The Communist Party of Swaziland (CPS) wishes the oppressed people of Swaziland and the struggling people of the world a year of progress in struggles against oppression and exploitation.
The resilience of the people of Palestine against imperialist backed Zionism gives hope in the face of unprecedented slaughter and intimidation. To the people of Swaziland, the Palestinian struggle is more important in the sense that the forces responsible for this aggression are present in Swaziland under the Mswati autocracy and its tinkhundla dictatorship.
The year 2023 has ended with a consolidated strength of the autocracy which survived against a demonstrated hatred and offensive by the people in 2021. The 2021 uprisings remain a turning point in the history of our struggle. The oppressed people have shown their potential for a revolutionary mobilisation to end the tyrant of the monarchy which is fully backed by imperialism and political elites in the Southern African Region. The regional body, Southern African Development Community (SADC) through its elections observer mission endorsed the autocratic rule and denied the people of Swaziland an international hand for a peaceful transition to democracy. By approving a discredited and fraudulent election process, the SADC left the oppressed people of Swaziland with no option but to rely on other means to wage a successful struggle for peace and democracy in Swaziland.
SADC’s impact on the struggle in Swaziland is shameful, demonstrating that the Community is not about genuine democracy and peace but about keeping the people of the region in the bondage of imperialism which enjoys the reception of corruption and political elitism rather than genuine democracy. The working-class people of the region must unite to set a new political footing oriented against imperialism and for genuine democracy and sovereignty. Whilst the people of Swaziland suffer the dire situation of a dictatorship under the absolute monarchy of Mswati, the entire working-class people and its allied forces of the region are grinding under imperialism and neoliberal oppression and exploitation.
We have learnt important lessons in the year 2023 as the struggling people of Swaziland. The practical activism of 2021 boosted the pro-democracy movement with mass strength only to expose the weak state of the movement. The regime through its support from imperialists was able to revert the strength and turned what could have been a revolutionary mileage into a victory of counter revolution. The mobilisation of mercenary forces could have helped sustain the active resistance of the struggling people to continue with the fight, but ended differently.
The CPS continues to take responsibility for the struggle and declares 2024 the Year of Cadreship Development for the Insurrectionary Seizure of Power to Achieve Democracy Now. This is a direct response to address the weaknesses demonstrated in the last three years. The revolutionary potential of the people is the backbone of this position. The CPS is committing 2024 to develop enough cadres with the necessary skills to mobilise a nationwide offensive against the regime and its surrogate forces to attend to all the mobilisation of the regime against the forces of change. The regime has used violence and infiltration of the movement as its strength to keep a more repressive power whilst mobilising more external players to ruin our country and exploit the wealth and plunder of the resources.
A new alliance of oppression and exploitation has been mobilised causing a lot of distress and suffering to the people.
This requires a new outlook. The cadre development work will mean a strong CPS as the revolutionary element in the struggle for democracy calling for a total change and the overturn of the present state of our people. A strong CPS under the new cadre programme will mean revived struggles in communities, workplaces, schools and institutions of higher learning will mean a full mobilisation of the middle strata of our society for the establishment of a revolutionary front of the entire oppressed people with the workers and its allies in the forefront. The cadre will have capacity to infiltrate the armed forces of the regime with the aim of exploiting the present permanent crisis within the forces presently.
The new cadre will be oriented not only to the insurrectionary seizure of power, but also to the overall process of the transition including the establishment of the transitional authority and the peaceful establishment of the People’s Democratic Republic of Swaziland under a new constitutional dispensation.
The CPS new cadre will increase mass mobilisation by raising political consciousness, building organisations for the resistance movement, uniting the entire oppressed people and overcoming elements of disunity, mobilising international allies for practical solidarity through building cooperation and sharing of experiences for the intermediate and long-term cause of our struggle. The CPS will take the centre stage of this process through a systematic process of building and uniting the forces of the oppressed people gradually through cooperation in the daily struggles waged by the people.
The success of the call depends on the commitment and detailed understanding of the leading organs of the CPS at the present moment. It will also rely on the positive cooperation of CPS allies within the working-class organisations: the workers, students, rural and urban poor communities, women, the youth of our country and present and future international allies. Resources should be mobilised to support this work.
A strong political and organisational strength of the CPS is necessary to make the struggle of the people a reality against the background of the experiences of 2021 to 2023 characterised by revolutionary potential and reactionary triumphalism orchestrated by imperialism and its auxiliary forces hellbent to colonise our country.
We continue to call upon genuine forces in the pro-democracy movement to recommit to the struggle, thrive for cooperation and overcome weaknesses by taking lessons from the past experiences. The year 2024 should be a year of revival and building a common vision through maximum cooperation within the oppressed people of Swaziland united against the Mswati autocracy.
The CPS’s call is the building of a strong resistance movement for the insurrectionary seizure of power.
Viva the New Cadre!
Viva the power of Unity!
Viva the Resistance Movement!
Viva Solidarity!
—
Thokozane Kenneth Kunene
General Secretary
(+27)72 594 3971
Simphiwe Dlamini
CPS International Secretary
+268 7627 9355
Email: cpswa.org@gmail.com
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Website: https://cp-swa.org/
Communist Party of Swaziland 