Ten thousand people attending a prayer session Sunday prayed for divine intervention to thwart the ruling party’s bid to abolish presidential term limits.
At the interdenominational prayer session, organised by church and civil rights groups, church leaders condemned as undemocratic efforts by the ruling United Democratic Front to change the constitution in order to allow President Bakili Muluzi to run for a third term in 2004.
The prayer session and a protest on Saturday were held in defiance of a ban called by Muluzi against gatherings relating to the third term bid.
”A nation without memory is a dead nation, they want to erase our memory to bring back those dark days we abolished in 1993,” said Felix Chingota, one of the church leaders, referring to Malawian dictator Hastings Banda’s 30 year rule that ended with the country’s first democratic elections.
Chingota said moves to change the constitution which limits the presidency to two five-year terms, amounted to criminal treason.
Church leaders said the weekend’s demonstrations were the launch of a grass-roots movement against efforts to change the constitution.
Muluzi, speaking to a political rally on Sunday, dismissed the prayer session as being motivated by politics, not democracy. ”My government is for peace but some opposition leaders are using churches to fuel political and religious tension in the country,” said Muluzi.
Muluzi told western governments on Friday to stop criticising his government’s efforts to change the constitution. – Sapa-AP