We are Living in a Democratic Prison

Bandile Mdlalose

August 22, 2012 – South Africa has the most beautiful Constitution amongst all countries. Its beauty is well documented and respected. But we are living in a Democratic Prison.

We must acknowledge the fight of Doctor Nelson Mandela, Steve Biko and the community struggles of the 1980s, the youth of 1976 and the workers of 1973. The struggles of the past defeated the White Boers and brought us democracy
with all these beautiful rights on paper. We have so many documented rights,
like the right to housing and to protest. But every day our rights are
violated by the Black Boers. They vowed to protect our rights but the vow was
a fake vow.

Instead of supporting the people’s struggles so that we can make democracy
real and make our rights real they are sending out their securities and police
to evict the poor, to lock us out of the cities and to smash our struggles.
Instead of working with the people to transform the society they are
repressing the people to protect the unequal society that they took charge of
1994.

The politicians have not joined hands with the people. They have joined hands
with the capitalists. The result of this new alliance between politicians and
capitalists is that there is a 1% of elites that is taking most of the fruits
of this democracy for themselves. The middle classes still have their nice
lives but for the poor, employed or unemployed, things have got worse and they
continue to get worse.

The arrests, beatings, torture, destruction of people’s homes and killing has
continued after apartheid. Now the massacre is here too. Every year the Black
Boers tell us to remember 1976 but they say nothing about the repression of
our struggles after apartheid. They say nothing about Thembinkosi Mpanza and
Vukani Shange shot dead by the Farm Watch in eMasangweni in 2006. They say
nothing about the police attacks o Abahlali baseMjondolo in 2008, the armed
attacks on our movement in Kennedy Road in 2009 and the repression of the
Anti-Eviction Campaign, the Landless People’s Movement and the Unemployed
People’s Movement. They say nothing about the police murder of Andries Tatane
last year or the long list of people that have been killed by the police while
protesting.

Now that the strikers in Marikana have been killed they speak as if it is a
natural disaster whereas in fact it is a political disaster perpetrated by the
capitalists and the politicians.

Are we going to sit back and watch each of our movements crushed one by one?
How many of us must die before we are recognised and included in the society?
How many of us must die before the land and wealth is shared fairly and
everyone has a say in all decisions that affect them? When will the oppressed
stand up and talk with one voice?

We are treated like this because we are poor. We are not allowed to practice
our rights in front of the government. Rights are for everyone on paper. In
reality they are only there for the rich. Our rights are well known to be
documented but not implemented. The alliance between the politicians and the
capitalists has created a Democratic Prison. We can vote but only for our own
oppression. We can vote but the state still ignores the law when it comes to
the poor. It is normal for us to be evicted and repressed even though these
things are illegal. This is why the people are starting to call the
politicians the Black Boers. Yes they govern the country but they do not
govern it for us or with us.

For years community struggles have been attacked. Who would have known that
today worker’s struggles would also be attacked by the police? The struggle is
spreading from the shacks to the mines and from the mines back to the shacks.
Looking at the silence of Cosatu and all the partners of the Black Boers I
can’t stop wondering what will happen next. It seems that the poor are on our
own. It seems that many of us will have to be jailed, beaten and killed before
we count to this society.

I wish for each and every person to look thoroughly at this so called
democracy. I wish for each and every person to ask if we are being realistic
when we say that we are in a democracy or if we are really living in a
Democratic Prison. It is clear that we do not have the rights and freedoms
that are written in the Constitution in reality. It is clear that our
governors use armed force to exclude us from society and to repress us when we
resist. Look at what happened to Abahlali baseMjondolo in 2009. Look at what
happened to the Landless People’s Movement in 2010. Look at what happened to
Andries Tatane last year. Look at what happened to the Unemployed People’s
Movement recently. Look at what happened to the Marikana strikers.

Let’s not fool ourselves and say we are in a Democratic Country while we are
in a Democratic Prison.

The Black Boers think that we the poor are “Dom”. They think that by letting
us vote for them and reminding us of the struggle against the White Boers we
will think that we are “Free”. We were only liberated from the apartheid
regime and the rule of the White Boers but the same system that makes some
people rich and others poor still exists. The same system that locks the poor
out and represses our struggles still exists.

