Government has come under condemnation from the Malawi-Palestine Solidarity Movement (MPSM) for voting against the United Nations (UN) resolution for a ceasefire on the war in Gaza.
MPSM national coordinator Asaboni Phiri said in an interview that Malawi is a signatory to the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide also called the Genocide Convention and member of UN Human Rights Council and therefore would lose its positions on the same.
He said by rejecting a truce, Malawi is throwing itself in bad light and into a position of enmity with other countries who have supported the UN recommendation.
standing alone
“This is not a religious war. Many countries want a ceasefire. South Africa even took Israel to court. What would other countries say if a similar war happened in Malawi? We have our youth working in Israel. What if they are bombed? It is the country that will lose out,” he said.
Phiri’s sentiments were echoed by Catholic University associate professor of political science Nandini Patel who said Malawi should make its decision on the conflict based on humanitarian not religious grounds.
She said with the world being in the current state of a global village, it was vital for Malawi to make decisions that pay attention to long-term consequences.
“There should be no support for war to continue irrespective of the relations that Malawi has with Israel at the moment. Malawi is standing alone and it is such a myopic view to vote against the UN resolution,” she said.
Ulama Council of Malawi has also condemned the country’s leadership for its controversial stance on the matter.
Speaking to journalists in Blantyre Grand Mufti Muhammad Uthuman said it is pity that despite being known as a God-fearing nation, Malawi has been siding with Israel to continue the killing of women and children in Palestine.
He said: “It is disheartening that Malawi is the only African country voting against promotion of peace in the region.
“The recent attempt by the United Nations to stop the genocide was at this year’s Unga wherein many countries overwhelmingly voted to adopt a resolution that demanded Israel to stop killing of women, children and the elderly and to withdraw her unlawful presence in the occupied Palestinian territory. But Malawi voted against such a motion”
In response to our questionnaire on government’s justification to vote against the resolution, Minister of Foreign Affairs Nancy Tembo questioned if we have read and understood the resolution before referring the matter to the ministry’s spokesperson who did not answer our calls.
But in an interview on Wednesday, United States Embassy public affairs officer Grant Phillipp applauded Malawi for taking a courageous stand in the face of opposition by rejecting the UN resolution.
He said: “Israel has the right to defend itself and the US supports Israel’s right to defend itself. There are people working on a ceasefire but that has to be meaningful and has to lead to a reduction in violence, the return of hostages. Then we can talk about rebuilding Gaza but not under the rule of Hamas.”
Islamic Commission for Justice and Freedom has stopped planned anti-government demonstrations in Mangochi to pave the way for dialogue with the government.
ICJF chief commissioner Shaibu Abdulrahaman Ajassie said in a statement dated October 10 2024 that they are scheduled to meet President Lazarus Chakwera in the next seven days over the matter.
In Gaza, at least 42 227 people have been killed and 98 464 wounded in Israeli attacks since October 7 2023.n
—Additional reporting by WISDOM CHIROMBO, Contributor
