Date Of Article: 6/3/2002
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Tight security at Parliament
By: Joseph Langa
NGOs’ demonstration flops Tight security during the opening of Parliament in Lilongwe on Friday forced non-governmental organisations to abandon an earlier plan to demonstrate to stop parliamentarians from debating a private members’ bill to amend section 83 (3) of the Constitution to pave way for unlimited terms for the President. NGOs and churches, among them Malawi Carer, Malawi Human Rights Resource Centre, Cilic, Pac, CCAP and Catholic churches met at Lilongwe Hotel last Wednesday and planned to demonstrate during the opening of Parliament to stop the House from debating the amendment bill. But a 20-man delegation of the concerned NGOs wearing anti-third term purple ribbons backed down and reduced the demonstration to a mere distribution of letters and ribbons. Malawi Human Rights Consultative Committee executive member Ollen Mwalubunju and Centre for Legal Assistance acting director Steve Msowoya said in an interview they decided not to march to avoid a clash with the police and the army who were on high alert. “You have seen the unusual high level of security all over Parliament premises. The police and the army seem to be ready for us and we don’t want any clashes with them,” Mwalubunju said. But the two civil society representatives said their visit to Parliament was still a success, saying they distributed anti-third term purple ribbons and letters to several members of parliament and other dignitaries. “To us this is another form of demonstration. In fact, this was more effective than a march. We have been able to lobby several MPs, including Khwauli Msiska himself. “I personally talked to him for over 15 minutes so that he should not introduce the Bill in Parliament,” said Msowoya. Mwalubunju said the demonstration will still take place at a later stage.
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