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on leaders and activists for a second day.
“We have decided to suspend our strike action and go back to re-strategise,” said Muzi Mhlanga, secretary general of Swaziland National Association of Teachers.
Heavy police presence in the country’s main city Manzini headed off new protests Wednesday against Africa’s last absolute monarch, with random arrests on the streets.
The protesters want Mswati to loosen his grip on power and allow multi-party democracy, but are also angry at government proposals to slash salaries for civil servants amid a severe budget crisis.
Unions called for the protests on Tuesday to mark the 38th anniversary of the banning of political parties.
The demonstrations were meant to run for three days, but police used teargas, water cannons and batons to break up the protest on Tuesday.
The king has not spoken publicly about the protests, but sent his top advisers to meet with union leaders last week in a failed bid to convince them to drop the protest plan. – AFP.