Malawi activists accuse President for derailing dialogue

Malawi activists Monday accused President Bingu wa Mutharika for derailing the peace process between his government and the opposition in the country.

The activists are grouped under the Human Rights Consultative Committee (HRCC), a civil society organisation comprising of 70 nongovernmental organisations dealing with human rights and governance issues.

The activists accused Mutharika of snubbing dialogue with the opposition in the country despite several mediation efforts by HRCC members.

Advocacy Campaign on the 2007/2008 Budget Coordinator, Undule Mwakasungura, told journalists in Lilongwe that the president seemed to mistrust anybody to mediate on efforts to bring to an end to the country’s political impasse that led to the opposition refusing to discuss the budget.

"Although parliament has started deliberating on the national budget, the tension is still high in the country which needs the head of state to intervene by dialoguing with his opponents," he said.

Mwakasungura said his organisation met the president recently in order to facilitate efforts on dialogue but the Malawi leader did not seem to yield to reconciliatory efforts.

He added that they have also advised him against retribution and abusive words aimed at the opposition at his public meetings, which is detrimental to the process of reducing tension in the country.

He said the HRCC will also consult the opposition in the country to desist from castigating the leadership of President Mutharika.