It is clear that this country is led by the Bloody Hand and that it was taken
by the same Bloody Hand and that we will continue to shed blood. But we as the
poor need to put a stop to that and to liberate ourselves in a way that our
kids will be happy to live in our country. We must shape our own future
because the one we are living in is the future of the Black Boers. We need a
country with no more Boers of any colour. We need a country where we are all
just people, people who all count the same and have the same rights.

No one will deliver Freedom to us. We will have to fight to take our own
freedom into our own hands. But the politics of the Bloody Hand is the
politics of the Boers, black and white. Our politics must be different and
better. Our politics must be a politics of an organised, united and determined
people.

Bandile Mdlalose is the Abahlali baseMjondolo General Secretary. She can be
reached on 071 424 2815
————
http://www.abahlali.org

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Sekwanele!
No House! No Land! No Vote!
Everyone Counts

What is “Occupy Cape Town”? More Information about the “Take Back the Commons Movement”

Due to the requests here is some additional information and background into the situation in South Africa today and who some of the people’s groups are – tj

More Information about the Take Back the Commons Movement:

Principles:

* We are all leaders: There will be no celebrity speakers or celebrity activists.
* We strive for a direct participatory and inclusive democratic process in all our activities and actions (by democracy, we mean inclusive spiritual and direct democracy in concert with nature and mother earth). We are open, accountable, transparent and honest.
* We aim not only to change the world but also to change ourselves.
* We strive to build unity, not to divide. We strive to be all inclusive. We are non-party political.
* We are confronting issues, we are not confronting people. We are constructive, not destructive. We aim to build a culture of caring and sharing.
* We aim to be realistic about the past, present and future.

Understanding “the Commons”

“The commons” is a term that refers to resources that are owned in common, or shared between or among communities, or the people of a country. These resources include:

* natural resources (like common land, forests, the atmosphere, rivers, the sea, fisheries, and mineral wealth) and our environmental heritage
* public goods (such as public space, public education, health and the infrastructure that allows our society to function)
* our cultural heritage (our shared history, literature, music, arts, design, film, video, television, radio, information, software and sites of heritage).

Under colonialism and apartheid most of the commons of South Africa were privatised and are now being owned, controlled and monopolised by a small elite – to the extent that South Africa is the most unequal country in the world (as measured by the Gini coefficient).

There is overwhelming evidence that these high levels of inequality and exclusion are what make South African cities the crime, murder and rape capitals of the world. Taking back the commons means that we reclaim the wealth and resources that should be used for the benefit of people and communities rather than the further enrichment of the elite, to create a more just and sustainable society.

Our Purpose:

Our short-term goal is to hold a Summit where communities can share their experiences, come up with strategies to deal with the problems they face, and learn the practical skills to assist in meeting those challenges.

Our long terms purpose is to

* continue building ties between and within communities, organisations and other groups
* explore how to “manage” collective discussions; deal with differences of culture, class and opinion; and  how to communicate and manifest our intentions effectively
* begin to reclaim the commons, as a collective

—

Our Website: mpbackyarders.org.za
Email us: admin@mpbackyarders.org.za
Call us: mpbackyarders.org.za/contact-us
Follow us: twitter.com/backyarders
Join us: Backyarders Facebook Page

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This Saturday COSATU will hold a “Celebration” at Rondebosch Common.
What exactly are they celebrating?

Statement by Occupy Cape Town

Alternative General Assembly
Date: 4 February
Time: 10am
Venue: Community House in Salt River

Many of us who participated in last week’s disrupted event at the Common are distancing ourselves from the event this Saturday. We believe that:

* As COSATU was never involved in the planning of the march & summit, they had no right to appear late on Friday afternoon, and make statements as if on behalf of the Take Back the Commons movement.
* Our principles clearly state: We do not recognise leaders or celebrity speakers. We are not party political. We are not destructive – we want to protect our shared natural and cultural heritage. The way this event is being managed contravenes these principles (see below).
* One of the purposes of the original event was to symbolically reclaim “the commons” (see below) – the public space that should be available for all. The fact that this weekend’s event is able to take place is a testimony to our small victory, but –
* Reclaiming “the commons” was just one of our aims, and to celebrate at this stage sidetracks us from the work that still lies ahead, at a time when it is important to stay focussed on our purposes and principles and to keep the momentum going.
* The celebration may provide good publicity, but it does not move us any closer to the real purposes and aims of the movement (see below).

