People's United Democratic Movement
{{short description|Political party in Eswatini}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2021}}
{{Infobox political party
| name = People's United Democratic Movement
| native_name = Insika Yenkhululeko Yemaswati
| native_name_lang = ss
| abbreviation = PUDEMO
| logo =
| logo_size =
| colorcode = #01A85A
| president = Mlungisi Makhanya
| secretary_general = Penuel Malinga
| foundation = {{start date|1983|07|07|df=y}}
| dissolution =
| ideology = Democratic socialism
| predecessor =
| successor =
| headquarters =
| position = Left-wing
| religion =
| youth_wing = Swaziland Youth Congress
| international = Progressive Alliance{{cite web |url=http://progressive-alliance.info/participants/ |title=Participants | Progressive Alliance |access-date=8 December 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150302142054/http://progressive-alliance.info/participants/ |archive-date=2 March 2015 |url-status=dead }}
Socialist International {{small|(consultative)}}
| newspaper =
| colours = {{Color box|#01A85A|border=darkgray}}{{Color box|#F18F36|border=darkgray}}{{Color box|#EC3237|border=darkgray}}{{Color box|#201E1F|border=darkgray}} Green, Orange, Red and Black
| slogan =
| flag = 200px
| website = {{URL|http://www.pudemo.net}}
| country = Eswatini
}}
The People's United Democratic Movement (PUDEMO; {{langx|ss|Insika Yenkhululeko Yemaswati}}) is the largest opposition party in Eswatini. It is a democratic socialist party. Formed in 1983 at the University of Eswatini, it is led by Mlungisi Makhanya.{{cite web| title = Factsheet on The People's United Democratic Movement| work = Think Security Africa| accessdate = 19 October 2014| date = August 2012| url = http://swazilandsolidaritynetworkcanada.wikispaces.com/PUDEMO| archive-date = 17 November 2014| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20141117173509/http://swazilandsolidaritynetworkcanada.wikispaces.com/PUDEMO| url-status = live}}
The absolute monarchy of Mswati III, the ruler of Eswatini, has repressed PUDEMO by jailing its leaders and banning under the party by claiming its a terrorist organization.{{Citation |last=Human Rights Watch |title=Swaziland: Events of 2016 |date=2017-01-12 |work=Share this via Facebook |url=https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2017/country-chapters/swaziland |access-date=2024-02-24 |language=en}}{{Cite news |last=Eligon |first=John |last2=Silva |first2=Joao |date=2024-02-17 |title=The Father, the Son and the Fight Over Their King |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/17/world/africa/king-mswati-eswatini-africa-youth.html |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=4 December 2024 |access-date=28 December 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241204000726/https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/17/world/africa/king-mswati-eswatini-africa-youth.html |url-status=live }} The Swazi government has been monitoring PUDEMO closely since it launched the Ulibambe Lingashoni ("Don't Let the Sun Set") campaign, which aims for a "total liberation" of Eswatini,{{cite news |last=Nxumalo |first=Donny |date=24 April 2008 |title=Who killed Pudemo leader? |url=http://www.mg.co.za/article/2008-04-24-who-killed-pudemo-leader |accessdate=30 July 2008 |work=Mail and Guardian |archive-date=13 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110813051351/http://mg.co.za/article/2008-04-24-who-killed-pudemo-leader |url-status=live }} and has recently cracked down heavily on even small manifestations of support for PUDEMO, such as the death in custody of PUDEMO member Sipho Jele, who was arrested for wearing a PUDEMO t-shirt in May 2010.{{cite web |title=Killed in Swaziland for wearing a t-shirt |url=http://www.afrika.dk/killed-swaziland-wearing-t-shirt |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110903103701/http://www.afrika.dk/killed-swaziland-wearing-t-shirt |archive-date=3 September 2011 |access-date=5 May 2010}}{{cite web |title=Times Of Swaziland |url=http://www.times.co.sz/index.php?news=16358 |accessdate=11 February 2019 |website=www.times.co.sz |archive-date=1 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180701030511/http://www.times.co.sz/index.php?news=16358 |url-status=live }}{{cite web |title=ACTSA on various civil society organisations, including PUDEMO |url=http://www.actsa.org/Pictures/UpImages/Swaziland/Civil_Society_Swaziland.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303195013/http://www.actsa.org/Pictures/UpImages/Swaziland/Civil_Society_Swaziland.pdf |archive-date=3 March 2016 |accessdate=11 February 2019}}
History
The People's United Democratic Movement was formed in 1983 at the University of Eswatini.
