The United States said Friday (July 22) it is reviewing its operations in Malawi following a spate of political violence in recent days that left 18 people dead.
The Millennium Challenge Corp. signed a $350 million compact with Malawi under which the African country’s government is expected to uphold democracy and the rule of law. But the government’s use of force to stop peaceful demonstrations against the alleged poor governance of President Bingu wa Mutharika last week, as well as restrictions on media reporting on the incident, have prompted MCC to review its operations there.
It took quite a long time for the U.S. and Malawian governments to finalize the compact in the first place, partly due to actions by the Malawian government that were seen as undermining human rights, most notable proposals to penalize homosexuality.
The United Nations, United Kingdom and other governments have condemned last week’s violence in the African country.
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