From: barnhart@gagme.chi.il.us (Mr Aaron Barnhart)
Subject: IPS: MALAWI: CHANGE TO DETENTION LAW SEE
Originator: barnhart@gagme
Organization: Evanston, Illinois
Date: Sat, 29 Aug 1992 20:25:50 GMT

Title: MALAWI: CHANGE TO DETENTION LAW SEEN AS COSMETIC



lusaka, aug 22 (ips/chola chimbano) -- the decision by the
malawi government this week to ammend its security acts and
allow appeals against detentions and seizure of property has
been dismissed as cosmetic changes by political observers.

analysts inside the southern african country whose apalling
human rights record has prompted international concern said the
ammendments made by parliament thursday still left arresting
officers with unrestricted powers to detain or sieze people's
property if they suspected them of ''illegal business
activities''.

according to the ammendment to the public security act,
detainees will now be allowed legal representation and can
appeal to a newly formed 'detentions review tribunal', chaired
by a high court judge and four members appointed by the minister
of justice.

detention orders have in the past been signed by president
hastings banda who is not obliged to give justification, and
those held only freed at his pleasure.

thousands of malawians over his 28-year authoritarian rule
have been victims of the act, with some being held for as long
as 10-years without charge or trial. malawi's first
secretary-general of the country's sole legal party, aleke
banda, was freed in july from 12-years in detention without a
review of his case.

the penal code has also been ammended reducing the mandatory
life imprisonment to five-years for journalists found guilty of
writing articles detrimental to the country for foreign
publications.

''the problem here is not the statute but the practices by
the security officers. the issue is not the penelties prescribed
but the ability of who determines that information is false or
prejudicial to malawi and the fact that issues are not left to
the court to decide but the police'', a western diplomat in
malawi told ips in a telephone interview.

''there is still no way of preventing the police from doing
what they want and they do not look at the penal code when
someone has to be punished, and that is no guarantee of human
rights'', he added.

exile groups have described the ammendments as ''cosmetic''.
they are demanding the unconditional release of all political
prisoners and inspection of prisons by an independent body,
decleration of an amnesty for all exiles, the convening of a
national conference, restoration of the independence of the
judiciary, and the revocation of the single-party statute.

(more/ips)


malawi:

banda -- over 90-years-old -- and his malawi congress party
has been in power since independece from britain in 1964.

''we do not regard this as a serious attempt to improve the
human rights situation in malawi. it is merely tinkering with
the laws of the country to try and improve malawi's image
internationally'', says frank mayinga, a senior member of the
lusaka-based interim committee for a democratic alliance.

''what we want is a firm committment from the government to
respect freedom of speech which includes the right to criticise
the government and the system of government without being thrown
into jail''. (end/ips/cc/oa/92)



-- 
Mr. Aaron Barnhart@gagme.chi.il.us -- posting from Evanston, Illinois
Newsgroups: soc.culture.african,sanet.talk.politics,apc.reg.safrica