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Post Info TOPIC: Malawi: the democracy that never was
awmygawd


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Malawi: the democracy that never was
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I might be missing something here, but since when does holding political rallies on coinciding days with those of your opponent (hundreds of kilometres away) constitute "provocation" deserving military action? It's amusing to hear Blantyre and  Mulanje described as being "not very far apart" by our dear information minister. African politicians are all the same. 

 

From: http://www.nationmalawi.com/articles.asp?articleID=21251

UDF ties with governmentby Edwin Nyirongo, 31 March 2007 - 06:26:18  United Democratic Front (UDF) secretary general Kennedy Makwangwala on Thursday said his party has severed ties with President Bingu wa Mutharikas administration because of last Sundays incident where government sent soldiers to stop the UDF from holding a rally in Mulanje.But Information minister Patricia Kaliati said UDF provoked the situation by deliberately making the Muluzi rally coincide with Mutharikas rally slated for the same day in Blantyre. Makwangwala said UDF has come to a conclusion that, by using the military, government wanted to wipe out its members..They wanted to kill us. We have, therefore, severed ties with President Mutharika and his government, said Makwangwala in an interview. Chancellor College political scientist Mustafa Hussein described the growing rift between the government and opposition sides as a testing time as far as democracy is concerned and urged government and all other political parties to mend fences saying development will be affected if nothing is done.When political parties do not see eye to eye, democracy moves in reverse and that is bad for the country, he said, warning that situation can degenerate into political instability, unnecessary conflicts and violence.But Makwangwala ruled out dialogue, saying there is no way UDF could be talking to people who wanted to kill its members. Everybody knows the job of the military and that is to kill, argued Makwangwala. The Army was sent to Mulanje to kill us, no doubt about that. How can you sit down and talk with someone who wants to kill you? Its over with government and President Mutharika. Our focus now is on the 2009 elections which we are going to win. Makwangwala said the problem with Mutharika is that he cannot fully appreciate how Malawians suffered when they were fighting for freedom and a return to multiparty politics in the country because by then he was in the comfort of peace in Zambia and only came back after multiparty democracy was brought to the country.He was in Zambia. He ran away from [former President] Kamuzu [Banda]. This is the reason he is not acting peacefully, otherwise he could have respected the peace that is in the country, he said.Asked to comment if the cutting of ties means UDF MPs will no longer support any government business in Parliament, Makwangwala said he was not speaking on behalf of MPs because he is not an MP, but said the stand is for the party as a whole. UDF Leader in Parliament George Mtafu said he could not comment on what his secretary general had said because Makwangwala is at the policy level of the party.When the secretary general speaks, no one can comment. But what I can say is that the country experienced a strange situation where the military was used on a political party.But Kaliati said those who stand to lose out as a result of the UDFs move are not Mutharika and government but the people of Malawi who want peace in order to carry out development activities.Kaliati said the UDF provoked the situation by arranging to hold a rally when the President was also scheduled to conduct his and at venues .When the President was in Mzuzu, Muluzi had his rally in Blantyre and when the President was in Blantyre, Muluzi wanted to have his on the same day in Mulanje. That is deliberate provocation, she said.Kaliati also wondered why the UDF had reacted to the development by cutting ties with government, saying members of the Malawi Defence Forces never injured anyone at the venue of the aborted rally.Presidential political advisor Hetherwick Ntaba was quoted in the local media this week as saying government deployed the military to stop the rally after UDF obtained an injunction to stop the Police or their agents from stopping their meeting.Police had earlier instructed UDF that for security reasons, the party would not conduct a meeting in Mulanje on Sunday, the same day President Mutharika would address a rally in Blantyre.There has been an escalation of campaign activities in the country since Muluzi declared his intention to contest the 2009 presidential elections if his partys convention endorsed his candidacy.Muluzi told his party supporters at a rescheduled rally in Mulanje on Monday this week that Mutharika, whom he regretted anointing as his successor, was a dictator and that he and other opposition leaders would work hard to ensure he is removed from power in 2009. Mutharika has also declared he will be his partys torch bearer in the 2009 presidential elections

-- Edited by awmygawd at 20:21, 2007-03-31

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Studa


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what a shame. mr bingu is employing mugabe's tactics

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kampani
ndsote


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Just give our President a second term and there will be no room for dissenting views.Tikubwelela mmbuyo basi.

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Dada Ngwazi


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ndsote wrote:

Just give our President a second term and there will be no room for dissenting views.Tikubwelela mmbuyo basi.
worry.gif Second term? Just because two nutters don't agree, that's bull****. Bingu is Mugabe in a mask and Muluzi is a liar. He promises but never fulfills....He could have been beheaded if we were to follow the bible protocols. Remember John in the HOLY BOOK  "chipangano chinadula mutu wa yohane"

-- Edited by Dada Ngwazi at 16:35, 2007-04-01

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