Monday, March 23, 2009
From Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I'm Amy Witherden.
Making headlines:
Democratic Alliance leader Helen Zille said at a Human Rights Day event in Atteridgeville this weekend that the African National Congress is dishonouring the memory of the Sharpeville massacre heroes by failing to implement the human rights laws that they died for.
Zille said that the government has succeeded in honouring some of the rights in South Africa's Constitution, but failed to honour others. She criticised the ANC for putting the "privileges of pals above rights for all" with many people in the country continuing to be denied their rights to basic services such as water and sanitation.
The opposition leader said that the ANC has failed to keep "its end of the contract" although it has repeatedly spoken about getting rid of poverty during every election period.

In African news, addressing the biggest crowd of his trip in Angola, Pope Benedict XVI on Sunday challenged Africans to cast aside the evil of wars, corruption and tribal strife and forge a new path to peace and prosperity.
He said that the continent had too often seen the destructive power of civil strife, hatred and revenge. The Pope spoke of war and tribalism, as well as corruption and how it robs future generations of resources.
The need to end corruption in Africa was a recurring theme in the Pope's visit to Cameroon and Angola.

In other news, South Africa has allegedly barred Tibet's spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, from entering the country to take part in an upcoming peace conference.
The Dalai Lama was to join fellow Nobel Peace Prize laureates Desmond Tutu, Martti Ahtisaari and FW de Klerk, as well as Norway's Nobel Peace Committee, at the conference scheduled for March 27.
Media and a lobby group have reported that the Tibetan leader's visa was refused owing to pressure from the Chinese government, which has economic interests in South Africa.
Archbishop Tutu has since threatened to pull out of the meeting and to demand an explanation from the authorities

Also making headlines:
Sudan says that it will never reverse its decision to expel aid groups.
The African Union suspends Madagascar while the US pledges to stop aid to the Indian Ocean island.
And, the ruling party's National Executive Committee says that the African National Congress is looking past the elections into how the new ANC administration will run the country.

That's a roundup of news making headlines today.