“MK”, a member of the ZACF’s underground structures in Swaziland was among eight Swaziland youth congress (SWAYOCO) members arrested by police following a SWAYOCO demonstration in the city of Manzini on Saturday, October 1st. The SWAYOCO demonstration was to protest against King Sobhuza II’s autocratic decree of 1973 that outlawed all pro-democratic political activity in this, Africa’s last remaining “white” (monarchist) dictatorship. Today Sobhuza’s successor, King Mswati III, presides over one of the world’s highest HIV/AIDS infection rates, in a country where for people to draw water from a stream without permission is a crime – while he continues to splurge millions of rands on a private jet, swan around in a r2-million luxury Maybach vehicle and a string of palaces, and kidnap schoolgirls as his brides.

Over the past two years, the ZACF has established a presence in Swaziland as the only grassroots revolutionary organisation pushing for the overthrow of the king and of the british-south african extractive capitalism he supports.

Continue reading →

July 8 2005

We, the Zabalaza Anarchist Communist Federation (ZACF) of southern Africa, stand foursquare with the working and poor people who were apparently the targets of the craven July 7th bus and train bombings in London. We were previously called to task by another leftist revolutionary organisation for offering similar sympathies in the wake of the Madrid train bombing on March 11th last year. But we are unrepentant in our bitter opposition to terrorism in all its forms, whether driven by state or sub-state opportunism.

It matters little to us that a supposed “Secret Organization of al-Qaida in Europe” has claimed responsibility for randomly slaughtering at least 33 ordinary travellers today and injuring scores more. It matters little that the killers may cloak themselves in high ideals, perhaps including religion.

Continue reading →

23 March 2005

Comrades!

Revolutionary syndicalist greetings to the FWUCI from the Zabalaza Anarchist Communist Federation (ZACF) of southern Africa. [“Zabalaza” means “Struggle” in Zulu & Xhosa].

We are friends with a veteran of the 300-strong Shagila, which split from the Iraqi Communist Party (HCI) in 1973 and waged a guerrilla war against the Ba’athist security police and whose members crossed into Iran to support the worker’s Shorahs and community Kommitehs during the Iranian Revolution 1978-1979. And as opponents of the US-lead invasion of Iraq, we have a great interest in your organisation.

Continue reading →

Comrades, friends and all working and poor people living on or travelling through the Iberian peninsula.

We southern Africans wish to express our deep disgust at the terrorist bombings of commuter trains in Madrid on March 11 with so much loss of life and limb. We join our voices with the millions of “ordinary” people who totally reject indiscriminate killing by faceless cowards as in any way justifiable, for any cause.

As people living on a continent that has experienced not only similar terrorist bombings (in Kenya and Tanzania), but also the murderous policies of the proxy regimes of French, British, Russian, Portuguese and American capital, we empathise with your pain. That pain, inflicted on you, our sisters and brothers, by heartless people without conscience, cuts to the heart of our shared humanity, regardless whether those responsible consider themselves inspired by faith or politics.

We stand united with the victims and their families, regardless of their personal creeds, recognising that we are all being used as canon-fodder in the wars of the wealthy. We beg you to refuse to allow your anger to be turned against your neighbours, whether Basque, Muslim or north African, by cynical politicians. Basques, Muslims and north Africans travelling through Madrid are doubtlessly also among those so callously murdered. They have bled, died and cried with you.

Continue reading →

Against capitalism – Against the US government –
Against state and fundamentalist terrorism

South African anarchist statement on the New York / Washington DC attacks – September 2001

The WTC attacks

The September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Centre (WTC) and the Pentagon by suicide bombers, leading to over 6,500 deaths have grabbed world attention.

We revolutionary anarchists condemn the attacks and extend our condolences to the families of those injured or killed. The death of thousands of ordinary civilians – including many ordinary workers – is not acceptable. The use of civilian aircraft for such an operation is authoritarian and coercive and shows the contempt of terrorists for human life. It also shows that the terrorists are anti-working class: attacking people just because they are “American” regardless of their class position is reactionary and xenophobic.

Continue reading →

PRIVATISATION VERSUS PEOPLE

Privatisation is an issue that affects the working class directly. At every election time, we are visited by politicians who promise us the earth. After the elections, business as usual continues with tens of thousands of working and poor people facing evictions, disconnections and attachments of property. This situation of misery is directly linked to the process of privatisation. Privatisation is the process of turning government services and government companies into profit-making activities. This means a few simple things:

• Less jobs and lower wages, with less benefits
• Outsourcing
• Sky-rocketing prices for services
• Evictions and cut-offs and attachments if we get behind in payments

Continue reading →

The UN World Conference against Racism (WCAR) was held in August 2001 in Durban, South Africa. This critique was produced by the Anarchist Union and Bikisha Media Collective – 2 South African Anarchist groups whose members later went on to found the ZACF.

WILL EDUCATION END RACISM?

According to South Africa’s ruling elite, the problem of racism is basically a problem of ignorance. “Education”, according to Barney Pityana of the Human Rights Commission, “will cure racism”. This argument sounds appealing, but it is inaccurate and misleading. Most importantly, this view conveniently ignores the role of the CAPITALIST SYSTEM in inventing and perpetuating racism. Since capitalism emerged in the 1500s, it has committed many crimes against humanity. But few of these crimes are as vile as racism. Perhaps that is why Barney Pityana – as a defender of capitalism and the ANC government’s privatisation policies – wishes to hide capitalism’s dirty laundry with his stress on “education”.

Continue reading →