This position is supported by the active representatives of Occupy Cape Town – and reflects the consensus with this particular group, as well as the stated opinions of many others within the Take Back the Commons Movement.

Because of this, we are exercising our freedom of choice, and choose not to attend the COSATU event. Instead we will meet to discuss other plans, debate some of the issues we seek to address, and build our relationships with each other.

This choice in no way means that we are withdrawing our support for the movement as a whole, nor that we are excluding ourselves from it. In fact, we look forward to continuing to build it in accordance with its stated principles and purpose.

Each of the many other communities, groups and organisations within the movement is free to decide (on an individual basis, or through consensus) whether they will attend the COSATU event or the General Assembly.

All will come together again in support of the !Nou on Sunday (the KhoiSan cleansing and renaming ceremony) as well as at future General Assemblies.

Written by Gizelle Rush of Occupy Cape Town / Take Back the Commons
Contact 072 845 6142

South African Ministry of Tourism to boycott OECD Conference in Israel

October 15, 2010 – COSATU salutes the decision by the South African Ministry of Tourism not to attend the 86th Session of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development’s (OECD) Tourism Committee conference to be hosted by Israel in Jerusalem. By its decision, South Africa now joins Britain, Spain and Turkey who have all refused to attend the conference.

Israel is scheduled to host the OECD tourism conference in Jerusalem between the 20th and 22nd of October. It was announced on Monday that the Palestine Liberation Organization has joined the call by Fatah, Palestinian trade unions and civil society groups for countries not to attend, on the grounds of Israel’s illegal occupation, including that of Jerusalem.

Yesterday COSATU was informed that both the offices of the South African Minister as well as Deputy Minister of Tourism have indicated that neither will be attending. Furthermore, the office of the Director General of Tourism has also confirmed that no representative from that department will be going to Israel.

The momentum for the boycott dramatically increased last week when Israeli Minister of Tourism, Stas Misezhnikov, said attendance at the conference would be “a seal of approval on the fact that we [Israel] have a state whose recognized capital is Jerusalem”. No member of the United Nations (nor the organisation itself) recognises Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. Even the United States, Israel’s unwavering ally, refuses to move its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. UN Security Council Resolution 478 calls on member states, including South Africa, not to recognise Israel’s occupation and the illegal annexation of Jerusalem. Participation in the OECD conference would thus be a tacit acceptance of Israel’s illegal annexation of Jerusalem.

The Israeli minster’s statement outraged the OECD Secretary-General, Angel Gurria, who threatened to cancel the conference in response, and indicated that the incident could hinder the planning of future conferences in Israel. But, by holding the conference in Jerusalem, the OECD ignores the fact that Jerusalem is under occupation, and – by its actions – accepts the illegal annexation.

COSATU supports the Department of International Relations and Cooperation’s position that Israeli settlement activities, particularly in Jerusalem, “are reminiscent of apartheid forced removals”. COSATU reaffirms its support for the call for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions against the Israeli apartheid state. An international boycott movement similar to the one that assisted us in our liberation is necessary for a just peace in Palestine.

Zanele Matebula
(Deputy International Relations Secretary)
Congress of South African Trade Unions
1-5 Leyds Cnr Biccard Streets
Braamfontein
2017

P.O.Box 1019
Johannesburg
2000
South Africa

Tel: +27 11 339-4911/24
Fax: +27 11 339-5080/6940
Mobile: +27 82 300 8979
E-Mail: zanele@cosatu.org.za

Huge Strike Begins in South Africa‏

This probably would have been more effective if it had been launched immediately before or during the World Cup when the eyes of the world were on South Africa
 
– tj
 
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2010/08/2010818125254251434.html
August 19, 2010 – More than one million South African state workers have gone on strike to press for an increase in pay, a move that threatens to paralyse Africa’s biggest economy. 

Schools were closed early on Wednesday as teachers left for meetings to discuss the walkout, while workers dressed in red T-shirts gathered outside hospitals and government offices. 
 
