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Unions take lead in campaign for democracy in Zimbabwe and Swaziland
10 October 2008
The South African trade union movement is developing a strategy to take forward a campaign to bring about democracy in Zimbabwe and Swaziland.
The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu), trade unions and progressive civil society organisations in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Swaziland are to develop a new strategy to take forward the campaign for democracy in Zimbabwe and Swaziland. The ultimate objective of the campaign is to build a Southern African people’s movement to promote justice and democracy.
During a meeting between trade unions and civil society organisations at the beginning of October, it was agreed that, as part of the campaign, a conference would be convened in Zimbabwe. The event would assess the situation following the power-sharing deal between Mugabe and Tsvangerai and aim to develop a common response to help strengthen democracy.
It was also agreed that the campaign for a week of global action on Swaziland would be intensified and would include the non-handling of goods to the country. The week of action will be held on 27 October to 1 November this year, coordinated by a joint task team consisting of Swazi and South African unions which will be at the centre of the boycott. The first meeting of the task team is scheduled for 14 October in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Other activities planned include: participating in the Southern African Social Forum in Swaziland on 16-18 October to strengthen regional people’s initiatives; developing a leadership code to promote ethical and democratic leadership in the region; and initiating a Southern African Development Community transformation project to help civil society participate in building new inclusive structures.
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