto on Wednesday is set to take the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to task, by demanding peace and democracy in the entire region.
The rally will see civil society groups from Zimbabwe and Swaziland come together with social movements in South Africa, to put pressure on SADC leaders to respect the will of the people in the region. The demonstration will also serve as a warning to SADC leaders that civil uprisings, seen in North Africa and the Middle East recently, could also break out in Southern Africa, if they do not step in and ensure democracy for all.
The rally comes almost a week after a planned three day protest against the King Mswati regime in Swaziland was suspended, after a heavy security clampdown resulted in hundreds of arrests. The country’s security forces were deployed in key areas of the Manzini urban centre, to stamp out any sign of public unrest. Labour union leaders who led the protest action, eventually called the protests off to restrategise a way forward.
The rally meanwhile also comes as the situation in Zimbabwe continues to deteriorate, with ongoing intimidation of MDC supporters, arrests of MDC members and a crackdown on any form of public protest.
Gabriel Shumba, the Executive Director of the Zimbabwe Exiles Forum, told SW Radio Africa’s Diaspora Diaries program that Zimbabwe and Swaziland are ‘twinned’ in their equal lack of democracy. He explained that the rally on Wednesday will demand that SADC urgently takes step to show its commitment to good governance, the rule of law and respect for human rights.
“SADC needs to demonstrate its commitments to democracy for the entire region,” Shumba said.
He added: “If SADC does not step in and intervene in the crises in Zimbabwe and in Swaziland, then they must know the protests like we’ve already seen in North Africa, will happen here.”
The rally will take place on Wednesday at Thokoza Park in Rockville, Soweto, from 11am to 3pm.
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Mass Rally in Soweto to Take SADC to Task