“The strike is indefinite. It will go on until there has been an improvement, until the government delivers on our demands,” Fikile Majola, the general secretary of the National Education Health and Allied Workers Union, said

“The response has been very good especially in the schools.”
 
Those on strike included police, healthcare workers, teachers and customs officials. Essential services are expected to be maintained through skeleton staffing.
 
“We have nothing to lose but the chains that bind us,” Norman Mampane, the national spokesman for the Popcru police and prison guards’ union, one of the groups in the labour coalition representing about 1.3 million state workers, said.

No marches were planned for Wednesday because the strike was announced so late the night before.
 
Offer rejected
  
The strike was declared after four days of consultation in which the state’s offer was to increase the monthly housing allowance to 700 rand from a previous offer of 630 rand.

However, it had refused to increase its wage rise offer of seven per cent.
 
A mid-range civil servant already makes about 40 per cent more in wages and benefits than the average South African worker, who takes home 6,383 rand ($880) a month.

Dumisani Nkwanba, the spokesman for the ministry of public service and administration, told Al Jazeera: “The government has been very sincere … The question here is the issue of affordability on the part of the state.

“The offer the government has put on the table … we feel is a fair and reasonable offer. We cannot move beyond what we have done now.”

Al Jazeera’s Haru Mutasa, reporting from Soweto, Johannesburg, said the unions do not believe the government when it says that it has no money.
 
“They say they see politicians living lavish lifestyles, they question why there was money for the football World Cup [staged in South Africa] and say they are tired of corruption allegations in government departments and that they will not put up with it anymore,” she reported.
 
“They are saying that they are not going back to work until their demands are met and that they don’t care how long the strike drags on.
 
“It’s going to have a big impact. Schools are shut down … we’ve heard people have barricaded hospitals. If this strike drags on a lot of people will become the casualties of the strike action.”

Anlysts expect a deal to be reached in the coming days, but economists fear that whatever deal is agreed will increase state spending as the government tries to bring its deficit down from 6.7 per cent of gross domestic product.

“Additional pressure on public sector finances and the subsequent need to increase the taxes will have consequential downstream impact on both business and consumers,” the South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry said in a statement.

The last big public sector strike in South Africa took place in 2007 when a four-week strike by 600,000 state workers cost the economy several million lost man-days, discouraged investors and angered the public.

-30-

South Africa – Landless People’s Movement Press Statement

Landless People’s Movement Press Statement
8 July 2010

The LPM Welcomes the Independent Research Report into Political Violence Against our Movement

As the Landless People’s Movement in Gauteng we welcome the independent research report by Jared Sacks into political violence against our movement in Gauteng.

We have been suffering from serious repression in Protea South, in Harry Gwala and in eTwatwa. The story of our struggle and the repression of our struggle has not been told. The world may have been watching South Africa for the World Cup but the repression of our movement has passed unnoticed. Therefore we welcome this report and the light that it shines into the darkness of our country.

The repression of our movement has been ignored by the media. We are asking the media to take this report seriously. We challenge the media to read this report and to follow it up with their own investigations. We need to expose what happens to the poor in this country and what happens to the poor when they challenge the coucillors.

As a society we are not dealing with the issues that affect the poor. The councillors do nothing for the poor.

Billions of rands have been spent on stadiums and other costs for this World Cup yet we remain in shacks and without electricity. They said ‘Feel it, it is here’ but we have not felt anything other than the pain of poverty worsened with the pain of repression. The money that should have been spent on upgrading our communities has been wasted. The tournament will be over on Sunday and we will still be poor.

It is clear that in this country development is something that is imposed on the poor from above. Very often what is called development is actually forced removal. If you don’t agree to be forcibly removed you are treated as an enemy to the government of the country.

When the social movements take up the issues of the poor – repression comes from the government with the police. They are trying to intimidate all the comrades of the social movements. They want to show the social movements that they must not challenge the councillors. It is the same in eTwatwa as it is in Harry Gwala and in Protea South. It is the same in Kennedy Road and in Pemary Ridge in Durban. They want to stop us from raising our voices.

We have no choice but to keep struggling. We will not be intimidated by the councillors and their police. We will, together with all our comrades in the Poor People’s Alliance, continue our struggle for land and for freedom.

