Malawi to erect memorial pillar for July 20 victims

Malawi Government is contemplating erecting a memorial pillar for the July 20 2011 victims and plans to compensate the victims for loss of property and lives, Minister of Justice and Attorney General Ralph Kasambara has said.

Kasambara told a group of human rights defenders during a question-and- answer session in Lilongwe on Friday that government is interested in honouring people who lost lives by erecting a pillar, but the truth behind their deaths needs to be told before that can happen.

“I personally feel that the people that died on July 20 should be honoured through a memorial pillar and those who lost property and the families compensated.

“But first and foremost, the families need to know who ordered that live bullets be used on that day. Who was responsible? They need to know this before we can move on to compensate and do a memorial,” said Kasambara.

Police shot dead 19 people to quell unprecedented protests mainly in Mzuzu and Lilongwe. The death riled  both local and international activists.

In protest, the United States suspended the $350 million energy grant and other donors decided to withhold millions of dollars in aid  and called for an immediate probe into what happened.

Last week, the Malawi Human Rights Commission, a quasi-government rights organisation, released its report, saying it was going to prosecute people implicated in the violence.