The prospect of the Democratic Socialists of America member’s victory in the mayoral race has terrified billionaires and outraged the centrist liberal Establishment by showing that listening to voters about class issues works, writes ZOLTAN ZIGEDY
Latest editorial
Swaziland: communists fight the monarchy
The state repression of protests against upcoming sham elections rigged by King Mswati III may have turned deadly with the reported shooting of Communist Party member Mvuselelo Mkhabela, reports PEOPLES DISPATCH
Communist Party of Swaziland member Mvuselelo Mkhabela
Sixty Red-Green seats in a hung parliament could force Labour to choose between the death of centrism or accommodation with the left — but only if enough of us join the Greens by July 31 and support Zack Polanski’s leadership, writes JAMES MEADWAY
For the first time in years, the dominant voice within Chile’s official left comes not from neoliberal centrists but from the world of labour, writes LEONEL POBLETE CODUTTI
200 years since the first dinosaur was described and 25 after its record-breaking predecessor, the BBC has brought back Walking with Dinosaurs. BEN CHACKO assesses what works and what doesn’t
Just as the Chilcot inquiry eventually exposed government failings over the Iraq war, a full independent investigation into British complicity in Israeli war crimes has become inevitable — despite official obstruction, writes JEREMY CORBYN MP
The Congolese independence leader’s uncompromising speech about 80 years of European colonial brutality and injustice went round the world in 1960, and within months, he had been executed by Belgian and CIA-backed forces, writes KEITH BARLOW
THE Communist Party of Swaziland (CPS) reported on February 28 that the police force of Africa’s last absolute monarchy had shot and “disappeared” one of their members, Mvuselelo Mkhabela, age 21.
“Comrade Mvuselelo was badly shot at and dragged to the police van helplessly and his whereabouts and condition are unknown and the armed to teeth police force continued its attacks on the protesting community,” CPS tweeted. Reportedly this abduction happened at around 1pm local time on February 28.
This latest act of violence by the Swaziland police force comes amid an uptick in police repression of recent protests against the “farcical” parliamentary elections.
CPS claims that the elections are illegitimate because the parliament itself is under the control of the monarchy, so the electoral process constitutes “a tool used by the absolute monarchy to sanctify King Mswati’s decision.”
Mkhabela himself was arrested and tortured earlier this month for protesting these elections, which are set to occur this August. Shortly after his arrest, Mkhabela told Peoples Dispatch, “Often, when [police] invade communities, there is no-one to defend the family or the individual from the wrath of the regime. This cannot go on.” It was during one such raid that Mkhabela was reportedly abducted.
Communists in Swaziland have been involved in a struggle against the monarchy for decades. In recent months, the regime led by King Mswati III has intensified attacks against pro-democracy activists, including the assassination of human rights lawyer Thulani Maseko, threats against union leader Sticks Nkambule, torture of union leader Mbhekeni Dlamini, and more.
“Mkhabela’s consciousness and commitment to the just course of the people of Swaziland fighting for democracy in the face of a militarised system of oppression presided by Mswati and his political elites remain unwavering,” the CPS wrote in a tweet.
This article appeared on Peoplesdispatch.org. Follow the Communist Party of Swaziland on Twitter @CPSwaziland.
More from this author
Police guidelines suggesting home searches and digital checks for women who experience pregnancy loss under suspicion of having broken the outdated 1967 Abortion Act have sparked uproar, writes PEOPLES’ HEALTH DISPATCH
Ever since Nato invaded the country in 2011, Libya has seen an almost complete deterioration of the rule of law, with armed groups in control of different parts of the country, writes PEOPLE'S DISPATCH
The data published by the Commission for Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs does not include all the children arrested by Israeli occupation forces this year, which, according to some sources, is above 750, reports PEOPLES DISPATCH
Once known as the 'foreign minister of Farc’ and today a leader of the Comunes party, Rodrigo Granda had been sentenced to jail time on charges of rebellion in April 2006 — now these have been dropped, reports PEOPLE’S DISPATCH
