Anti-government demonstrations-Malawi - President Bingu wa Mutharika of Malawi has warned organisers of the planned 17 August anti-government demonstrations that he will crush them right on the streets. Departing from a prepared speech when he opened a hotel in the capital, Lilongwe, constructed by Chinese investors, Mutharika said demonstrations were not part of the culture in Malawi. 'What happened on the 20th and the 21st of July is not acceptable in Malawi; it is anti-Malawi, and it should not be repeated,' he said. 'I must say once again that those responsible for perpetrating the violence on the 20th of July, wherever you're hiding I'll find you and you'll have to answer.'

Mutharika said he did not care if he is accused of threatening the civil society or opposition leaders because 'you have attacked government and government will deal with you'.

The warning from the 77-year-old economist-turned-politician comes amid threats of a replica of the July 20 demonstrations during which thousands of Malawians poured onto the streets to protest against deteriorating political and economic governance.

At least 19 people were shot dead by police as they tried to break up the demonstrations that degenerated into looting.

But organisers say 'All is set for further street demonstrations on 17  August because the President is unwilling to respond to our demands.

'Following the failure by the Malawi Government to address the concerns raised by Malawians through the civil society grouping as presented on 20 July, 2011, we write to inform your various organisations and entities that the follow-up demonstrations for 17 August, 2011, have finally been endorsed at a meeting convened in Lilongwe,' according to a statement published Thursday by Robert Nkwezalamba, Secretary General of the Malawi Congress of Trade Unions (MCTU), the official spokesman of the 17 August demonstrations.

Nkwezalamba said the initial agreement was that people in all regions and districts would converge in one place and conduct themselves peacefully while waiting responses from the Head of State and Government in particular for an initial 48 hours 'subject to extension depending on availability of response or not'.

But President Mutharika, in his Lilongwe address Thursday, said he could not be 'dictated to' by unelected civil society leaders.

'I'll not allow this country to be taken over by NGOs,' he said. 'NGOs are not elected. Where were the general elections to elect NGOs?'

Mutharika said it was only him who was elected to run Malawi. 'I have been elected by 2.9 millions Malawians. I, alone, have the authority to run this county and I'll run it.'

But despite the presidential threats of a duel on the streets, organisers remain unfazed.

Rafiq Hajat, head of the Blantyre-based think-tank Institute for Policy Interaction (IPI), said Mutharika had no legal mandate to ban demonstrations.

'We're exercising our constitutional right to demand accountability from our leaders via peaceful the expression of our concerns in peaceful gatherings,' he said.

Hajat said civil society leaders had 'no guns or bullets'. He said Mutharika was displaying elitist arrogance 'reminiscent of the French Revolution where the aristocracy displayed detachment from the needs of the people'.

He added: 'Unfortunately, the real world is very different. All we're asking is we believe a better Malawi is possible and we're asking all our leaders why they are failing to deliver it.'

The civil society leaders say the Mutharika administration could avert another wave of mass protests if government addressed their demands.

Billy Banda, Executive Director of Malawi Watch, said Mutharika had to provide a road-map on how he intends to address the civil society concerns.

'What we're looking for is that the president must change his executive arrogance,' he said. 'He is clearly exhibiting that he is too arrogant to appreciate there are no drugs in hospitals, there's no fuel in the country and there are not forex (foreign exchange reserves) in banks.'

Pana 12/08/2011