|
Tutu, de Klerk Call for Arms Probe |
| Publication |
Cape Times |
| Date | 2008-12-03 |
| Reporter | Sapa |
| Web Link | www.capetimes.co.za |
President Kgalema Motlanthe will comment
on a request for an arms deal probe once he has replied to
the peace laureates who made the call, his spokesperson said on Wednesday.
Thabo Masebe said the letter of request by Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu and
former president FW de Klerk was delivered in Cape Town on Tuesday and
would be taken to Pretoria *1
for Motlanthe to consider it.
"The president has not yet had time to look at it. It will finally get to
Pretoria and to the president in the next day or so.
"It would only be fair to comment once he has seen the letter and replied to
former president De Klerk and Archbishop Tutu," said Masebe.
In the letter delivered by hand to Tuynhuys, the Nobel peace prize winners asked
Motlanthe to appoint a commission on inquiry into the arms deal by December 10,
The Star reported.
The two urged Motlanthe to draft the terms of reference of the commission to
allow the "widest possible investigation into impropriety and corruption".
The pair also suggested an investigation into the possibility of
cancelling the arms deal
and recovering payments
already made.
The campaign was supported by the Tutu and De Klerk foundations, the Helen
Suzman foundation and other organisations, reported the newspaper.
The letter, dated December 1, was delivered to the presidents'
(sic) Tuynhuys offices in
Cape Town on Tuesday by retired banker Terry Crawford-Browne.
The multi-billion rand arms deal has been
called a "major scandal in the country's political discourse".
- Sapa
With acknowledgements to Sapa and Cape Times.