Botswana suspends dealings with North Korea

BAME PIET
Staff Writer | Tuesday March 26, 2013 00:00

 

'The testing of nuclear weapons by North Korea does not only contravene international norms and practices, but also undermines all efforts aimed at promoting international peace and security, particularly on the Korean peninsula,' he said. He stated that North Korea's intransigence has relegated the country to pariah status in the eyes of many in the international community.

Khama used the opportunity to state his frustration with the ongoing war in Syria, which has claimed 70,000 lives.The UN Security Council is divided over whether military intervention should be used to resolve the impasse with Russia and China in the opposition.

'We join the international community in urging the United Nations and all the others involved in efforts to find a solution to the crisis in Syria, to redouble their efforts to end the suffering of the Syrian people at the hands of Assad's discredited regime,' Khama said. He expressed satisfaction at the recent referendum in Zimbabwe on a new constitution, which 93 percent of the voters favoured. The new constitution limits presidential powers to two terms, perhaps influenced by the experiences of having Robert Mugabe at the helm for more than 30 years that brought misery for millions of Zimbabweans.

'The adoption of the new constitution through a peaceful referendum is reason for optimism in Zimbabwe's political trajectory. However, we call upon all the Zimbabwean stakeholders to ensure that incidents of intimidation and harassment, including arrests reported during the just ended referendum by the media and indeed the report of the SADC Election Observer Mission, are avoided by all means in the build up to, and during the forthcoming elections,' Khama said.

Meanwhile, Khama said that he has tasked a high level delegation with identifying more ways and means of consolidating the cooperation between Malawi and Botswana. 'In this regard, a number of initiatives have been identified to enhance this collaboration. Negotiations between our two governments on the terms of this collaboration are at an advanced stage and should conclude soon,' he explained.