Its 1985 manifesto stated that it was
{{Quote
|text="fully dedicated to creating a democratic Swaziland", that "the countries wealth shall be enjoyed by all citizens and shall be shared equally", that "the land shall be given to all those who work it", that there shall be "free, compulsory, universal and equal [education] for all children" and that "human rights shall be observed and respected".{{Cite web| last = Kenworthy| first = Petr| title = Swaziland: uprising in the slip-stream of North Africa| work = Pambazuka News| accessdate = 2014-10-19| date = 2011-06-29| url = http://www.pambazuka.net/en/category/features/74436}}
}}
PUDEMO called for democratic reforms in 1988, 1990, and 1991. PUDEMO rejected King Mswati III's 1991 commission to review the tiNkhundla system, and the King's 1992 commission on electoral reform. King Mswati III responded by suspending the legislature, and began to rule by decree.{{Cite web| last = Boddy-Evans| first = Alstair| title = Swaziland Timeline #2 -- Timeline of Swaziland from Independence to Present Day| work = About.com| accessdate = 19 October 2014| url = http://africanhistory.about.com/od/swaziland/l/bl-Swaziland-Timeline-2.htm| archive-date = 30 March 2013| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130330023358/http://africanhistory.about.com/od/swaziland/l/bl-Swaziland-Timeline-2.htm| url-status = dead}}
The Swaziland Youth Congress claimed responsibility for a 6 February 1995 fire in the House of Assembly.{{Cite encyclopedia| last = Arnold| first = Guy| title = Swaziland in 1995| encyclopedia = Encyclopædia Britannica| accessdate = 19 October 2014| url = http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/576419/Swaziland-in-1995}}
PUDEMO held a campaign of strikes and civil disobedience in 1996.
In 2000, PUDEMO President Mario Masuku was arrested for "insulting the king, sedition and treason."{{Cite web| last = Limb| first = Peter| title = SWAZILAND: Strikes, protests shake monarchy| work = Green Left Weekly| accessdate = 19 October 2014| date = 22 November 2000| url = https://www.greenleft.org.au/node/20977}}
Pro-democracy protests took place in Eswatini in 2002, with "40% of Eswatini population believed to be on verge of starvation following poor harvests."
At the 2003 elections in Eswatini only non-partisans were elected. In March 2005, the Eswatini High Court ruled that "political parties can not exist."
In March 2006, PUDEMO members, including Bonginkosi Dlamini, the PUDEMO secretary-general, were charged with petrol bomb attacks.{{Cite web| title = Swaziland| work = Freedom House| accessdate = 19 October 2014| url = http://www.freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/2006/swaziland}}{{Cite web| title = SWAZILAND: Senior PUDEMO official arrested for treason| work = IRIN Africa| accessdate = 19 October 2014| date = 6 January 2006| url = http://www.irinnews.org/report/57738/swaziland-senior-pudemo-official-arrested-for-treason}} In April 2007, "Six PUDEMO members [were] charged with sedition following protests on the anniversary of King Sobhuza II's royal decree banning political parties."
In April 2008, PUDEMO's deputy President Gabriel Mkhumane was killed by criminals, according to the Swazi government. However, opposition supporters believe that he was assassinated by government operatives.
The Umbane People's Liberation Army, described as "a secret militant group" linked to PUDEMO, claimed responsibility for a series of small bomb blasts in Eswatini in 2008.{{Cite web| title = SA man gets 85 for bid to kill Swazi king| work = IndepthAfrica| accessdate = 19 October 2014| date = 18 September 2012| url = http://indepthafrica.com/sa-man-gets-85-for-bid-to-kill-swazi-king/| archive-date = 14 May 2013| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130514212204/http://indepthafrica.com/sa-man-gets-85-for-bid-to-kill-swazi-king/| url-status = live}}
On 21 September 2008, Musa Dlamini and Jack Govender were killed while allegedly trying to bomb the Lozitha Bridge in an attempt to assassinate the King.{{Cite web
| title = Swaziland: Bomb Blast Kills Two
| work = IRIN - allAfrica.com
| accessdate = 19 October 2014
| date = 22 September 2008
| url = http://allafrica.com/stories/200809230039.html
}} Although PUDEMO had "called for a more militant approach to achieving democracy ... [it] denied any part in the bombing.{{Cite web
| title = SWAZILAND: Bomb blast kills two
| work = IRIN Africa
| accessdate = 19 October 2014
| date = 22 September 2008
