The move defied warnings from London and will strain ties between Malawi and its former colonial ruler, a major aid donor to the poor country, which faces a freeze in foreign assistance over its hostility to homosexuals and a media crackdown.
British High Commissioner Fergus Cochrane-Dyet was given a formal letter of expulsion on Tuesday night, government spokesman Vuwa Kaunda said. “Government has decided to expel High Commissioner Fergus Cochrane-Dyet because the tone in the leaked cable was not diplomatic … Government has lost confidence in him,” he said.
The European Union Delegation said it was “deeply concerned” and surprised at the expulsion.
“The European Union believes that the decision of the Government of Malawi, which is apparently based on unconfirmed media reports and perceived criticisms of the Government, is unjustified and inappropriate,” it said in a statement released in Lilongwe.
In London, the Foreign Office said it had nothing to add to an April 19 statement which stated that if Malawi pursued such action “there were likely to be consequences affecting the full range of issues in the bilateral relationship”.
Malawi’s Weekend Nation newspaper published excerpts of what it said was a March 2011 British diplomatic cable which said President Bingu wa Mutharika was “becoming ever more autocratic and intolerant of criticism”. Diplomatic sources at the British mission confirmed the authenticity of the cable.
Mutharika has been heavily criticised by rights groups for trying to suppress free speech. Malawi’s government is heavily dependent on foreign aid, with donor funding normally accounting for more than 40% of official receipts.
British Foreign Secretary William Hague expelled the acting high commissioner of Malawi yesterday in a tit-for-tat move after the “unacceptable” expulsion of Britain’s top envoy in Lilongwe.
“At my direction the Foreign Office has today told the acting high commissioner of Malawi that she and her dependants must leave the UK at the earliest opportunity,” Hague said, referring to Flossie Gomile Chidyaonga. “I have also asked my officials, working closely with their colleagues elsewhere in government, to review rapidly the full range of our wider relationship with Malawi.”
The move came just hours after Malawi declared Britain’s high commissioner in the southern African nation, Fergus Cochrane-Dyet, persona non grata after his criticism of Malawi’s president was leaked to the press.
Hague said the move was “totally unacceptable and unwarranted”.“Mr Cochrane-Dyet is an able and effective diplomat who has behaved with integrity throughout his posting to Lilongwe, and who retains the full confidence of the British government,” he said.“It is a worrying sign that the Malawian government is expending its energies in this way, rather than focussing on the real and substantial challenges facing it, including the need for improved governance.”
The row revolves around a leaked cable published by the weekly Nation earlier this month, in which Cochrane-Dyet said Malawian President Bingu wa Mutharika was becoming “ever more autocratic and intolerant of criticism.”
The European Union yesterday slammed as “unjustified and inappropriate” Malawi’s decision to expel the British high commissioner, Fergus Cochrane-Dyet. “The European Union (EU) believes that the decision of the government of Malawi, which is apparently based on unconfirmed media reports and perceived criticisms of the government, is unjustified and inappropriate,” it said in a statement.
The EU “confirms its strong commitment to the people of Malawi and expresses its wish to maintain open and friendly relations with the Government of Malawi.”
Malawi gained its independence from Britain in 1964.
Visit link: