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afrol.com, 15 November - After the placing in house arrest of the Swaziland Federation of Trade Unions (SFTU), Jan Sithole, there are massive protests against human rights violations in Swaziland. Further mass action is announced. A police spokesman told the BBC that Mr Sithole is regarded as "a threat to security". He was placed in house arrest under armed police guard yesterday and has been banned from speaking to the media, the spokesman confirmed. Earlier, there have been reports of three strike leaders arrested and one striker shot by the police. Swaziland has experienced two days of mass action against King Mswati's autocratic rule. Support from international trade unions is coming in after the arrest of Quinton Dlamini, the general secretary of the Swaziland National Association of Civil Servants and yesterday's detention of Jan Sithole. Quinton Dlamini was arrested yesterday, together with Swaziland Youth Congress (Swayoco) secretary general Sandile Bhembe and Swayoco executive member Sibusiso Dlamini, while leading anti-government demonstrations in the industrial city of Manzini and in Swaziland's southern district of Nhlengano. Last Thursday, opposition leader Mario Masuku, was arrested on sedition charges after making anti-monarchist comments at a pro-democracy rally. Mario Masuku is president of Swaziland's largest banned political party, People's United Democratic Movement (Pudemo). International condemnation The Brussels-based International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU), the world's largest unionbody, is mobilising national labour centres throughout the world to step up pressure on Swaziland and support local unions demands for the reform of labour legislation, the legalisation of political parties and the establishment of a multi-party democratic government, the organisation stated this afternoon. The two-day strike was launched at the initiative of the Swaziland Federation of Trade Unions (SFTU) along with several sectors of civil society. Swaziland, with a population of one million, is sub-Saharan Africa's last absolute monarchy. The country is ruled by King Mswati III (since 1986). Political parties have been banned since 1973, when the present king's father King Sobhuza II staged a coup d'état and removed the Constitution that had allowed multi-party democracy. In 1996, the now 32 years old King Mswati III had promised to restore the Constitution, but this has not happened so far. In a declaration adopted on November 5 - the Mpumalanga Declaration -, the Swaziland Democratic Alliance (SDA), the SFTU, teachers' associations, church organisations, students and various underground political parties and civic groups, urged the government to respond swiftly to a list of demands before November 9. As no indication of a willingness to change the state of affairs was forthcoming, the SFTU called on all citizens to take to the streets. The SFTU represents more than 81,000 Swazi workers. The strike was outlawed by the regime on Sunday night and strikers were warned of possible arrest if they went ahead with their action. Reports of brutal attacks by on the strikers by the police and arbitrary arrests have mounted since the mass action started. One the first day, three union leaders were arrested. COSATU reports about the arrest of Quinton Dlamini and of "brutal attack of many others including the SG of SWAYOCO, Sandile Bhembhe" from Mbabane. According to COSATU, "illustrates to the global community the illegitimacy of Mswati’s rule and his determination to push the Swazi nation further beyond the edge of social and political catastrophe." COSATU is a South African trade union linked loosely to the governing ANC. In an appeal, COSATU states "We demand the immediate release of those comrades arrested and the immediate right of the anti-system political parties and trade union organisations to operate." The ICFTU has now called on the Director General of the UN's International Labour Organisation (ILO), Juan Somavia, to intervene directly with the Swaziland authorities to seek the lifting of the house arrest orders and to press for respect of fundamental labour rights in the country. An ILO mission is currently in Mbabane, the country's capital, where it plans to discuss possible amendments to the country's new industrial labour act which trade unions have found to be in total contradiction with ILO standards. Further actions Union leader Jan Sithole's life has been threatened several times and the government went as far as questioning his Swazi citizenship as part of a campaign to silence the SFTU which in the absence of political parties remains the main democratic opposition force to the regime, according to the ICFTU. The organisation calls on its international affiliates to "use all avenues of political pressure on the government and to remain vigilant to developments. Earlier strikes
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