Archbishop Desmond Tutu has withdrawn from participating in a leadership summit in Johannesburg to protest the presence of Tony Blair.
Tutu's decision forms a protest against Blair's decision to back the United States war in Iraq.
"The archbishop has spent considerable time over the past few days wrestling with his conscience and taking counsel from trusted advisers with respect to his attendance at the event," the archbishop's office wrote to the event organisers on Tuesday.
"Ultimately, the archbishop is of the view that Mr Blair's decision to support the United States' military invasion of Iraq, on the basis of unproven allegations of the existence in Iraq of weapons of mass destruction, was morally indefensible.
"The Discovery Invest Leadership Summit has leadership as its theme. Morality and leadership are indivisible. In this context, it would be inappropriate and untenable for the archbishop to share a platform with Mr Blair.
"The archbishop greatly regrets inconveniencing and disappointing the organisers and participants of the Discovery Invest Leadership Summit."
Following Tutu's decision, Blair released a statement.
"Obviously [Tony Blair] is sorry that the archbishop has decided to pull out now from an event that has been fixed for months and where he and the Archbishop were never actually sharing a platform.
"As far as Iraq is concerned they have always disagreed about removing Saddam by force – such disagreement is part of a healthy democracy.
"As for the morality of that decision we have recently had both the memorial of the Halabja massacre where thousands of people were murdered in one day by Saddam's use of chemical weapons; and that of the Iran-Iraq war where casualties numbered up to a million including many killed by chemical weapons.
"So these decisions are never easy morally or politically".
Anger grows
A group of Durban-based organisations want to arrest Blair on charges of war crimes when he arrives in South Africa.
"Various Muslim organisations are in talks about possible actions that will be carried out should Tony Blair visit South Africa," said Mustafa Darsot, a member of the South African Muslim Network executive committee.
"This includes protest marches outside the summit venue, possible sit-ins and legal action against Mr Blair. We have also asked various legal professionals to look at the feasibility of having a warrant of arrest issued against him."
Blair will join several big names, including chess master Garry Kasparov and Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan at the annual event, which will take place in Sandton on August 30.
Darsot said the network and several other organisations had written to Discovery Group founder and chief executive officer Adrian Gore urging him to withdraw the invitation to Blair. They did not believe he was "fit to lecture on leadership" because of his key role in the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
"Mr Blair is complicit in the murder of thousands of people in Iraq and should be tried for war crimes," Darsot said. "He violated the trust and responsibility of his office and it was his cosy and illegitimate relationship with the [Rupert] Murdoch press that prevented much of the truth about his role in the invasion of Iraq and murder of its citizens from being revealed in the press."
Offence
But Iona Maclean, head of Discovery Life and Discovery Invest Marketing, said the invitation to Blair would not be withdrawn.
"The Discovery Invest Leadership Summit brings together a range of leaders to debate the challenges that face the world's economy, business, government and society," she said.
"The event is not intended to reflect a political view or cause offence. Discovery Invest selected the speakers based on their experience as leaders from various spheres of society and we will not be withdrawing our invitation to any of the speakers."
Patrick Bond, director of the Centre for Civil Society at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, said there was no question that Blair could be prosecuted for a "crime of aggression".
"The website arrestblair.org spells out Blair's role in recent mass murder from the Middle East to Central Asia," he said.
"Since Pretoria politicians justifiably complain that the International Criminal Court mainly prosecutes African tyrants, leaving European and American war criminals to travel the world gathering huge speaking fees, some action by Foreign Minister Maite Nkoane-Mashabane would reduce the talk left, walk right accusation against South Africa. She might simply follow the recent lead of Malawian President Joyce Banda, who warned Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir to stay away from Lilongwe on threat of arrest."
Bond said if Nkoane-Mashabane did not intervene, South Africans who viewed Blair as a war criminal could attempt a citizen's arrest.
Source: Mail & Guardian
Showing posts with label Joyce Banda. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Joyce Banda. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Thursday, August 16, 2012
Africa: Border Disputes Do Not Help Africa
MALAWIAN President Joyce Banda made encouraging remarks at a news conference in Lilongwe. She said that her country will not go to war with Tanzania over the ongoing Lake Nyasa border dispute. She explained that negotiations on the matter are still going on between authorities of Malawi and Tanzania, but noted that even if the ongoing diplomatic efforts fail, other channels will be used exhaustively to resolve the matter.