To download the report in pdf click here.

For comment and further information please contact:

Dan Mofokeng (eTwatwa) 078 679 9435

Clement (eTwatwa) 078 571 4927

Edward Leople (eTwatwa) 083 885 5009

Solly (eTwatwa) 078 498 3280

David Mathontsi (eTwatwa) 073 914 9868

Tsepo (eTwatwa Youth) 078 839 4874

Maureen Mnisi (Protea South) 082 337 4514

Bongani Xezwi (Protea South) 071 043 2221

Maas Van Wyk (Protea South) 079 267 3203

Thomas Maemganyi (Protea South) 072 613 2738

Bazino Lihlebi (Harry Gwala) 084 704 4144

Johnson Nokutwana (Harry Gwala) 078 240 5538

Moray Hathorn (lawyer for LPM) 083 266 1081

—
Uyishayile!

Abahlali baseMjondolo, together with with Landless People’s Movement (Gauteng), the Rural Network (KwaZulu-Natal) and the Western Cape Anti-Eviction Campaign, is part of the Poor People’s Alliance – a national network of democratic membership based poor people’s movements.
————————————————————————————————————-
Abahlali baseMjondolo http://www.abahlali.org

Khayelitsha Struggles http://www.khayelitshastruggles.com/

Western Cape Anti-Eviction Campaign http://antieviction.org.za/

To contact Abahlali baseMjondolo in Durban please email abahlalibasemjonfolo [at] telkom.sa.net or phone 031 – 304 6420

To contact Abahlali baseMjondolo in Cape Town please email abmwesterncape [at] abahlali.org or phone Mzonke Poni on 073 246 2036

To contact the Western Cape Anti-Eviction Campaign, also in Cape Town, email aec [at] antieviction.org.za or phone Ashraf Cassiem at 076 186 1408.

To contact the Landless People’s Movement in Gauteng email Bongani Xezwi at bongani.xezwi [at] gmail.com or phone Maureen Mnisi on 082 337 4514.

To contact the Rural Network in KwaZulu-Natal contact email ruralnetwork.kzn[ at] gmail.com or phone Reverend Mavuso on 072 279 2634.

AbM Facebook Group:http://www.facebook.com/group.php?v=wall&gid=19659923423

AEC Facebook Group:http://www.facebook.com/pages/Western-Cape-Anti-Eviction-Campaign-AEC/8432492420

Abahlali baseMjondolo Solidarity Campaign Network UK
http://abmsolidaritygroup.blogspot.com/

Abahlali baseMjondolo Solidarity Group Namibia http://respectnamibia.ning.com/groups/group/show?id=3153753%3AGroup%3A6063&xg_source=msg_mes_group

Solidarity with Abahlali baseMjondolo in Italy http://clandestino.carta.org/category/mondiali

Solidarity with the Poor People’s Alliance in Germany http://akkrise.wordpress.com/sudafrika/

Dear Mandela
http://www.dearmandela.com/

Land & Freedom!

Israeli Apartheid and the BDS Movement: How This Injustice Will End

This is an audio collage of talking points from a panel discussion during Israeli Apartheid Week: March 4-11 across the globe.

It was recorded on March 5th, 2010 at McGill university in Montreal, Canada.

The speakers explain how Israel is a defacto apartheid state and how the BDS Movement of boycott, divestment and sanctions will bring and end to the injustice of Israeli apartheid.

The two speakers are Noura Erakat, who is a member of the “US Campaign to End the Occupation” and Na’eem Jeenah, who is a South African anti-apartheid activist.

running time: 25min 57sec

click arrow to play:

COSATU Supports the International Struggle Against Israeli Apartheid

The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) was launched in December 1985 after four years of unity talks between unions opposed to apartheid and committed to a non-racial, non-sexist and democratic South Africa. At our launch we represented less than half a million workers organised in 33 unions. We currently have more than two million workers, of whom at least 1.8 million are paid up. Even by international standards we have been among the fastest growing trade union movements in the world. Today when most trade unions are facing a decline in membership, we have continued to grow.

“(Palestinian) struggle has become a global symbol of resistance against apartheid, occupation and colonialism in our age. Their struggle is for the same cause as that heroically waged by South Africans against apartheid not so long ago.”

