{"id":403915,"date":"2011-04-28T11:41:54","date_gmt":"2011-04-28T11:41:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/2011\/04\/28\/malawi-orders-uk-high-commissioner-to-leave-the-country-2\/"},"modified":"2011-04-28T11:41:54","modified_gmt":"2011-04-28T11:41:54","slug":"malawi-orders-uk-high-commissioner-to-leave-the-country-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/04\/28\/malawi-orders-uk-high-commissioner-to-leave-the-country-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Malawi Orders UK High Commissioner To Leave The Country"},"content":{"rendered":"

Malawi has expelled the British envoy to the southern African country after he criticised its leadership as autocratic in a leaked diplomatic cable, a government spokesman said yesterday.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

British High Commissioner Fergus Cochrane-Dyet was given a formal letter of expulsion on Tuesday night, government spokesman Vuwa Kaunda said. \u201cGovernment 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,\u201d he said.
The European Union Delegation said it was \u201cdeeply concerned\u201d and surprised at the expulsion.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe 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,\u201d 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 \u201cthere were likely to be consequences affecting the full range of issues in the bilateral relationship\u201d.<\/p>\n

Malawi\u2019s Weekend Nation newspaper published excerpts of what it said was a March 2011 British diplomatic cable which said President Bingu wa Mutharika was \u201cbecoming ever more autocratic and intolerant of criticism\u201d. Diplomatic sources at the British mission confirmed the authenticity of the cable.<\/p>\n

Mutharika has been heavily criticised by rights groups for trying to suppress free speech. Malawi\u2019s government is heavily dependent on foreign aid, with donor funding normally accounting for more than 40% of official receipts.<\/p>\n

British Foreign Secretary William Hague expelled the acting high commissioner of Malawi yesterday in a tit-for-tat move after the \u201cunacceptable\u201d expulsion of Britain\u2019s top envoy in Lilongwe.
\u201cAt 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,\u201d Hague said, referring to Flossie Gomile Chidyaonga. \u201cI 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

The move came just hours after Malawi declared Britain\u2019s high commissioner in the southern African nation, Fergus Cochrane-Dyet, persona non grata after his criticism of Malawi\u2019s president was leaked to the press.<\/p>\n

Hague said the move was \u201ctotally unacceptable and unwarranted\u201d.\u201cMr 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,\u201d he said.\u201cIt 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

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 \u201cever more autocratic and intolerant of criticism.\u201d<\/p>\n

The European Union yesterday slammed as \u201cunjustified and inappropriate\u201d Malawi\u2019s decision to expel the British high commissioner, Fergus Cochrane-Dyet. \u201cThe 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,\u201d it said in a statement.
The EU \u201cconfirms its strong commitment to the people of Malawi and expresses its wish to maintain open and friendly relations with the Government of Malawi.\u201d<\/p>\n

Malawi gained its independence from Britain in 1964.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

Visit link: <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Malawi has expelled the British envoy to the southern African country after he criticised its leadership as autocratic in a leaked diplomatic cable, a government spokesman said yesterday. 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