Ms Banda stressed that the dispute is not a good reason and will never be, for the brothers and sisters of the two countries to go to war. The border dispute erupted last year when Malawi issued a licence to a British firm, Surestream Petroleum, to prospect for hydrocarbons. Tanzania claims a portion of the 29,600 square kilometres lake, but Malawi cites a colonial-era agreement dating from 1890 that stipulates that the border between the two countries lies along the Tanzanian shoreline of the lake.
The dispute between Tanzania and Malawi over Lake Nyasa, which is known as Lake Malawi in Malawi, is yet another of African headache brought about by the colonial division of the continent. In drawing up the boundaries between their "possessions" in Africa there was little precision in the process
Problems with borders are commonplace in Africa. Sources show that the continent has more than 100 border disputes brought about by its former colonial rulers. Arbitrary lines drawn on maps by colonial powers sitting at the Conference of Berlin in 1884 have left countries with meaningless boundaries that are now the source of conflicts.
These have led to countless disputes, some leading to war, others to years of diplomatic and legal wrangling. It is hoped that Tanzania and Malawi are going to give diplomacy the chance in amicable resolution of the dispute over Lake Nyasa and continue living as brothers and sisters.
Both countries have many problems at present including poverty and diseases that need to be overcome as soon as possible. Wars will never take the two countries anywhere and should not be an option since they will make things worse. Let the leaders and experts meet and resolve the dispute.
Source: All Africa
Ms Banda stressed that the dispute is not a good reason and will never be, for the brothers and sisters of the two countries to go to war. The border dispute erupted last year when Malawi issued a licence to a British firm, Surestream Petroleum, to prospect for hydrocarbons. Tanzania claims a portion of the 29,600 square kilometres lake, but Malawi cites a colonial-era agreement dating from 1890 that stipulates that the border between the two countries lies along the Tanzanian shoreline of the lake.
The dispute between Tanzania and Malawi over Lake Nyasa, which is known as Lake Malawi in Malawi, is yet another of African headache brought about by the colonial division of the continent. In drawing up the boundaries between their "possessions" in Africa there was little precision in the process
Problems with borders are commonplace in Africa. Sources show that the continent has more than 100 border disputes brought about by its former colonial rulers. Arbitrary lines drawn on maps by colonial powers sitting at the Conference of Berlin in 1884 have left countries with meaningless boundaries that are now the source of conflicts.
These have led to countless disputes, some leading to war, others to years of diplomatic and legal wrangling. It is hoped that Tanzania and Malawi are going to give diplomacy the chance in amicable resolution of the dispute over Lake Nyasa and continue living as brothers and sisters.
Both countries have many problems at present including poverty and diseases that need to be overcome as soon as possible. Wars will never take the two countries anywhere and should not be an option since they will make things worse. Let the leaders and experts meet and resolve the dispute.
Source: All Africa
Friday, April 6, 2012
Malawi president dies after suffering heart attack
Malawi's President Bingu wa Mutharika has died after a heart attack, a hospital source said on Friday, but the government's official silence has created political suspense over his succession. The impoverished nation was plunged into a long night of intrigue after Mutharika's heart attack in the capital Lilongwe. He was rushed to hospital but doctors were unable to save him, a source at the hospital said. "He died ... after two hours of resuscitation", shortly after midnight, the hospital source said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the government has not yet made a formal announcement.
Mutharika was reported by state radio to have been airlifted to South Africa in the early morning hours. Reporters at the airport in Lilongwe said they were chased from the terminal during the night departure. Neither the South African government nor hospital officials in Johannesburg could comment on Mutharika, saying only Malawi's government was authorised to speak about the president. The hospital source in Lilongwe said he was taken to South Africa to be embalmed, in a move widely seen as an attempt by the ruling Democratic Progressive Party to get its house in order over the succession issue.
Under the Constitution, Vice-President Joyce Banda is next in line. But that succession is politically fraught because Mutharika kicked her out of the ruling party in 2010 as he chose to groom his brother as heir apparent instead of her. Her ouster angered many urban voters who saw the move as an attempt by Mutharika to concentrate his power. Mutharika, a former World Bank economist who first came to power in 2004, was re-elected with a sweeping majority in 2009 as president of the poor Southern African country. But he has increasingly come under fire for attempts to rein in the media and to shield the government from public criticism. His feuds with donors and lenders like the International Monetary Fund have hamstrung the economy in an aid-dependent nation, which is suffering from shortages of foreign currency that have left Malawi unable to import enough fuel to meet its needs.