 In Palestine there lives a peace-loving people like all of us must aspire to be, who look forward to enjoying a life of decency and dignity. These people once had a place they called their own; the land, the peace, the environment, the natural resources and all that they possessed then. It was so until the arrival of the forces of occupation, in the form of the Israeli Zionists who took all that was ever possessed by these people and turned them into perpetual slaves without land and freedom.

Due to the illegal occupation of their land, the people of Palestine struggle for their freedom and are still fighting even now. Their struggle has become a global symbol of resistance against apartheid, occupation and colonialism in our age. Their struggle is for the same cause as that heroically waged by South Africans against apartheid not so long ago. It is this light that South Africans have always and shall continue to support, with these sister peoples in the quest for justice and dignity.

COSATU fully supports all global action against the forces of apartheid occupying the land of the Palestinian people. We shall actively participate in all the activities, particularly the action taking place on Friday, March 5th in Pretoria where we call for the maximum participation of all our members to show solidarity.

We also fully support the unity demonstrated by all the progressive forces involved with the people of Palestine as they came together to constitute the Coalition for a Free Palestine, of which COSATU is a proud founder and active member. This initiative is very important in the work of building unity and taking forward the historic outcomes of the Cairo Declaration. Only through working together and showing unity will we be able to contribute to the unity of the oppressed and fighting people in Palestine.

This month will also include a series of activities dedicated to the cause of the people of Palestine, amongst them; Launch of the BDS Campaign, tour of Spain by COSATU President Sidumo Dlamini on this issue, and various other initiatives that will move the momentum forward.

According to the Los Angeles Times of January 17, 2009, Israeli TV broadcasted a father’s heartbreak by airing a frantic phone call from a Palestinian doctor living in Gaza telling how an Israeli tank had shelled his home, killing three of his daughters and injuring other family members.

This is just one incidence that indicates the tragic nature of the crisis in Palestine, where Israel has illegally apportioned for itself the divine right to bomb, imprison and even carry out bio-chemical warfare against the people of Palestine in the form of white phosphorous chemicals, all so as to enforce Israel`s illegal occupation of Palestine through arms and force while subjecting Palestinians to conditions of perpetual imprisonment in their own homes and country. 

It compels one to share in the daily pains and humiliation experienced by all people under the weight of zionist imperialism. It is a call to all people of nobility and dignity to do something now in defence of humanity. Participating in the just struggles of the Palestinian people is not anti-semitism, but a call for justice and freedom. The attempt to blackmail those who call for freedom and justice in Palestine with the misused label of “anti-semites” is a desperate attempt by Zionist bullies to silence all who stand up to oppose the savage attacks against the humanity and freedom of the Palestinian people.

In all our struggles as COSATU we have always conducted ourselves with the noblest of intentions and discipline, even in the midst of extreme provocation. We refuse to be intimidated or provoked to act in a manner other than that required by our highest ideals as a progressive force of revolution. Even under extreme provocation and insults, we have maintained our cool and insisted that the freedom of the Palestinian people is just as non-negotiable as is ours. We are proud to be associated with the growing movement of people seeking paths alternative to savagery, war and racism. We shall not stop our opposition to occupation, colonialism and racism and shall continue to do so, precisely, because we are against the oppression and suffering of all people, wherever and whoever they are. We are not against Israel or any other state but we shall act in defence of Jews, Arabs, Asians, Africans, Latinos and every body who suffers humiliation dared by any body.

Our struggle is not against any particular, predetermined group, but against any act that dehumanises people and against any group or individual that perpetuates such an act.

Therefore, we stand firmly opposed to apartheid, colonialism, occupation and injustice of whatever form. We call for the world to intensify the prosecution of all who commit these crimes against humanity and we call on the world to ensure redress for victims of such savagery.

> Bongani Masuku (International Relations Secretary)
> Congress of South African Trade Unions
> 1-5 Leyds Cnr Biccard Streets
> Braamfontein, 2017
> Johannesburg
>
> P.O.Box 1019
> Johannesburg, 2000
> South Africa
>
> Tel: +27 11 339-4911/24
> Fax: +27 11 339-5080/6940
> Mobile: +27 79 499 6419
> E-Mail: bongani@cosatu.org.za