| url = http://www.irinnews.org/report/80523/swaziland-bomb-blast-kills-two
}} However, at Musa Dlamini's funeral, PUDEMO President Mario Masuku was alleged to have verbally supported recent bombings of government institutions. Mario Masuku spent 340 days in prison before he was acquitted and discharged at the High Court on 21 September 2009.{{cite news|url=http://blog.amnestyusa.org/africa/mario-masuku-acquitted-in-swaziland/|title=Mario Masuku Acquitted in Swaziland|last=Hager|first=Sarah|date=23 September 2009|publisher=Amnesty International USA|accessdate=15 October 2009|archive-date=16 July 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716114905/http://blog.amnestyusa.org/africa/mario-masuku-acquitted-in-swaziland/|url-status=live}}{{cite news|url=http://www.times.co.sz/index.php?news=10788|title=Mario Masuku a free man|last=Nxumalo|first=Manqoba|date=22 September 2009|publisher=Times of Swaziland|accessdate=15 October 2009}}{{cite news|url=http://www.voanews.com/english/archive/2008-11/2008-11-24-voa1.cfm?CFID=303210040&CFTOKEN=64058868&jsessionid=88308861071294ea642b4a2165f4f1b1f576|title=Swaziland's Opposition Leader Expected in Court Over Terrorism Charges|last=Clottey|first=Peter|date=24 November 2008|work=Voice of America|publisher=Voice of America|access-date=15 October 2009}}{{dead link|date=April 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}
In May 2010, Sipho Jele, a PUDEMO member, was arrested for wearing a PUDEMO t-shirt, and later died in police custody.
The Bhunya home of Alex LaNgwenya, a leader of PUDEMO's youth wing, the Swaziland Youth Congress (SWAYOCO), was destroyed in a bombing attack in 2010. "The Suppression of Terrorism Act of 2008 was enacted soon after the incident, and PUDEMO and SWAYOCO were banned as terrorist organizations. Several members of PUDEMO and SWAYOCO were alleged to have carried out a bombing campaign and detained."{{Cite web| title = SWAZILAND: Faceless bombers sow insecurity| work = IRIN Africa| date = 14 June 2010| accessdate = 19 October 2014| url = http://www.irinnews.org/report/89483/swaziland-faceless-bombers-sow-insecurity}}
PUDEMO's Deputy-President Sikhumbuzo Phakathi said the 2010 Swaziland Democracy Campaign "was launched in South Africa because in Swaziland all political activity is banned," adding:
{{Quote
|text="That makes it a criminal offense to belong to a political party," said Phakathi. "It makes it recently a terrorist act to belong to my organization, PUDEMO, which the government decided was a terrorist organization."{{Cite web| title = Swaziland Democracy Campaign Launched in South Africa| work = Voice of America| access-date = 2014-10-19| date = 2010-02-21| url = https://www.voanews.com/a/swaziland-democracy-campaign-launched-in-south-africa-84952927/153345.html}}
}}
From 2010 to 2011, attempts to add the history of PUDEMO to Eswatini's high school curriculum failed.{{Cite web| last = Mduduzi Magagula| title = PUDEMO in new school syllabus| work = Times Of Swaziland| accessdate = 19 October 2014| date = 29 November 2009| url = http://www.times.co.sz/index.php?news=11071}}{{Cite web| last = Sibisi| first = Vusi| title = New syllabus geared to brainwash Swazi child| work = Swaziland News| accessdate = 19 October 2014| date = 3 March 2010| url = http://www.swazilive.com/Swaziland_News/Swaziland_News_Stories.asp?News_id=1447}}
In 2012, the Umbane People's Liberation Army participant Amos Mbedzi of South Africa was sentenced to "85 years in prison for high treason and terrorism" for his part in the 2008 bombing at Lozitha bridge.
Also in 2012, Princess Sikhanyiso Dlamini held a political debate with PUDEMO over Twitter, while her father, King Mswati III, continued his refusal to negotiate with PUDEMO on the grounds that they were terrorists.{{CN|date=December 2021}}
PUDEMO was admitted into the Socialist International as a consultative member at the SI's spring congress on 4–5 February 2013.{{Cite web| title = Decisions of the Council| work = www.socialistinternational.org| accessdate = 19 October 2014| url = http://www.socialistinternational.org/images/dynamicImages/files/Council%20decisions-1.pdf| archive-date = 7 September 2018| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180907221513/http://www.socialistinternational.org/images/dynamicImages/files/Council%20decisions-1.pdf| url-status = dead}}
In 2014, PUDEMO President Mario Masuku and Swaziland Youth Congress leader Maxwell Dlamini were arrested during Labour Day celebrations.
