Tanzanian president warns against politics of intolerance in Africa

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Tanzanian president warns against politics of intolerance in Africa http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2005-08/25/content_3401298.htm www.chinaview.cn 2005-08-25 14:56:04 KAMPALA, Aug. 25 (Xinhuanet) -- Visiting Tanzanian President Benjamin Mkapa has warned against politics of intolerance and exclusion in Africa, stressing that the continent needs to developa synthesis based on history, experience and on global realities. President Mkapa made the statement here on Wednesday when he delivered a farewell message to the Ugandan parliament. He said that "the new African democracy I advocate must have atits heart the politics of tolerance and inclusion, not as a product but as a fundamental, deliberate goal and priority." Mkapa, who will step down after the presidential election to beheld in October this year, arrived here on Wednesday afternoon for a two-day farewell visit to Uganda. "As I reflect on my 10 years as president and as I look over the African political landscape in the last half century, I am convinced that the time has come for Africa to go back to the drawing board and design a new paradigm of governance in Africa-democratic governance with African characteristics," Mkapa was quoted by The New Vision as saying on Thursday. The Tanzanian president pointed out that when African countriesembraced the western form of democracy, they fell into the trap ofmaking political parties exclusive. "The concept of 'winner takes all' has no African roots. The traditional African is corporate, if not communal. It is inclusive." He criticized the media for turning the concept of a free pressupside down, adding that "some think the plethora of a free press is a reflection of a free press. A free press is not a license to lie, to misrepresent or to insult." The visiting Tanzanian president will hold talks with his Ugandan counterpart Yoweri Museveni on Thursday afternoon before concluding his visit. Enditem Related Story