Maravi

Chitala was off the mark, says Mulongoti

Chitala was off the mark, says Mulongoti
By Speedwell Mupuchi and Chibaula Silwamba
Monday February 04, 2008 [03:00]

INFORMATION minister Mike Mulongoti yesterday said former Zambian Ambassador to Libya Mbita Chitala has acknowledged that he went off the mark. And United Liberal Party president Sakwiba Sikota urged the government to clarify its position on Pan Africanism and Chitala’s dismissal. Asked to comment on Chitala’s dismissal over an article he wrote in Libya’s Tripoli Post in his personal capacity and the likely consequences on freedom of expression, Mulongoti said he would issue a statement during the week. Mulongoti said he wanted to balance things first before issuing a statement over the matter.

“I have no comment, actually I am on my way to Nakonde. This thing happened outside Zambia, it’s a bit difficult for me to comment.

So to be fair to Chitala and the authorities, I would want to get the official position first,” Mulongoti said. “I have talked to Chitala personally from the day this issue started. It’s a critical situation at the same time if you are an employee of government, your voice is that of your country, so it becomes difficult to distinguish between personal and official view.”

Mulongoti said at Ministry of Foreign Affairs, there were rules of protocol that ambassadors were obliged to observe. He said that Chitala had acknowledged he acted as if he were not an ambassador.

He said that if Chitala was in Zambia and went to a public university and gave a lecture on the subject he wrote about, it would have had a different connotation.

“But when you are in a country of accreditation, it’s (what one speaks) official and Chitala has acknowledged that he went off the mark,” Mulongoti said.

President Mwanawasa on Friday fired Chitala following his article titled: ‘The Federal Union of African States Must be Established Now’, which was published in The Tripoli Post newspaper as an editorial comment.

And Sakwiba Sikota expressed hope that Chitala’s dismissal would not affect Zambia’s relations with Libya.

“As you know, Libya is a country which very much believes in the concept of Pan Africanism and has been one of the major backers and campaigners for us to move in terms of African integration. The other thing is that Mr. Chitala has for a long time been a good friend of Libya and for Zambia having him there as our Ambassador,

Zambia was gaining because of his own connections with President Gaddafi and the Libyan people. Even before he was sent there, he had several connections with the Libyans,” Sikota said. “I hope that the Libyans will not take his removal as being a fright to them because of his Pan Africanism beliefs. It is important that government clarifies as to what their position is on Pan Africanism, otherwise we could find that our relationship with Libya does become sourly.”

Sikota said Chitala’s support for Pan Africanism should not be a reason for him to lose his job.

“I do understand that it is the prerogative of the President to make ambassadorial appointments but in so doing, he must not send wrong signals to make people now think that he is against Pan Africanism,” Sikota said.

“The other thing is that even what was stated is not even offensive in the manner in which it was made to seem when the President gave his reasons. I am glad The Post newspaper had actually printed it. There is actually nothing offensive about it. It is a well-thought-out and well argued arguments that Mr Chitala was putting forward.”

Sikota said since Chitala wrote the article in his private capacity and not on behalf of the government, his dismissal had stifled his freedom of expression.

“He was merely expressing his view point to advance the intellectual discussion,” Sikota said. “But if you stifle the discussion by saying that if somebody expresses an opinion fire them, then you will not be able to explain your foreign policy. That is why freedom of expression is so important that alas, this action shows intolerance to freedom of expression.”

Labels: MBITA CHITALA, MIKE MULONGOTI

posted by MrK @ 3:58 AM