In April 2014 PUDEMO General Secretary Mlungisi Makhanya was arrested for wearing a party t-shirt, and released on bail. Makhanya was wearing the t-shirt to protest the incarceration of journalist Bheki Makhubu and human rights lawyer Thulani Maseko.{{Cite web| title = Swaziland: Africa′s last absolute monarchy| work = Deutsche Welle| accessdate = 19 October 2014| date = 14 July 2014| url = http://www.dw.de/swaziland-africas-last-absolute-monarchy/a-17784664| archive-date = 6 May 2015| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150506100014/http://www.dw.de/swaziland-africas-last-absolute-monarchy/a-17784664| url-status = live}} According to IFEX, Maseko is alleged to have said: "MJ Dlamini and Jack Govender died for the liberation of this country. One day the Lozitha bridge will be called MJ and Govender bridge."{{Cite web| title = MISA condemns arrest of human rights lawyer| work = IFEX - Media Institute of Southern Africa| accessdate = 19 October 2014| date = 10 June 2009| url = http://www.ifex.org/swaziland/2009/06/10/maseko_arrested/| archive-date = 12 February 2019| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190212070539/https://ifex.org//swaziland/2009/06/10/maseko_arrested/| url-status = live}}
On 23 January 2023 Thulani Maseko, a human rights lawyer and former secretary general of the party was assassinated.[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jan/24/eswatini-of-pro-democracy-activist-prompts-outrage Eswatini: murder of pro-democracy activist prompts outrage] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230920110618/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jan/24/eswatini-of-pro-democracy-activist-prompts-outrage |date=20 September 2023 }}, Jason Burke, The Guardian, 23 January 2023
Organization
- The Swaziland Youth Congress (SWAYOCO) is PUDEMO's youth wing.
- The Umbane People's Liberation Army has been described as "a secret militant group linked to the People’s United Democratic Movement (PUDEMO)".
- PUDEMO became a consultative member of the Socialist International in February 2013.
- The Danish Red-Green Alliance began a partnership with PUDEMO in March 2013 which "aims to increase the capacity of PUDEMO to be a more visible and credible political force within and outside Swaziland."{{Cite web| title = The Danish Red-Green Alliance and Swaziland's PUDEMO| work = Danish Institute for Parties and Democracy| accessdate = 19 October 2014| date = 2014| url = http://dipd.dk/the-danish-red-green-alliance-and-swazilands-pudemo/| archive-date = 15 November 2014| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20141115041317/http://dipd.dk/the-danish-red-green-alliance-and-swazilands-pudemo/| url-status = dead}}
- Solidarity organizations include the Swaziland Solidarity Network, based in South Africa,{{Cite web| last = Macdonell| first = Andrew| title = People's United Democratic Movement - Swaziland: the Facebook revolution that wasn't ... for now, at least| work = The Caledonian Mercury| accessdate = 19 October 2014| url = http://caledonianmercury.com/tag/peoples-united-democratic-movement| archive-date = 19 October 2014| archive-url = https://archive.today/20141019141918/http://caledonianmercury.com/tag/peoples-united-democratic-movement| url-status = live}} which has stated its "unwavering commitment to total liberation of the people of Swaziland from the unjust and undemocratic system and the autocracy of the royal family that continues to plunder the national economy and abuse cultural and political institutions", and the Swaziland Solidarity Network Canada.{{Cite web| title = swazilandsolidaritynetworkcanada - PUDEMO| accessdate = 19 October 2014| url = http://swazilandsolidaritynetworkcanada.wikispaces.com/PUDEMO| archive-date = 17 November 2014| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20141117173509/http://swazilandsolidaritynetworkcanada.wikispaces.com/PUDEMO| url-status = live}}
Notable people
- Mario Masuku, founder and former President
- Thulani Maseko, human rights activist and lawyer
- Wonder Mkhonza, politician
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{Official website|http://www.pudemo.org/}}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20110414062613/http://www.afrika.dk/pudemo-nec-meeting-report-2010 Statement by PUDEMO from NEC meeting 2010]
- {{Cite web| title = Swaziland: "Unban Political Parties Now!" says PUDEMO in its latest leaflet| work = World Federation of Trade Unions| accessdate = 19 October 2014| date = 12 February 2012| url = http://www.wftucentral.org/swaziland-unban-political-parties-now-says-pudemo-in-its-latest-leaflet/}}
{{Swazi political parties}}
Category:Political parties in Eswatini
Category:Political parties established in 1983
Category:1983 establishments in Swaziland
Category:Banned socialist parties
Category:Consultative member parties of the Socialist International