Q FM Africa's Modern Radio
Green Party President Peter Sinkamba
Green Party President Peter Sinkamba says there is urgent need to re-establish inter party dialogue committee following the ongoing political violence.
Mr. Sinkamba says as the Green Party they condemn in strongest terms the political violence that is on the rise in the country citing that the barbaric assault on UPND President Hakainde Hichilema in Kitwe was very disgusting and regrettable.
Mr. Sinkamba says the vice should be curbed without further delay noting that it is therefore imperative that all parties work expeditiously to end the violence, and eliminate its root causes.
He has called on President Edgar Lungu to re-establish the Inter-Party Dialogue Committee which was abandoned in 1993 adding that the Setting up and facilitating the inter-party dialogue platform was one key strategy that was used between 1990 and 1993 to promote functional and effective democracy as well as a culture of political tolerance.
Mr. Sinkamba says as a former Deputy Secretary of the Committee, he strongly believes that they can draw very informative lessons from the unique feature of this platform stressing that they used it to bring together the leadership of both the ruling and opposition parties, ranging from formal to informal gatherings, and facilitated and promoted accommodative politics and consensus-oriented inter-party debate between parties across the political spectrum on concrete policy and political reform challenges.
He says It is high time that political parties and government engaged in constructive debates as opposed to promoting a culture of violence and repression.
Mr. Sinkamba further points out that the on-going violence, which is largely between the ruling PF and UPND both of which are represented in Parliament is a clear indication that Parliament alone cannot always play its role effectively within a multi-party system.