Public frustrations erupted into nationwide street protests in July, when police shot 19 people dead. Last month a broad coalition of rights groups called on Mutharika to resign. Malawi suffered for decades under the brutal dictatorship of Kamuzu Banda, and is proud of its hard-fought democratic freedoms ushered in with multi-party elections in 1994. Any attempt to circumvent the Constitution would certainly meet with resistance, analysts said. "It's automatic that she takes over the presidency. The reality on the ground is that Banda takes over until the remainder of the term in 2014, unless someone wants to change the rules," lawyer Wapona Kita said. Kita said the Constitution "clearly states that in the event of incapacitation or death of the president, the vice president takes over."
Banda formed her own People's Party after being sacked from the ruling party. Mutharika then filed a case at the high court seeking to force her from office, arguing that his running mate had become an opposition figure. The official silence has heightened anxieties in Malawi, with the Daily Times writing that Malawians are in "huge suspense" over the president. "The nation's suspense has been intensified after high-profile officials who included several cabinet ministers arrived at the hospital and went straight to the intensive care unit," it said. "After some time, they trooped out with sad faces and without a word."
The Nation, another independent newspaper, criticised the government's handling of Mutharika's hospitalisation. "It is time to do things well through provision of timely information," the paper said, adding that the government "could have done better than the sketchy statements broadcast on state radio -- as almost everyone was left guessing."
Source: Mail & Guardian
Mutharika was reported by state radio to have been airlifted to South Africa in the early morning hours. Reporters at the airport in Lilongwe said they were chased from the terminal during the night departure. Neither the South African government nor hospital officials in Johannesburg could comment on Mutharika, saying only Malawi's government was authorised to speak about the president. The hospital source in Lilongwe said he was taken to South Africa to be embalmed, in a move widely seen as an attempt by the ruling Democratic Progressive Party to get its house in order over the succession issue.
Under the Constitution, Vice-President Joyce Banda is next in line. But that succession is politically fraught because Mutharika kicked her out of the ruling party in 2010 as he chose to groom his brother as heir apparent instead of her. Her ouster angered many urban voters who saw the move as an attempt by Mutharika to concentrate his power. Mutharika, a former World Bank economist who first came to power in 2004, was re-elected with a sweeping majority in 2009 as president of the poor Southern African country. But he has increasingly come under fire for attempts to rein in the media and to shield the government from public criticism. His feuds with donors and lenders like the International Monetary Fund have hamstrung the economy in an aid-dependent nation, which is suffering from shortages of foreign currency that have left Malawi unable to import enough fuel to meet its needs.
Public frustrations erupted into nationwide street protests in July, when police shot 19 people dead. Last month a broad coalition of rights groups called on Mutharika to resign. Malawi suffered for decades under the brutal dictatorship of Kamuzu Banda, and is proud of its hard-fought democratic freedoms ushered in with multi-party elections in 1994. Any attempt to circumvent the Constitution would certainly meet with resistance, analysts said. "It's automatic that she takes over the presidency. The reality on the ground is that Banda takes over until the remainder of the term in 2014, unless someone wants to change the rules," lawyer Wapona Kita said. Kita said the Constitution "clearly states that in the event of incapacitation or death of the president, the vice president takes over."
Banda formed her own People's Party after being sacked from the ruling party. Mutharika then filed a case at the high court seeking to force her from office, arguing that his running mate had become an opposition figure. The official silence has heightened anxieties in Malawi, with the Daily Times writing that Malawians are in "huge suspense" over the president. "The nation's suspense has been intensified after high-profile officials who included several cabinet ministers arrived at the hospital and went straight to the intensive care unit," it said. "After some time, they trooped out with sad faces and without a word."
The Nation, another independent newspaper, criticised the government's handling of Mutharika's hospitalisation. "It is time to do things well through provision of timely information," the paper said, adding that the government "could have done better than the sketchy statements broadcast on state radio -- as almost everyone was left guessing."
Source: Mail & Guardian
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