The Peoples United Democratic Movement (Pudemo),
Swaziland’s banned opposition party. has called on the AU to exclude Swaziland on account of its failure to meet the democratic fundamentals of the founding principles. Pudemo general secretary Bonginkosi Dlamini said in the letter that for almost 30 years Swaziland had been ruled by a state of emergency.

All political parties except the ruling party were banned, political harassment was institutionalised, and there was no media freedom. "Help us avoid a civil war," he said. "We do not want to go the painful route of some of our African brothers and sisters where as a result of state oppression they took up arms and a lot of innocent people ... lost their lives."

Although Madagascar was already been excluded, Swaziland is still a full AU members despite the increase in state repression in the country.

Swaziland Solidarity Campaign co-ordinator Daniel Brett said: “Totalitarian regimes like those in Swaziland and Zimbabwe must no longer be tolerated by African nations.

“With the fall of apartheid in South Africa and the rise of democracy in countries such as Senegal, there is a renewal of democracy taking place in Africa and these regimes are an anachronism. What worries us is that many governments won’t have the political willpower to go beyond mere platitudes and enforce democratic values over the continent.

“Thabo Mbeki, in particular, has failed to take leadership on democratisation in southern Africa. He has only managed mild criticism of the repression and brutality in states like Swaziland. The AU will need more than this if it is to overcome the failings of its predecessor, the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), which was merely a club for dictators.”