18 Jul 2017

The Government of the Republic of Botswana, through Ministry of International Cooperation, has taken note of the fact that a delegation of our citizen journalists, academics and political activists was recently invited by the government of the

Peoples Republic of China on a guided tour of Tibet.

This was apparently part of an orchestrated campaign to promote local sentiment against the upcoming private visit of the Dalia Lama to Botswana, where he is scheduled to participate in an international dialogue conference on the theme of Ubuntu/Botho.

The tour it may be noted also coincided with this week’s announcement of the passing of the 2010 Chinese Noble Peace Prize laureate Liu Xiaobo, who was recognised around the world as pro-democracy and human rights activist, who died in prison as a result of his writings calling for political reform in his own country.

We would hope that our journalists, academics and opinion makers, men and women who have a special role to play as key agents in the upholding of the universal principles of democracy and human rights, will carefully reflect on these developments in the context of our own country’s longstanding democratic and humanist ideals and practices.

It is in our collective practice of such values that we in Botswana today enjoy the basic freedoms of speech, publication and association that are sadly still denied to too many others around the world.

In as much as we in Botswana enjoy the freedom to criticise one another, let us not allow ourselves to be manipulated into betraying the fundamental principles that are the foundation of free peoples everywhere. BGCIS