Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) fully associate themselves with the statement made at the close of the Zimbabwe Learning Exchange Meeting Declaration of 28 August 2012 convened by the Action Support Centre. WOZA add their call for the opening up of space for the work of civic society as we move towards finalisation of our constitutional reform process.

We also call on the King Mswati and the Swaziland Police to allow all citizens the full enjoyment of freedoms of expression and assembly during the upcoming Global Week of Action on Swaziland.

The time has come for the people to people solidarity and WOZA members commit to active solidarity to their sisters and brothers in the region. It is in this spirit that we express our condolences to the families of those who lost their lives in the Marikana tragedy.

WOZA adopted a mandate to practice peaceful protest as human rights defenders committed to the principles of non violence and universality. For the last 10 years we have conducted protests on a range of issues, including partnering with the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions in their right to a decent wage. The Zimbabwe Republic Police response to the peaceful protests have been beatings, arrests torture and our activists are persecuted on a daily basis for their peaceful protest mandate.

As victims of police brutality and use of excessive force, WOZA are especially concerned that police officers within the region must be trained in response to protest situations and in the case of Marikana, in how they respond to violence without killing the innocently non violent.   We call on South African Police Commissioner general Riah Phiyega to follow the Southern Africa Regional Police Chiefs Cooperation Organisation protocols. And further probe the role played by the two rival unions in this tragedy. The articles therein call for respect for human life and the use of force and torture. Article 8 calls for a police force that the public can trust and police officials who can be above reproach. These principles have been called into account by the wanton shooting of the miners. Additionally we wish to raise our concern at the national prosecuting authority bringing of murder charges against miners in custody.

WOZA wish to ring very loud alarm bells that the current events in South Africa could set unfortunate precedents for the repression of the right to expression and assembly. We also wish to remind South African of the inspirational examples they have shown us in removing apartheid through the use of non violent protest and boycotts.  It is unfortunate that some of the miners were carrying weapons that saw the initial slaying of 14 people including 2 police officers but still we do not condone the reaction of the police officers in the subsequent events. Some of these events inspired the formation of WOZA and its work to build a movement of committed social justice activists.

We pray our message will be heard by South Africans and other Southern African Development Community leaders and citizens.

Zimbabwe Learning Exchange Meeting Declaration  28 August 2012
A strong representative delegation of organisations from Mozambique, Swaziland, , South Africa and Zimbabwe and from respected organisations such as the ACTION Support Centre, Benchmarks, COSATU, Grace to Heal, Foundation for Socio-Economic Justice, UMSA, PROPAZ, , Restorative Justice, SCCCO, TUCOSWA, SUDF, WOZA, YIDEZ and ZCTU met in Harare, from 22-23 August 2012. The interconnections between civil and human rights and the rights of workers are at the centre of our collective purpose.

We deliberated on “Building and Strengthening People-to-People Solidarity in the Region”, focusing on analysing the Zimbabwe Global Political Agreement, reflections on the constitution making process, the implications of a contested constitutional referendum and an election process without a clear constitutional framework in place. Lessons were drawn from these discussions and were further strengthened through an analysis of the Swaziland crisis, including sharing insights and strategies for strengthening the Swaziland Mass Democratic Movement and assessing the role of civil society in socio-economic and political issues in the region.

The tragic events at the Lonmin mine in Marikana, North-West Province, South Africa, overshadowed the learning exchange and served to remind us of the indivisibility of our struggles for freedom and the deep structural causes of violence that affect all of us across the continent.

Acknowledging our past efforts and recognising the need to strengthen our collaborative intention to build a culture of solidarity in seeking to address the challenges we face in the SADC region:

We resolve to:
Invigorate our efforts to end the abuse of the rights of citizens, the marginalisation of people from decision making and unaccountable leadership, the misuse of public funds, and all forms of autocratic and militarised behaviour, particularly in Zimbabwe and Swaziland. We pledge our solidarity with the struggles of the people across the region and commit ourselves to finding ways of building unity and cohesion between progressive forces.

We also send our condolences to the families of those who perished and were injured in the tragic event in Marikana. Those who are found to be responsible for the tragedy must be held accountable. The events at Marikana are also symbolic of the deeper tensions in our society and will require a concerted collective effort in support of fundamental transformation.

We call on SADC heads of states to:

• Urgently include civil society voices in the current ongoing efforts to resolve the Zimbabwe impasse and to respect the views of citizens who are participating in the constitution making process.
• Respond immediately to the impending constitutional stalemate between the principals in Zimbabwe and persuade intentional spoilers to follow the process of the GPA and walk with Zimbabwe in ensuring a constructive outcome to the Constitution making process and a level playing field for an election outcome that is accepted by all parties.
• Seek active ways of involving civil society in SADC decisions and work with civil society to make existing structures more effective in serving the collective voice of civil society, including the SADC Council of NGOs.
• Immediately deploy the SADC Technical Team to work alongside the JOMIC and seek ways of expanding this team to support the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission.
• Ensure the full implementation of the GPA guidelines and investigate how security formations such as the Joint Operations Command are undermining and circumventing dialogue processes.
• Work together with JOMIC and civic monitoring groups to ensure the creation of an enabling environment towards free and fair elections.
• To recognise the severity of the Swaziland crisis and work urgently to establish frameworks that facilitates the protection and respect of human rights and the democratisation of the Swaziland governance system.

We call on all progressive forces worldwide to support the 2012 Global Week of Action on Swaziland organised by the Swaziland Democracy Campaign and progressive Movements in Swaziland (3-7 September 2012) under the theme “A Call for Multiparty Democratic Elections and A People’s Government Now”!

Finally we express our solidarity support for the associated call for the:

• Immediate unbanning of all political parties, freeing of political prisoners, and the return of all exiles.
• Right to free media expression and an independent judiciary
• Genuine and all -inclusive political dialogue to end 39 years of Tinkhundla parliament sitting) misrule.
• End to the corrupt, undemocratic royal Tinkhundla regime and put in place a process towards a democratic and all-inclusive interim government to prepare the ground for democratic elections. Including mass civic education to empower especially rural population on their rights and importance of their participation in building a democratic Swaziland.
• Introduction of economic recovery plan to address poverty and hunger, driven by a democratic government and civil society.