Response to Gazette article "Police Jealous of DIS - Minister"

source: Republic of Botswana (17/3/09): TAUTONA TIMES no 7 of 2009
The Weekly Electronic Press Circular of the Office of the President
"Democracy, Development, Dignity and Discipline"

C6) 14/3/09: Response to Gazette article "Police Jealous of DIS - Minister"

With reference to the article "Police Jealous of DIS - Minister", which appeared in the 11th March 2009 edition of the Botswana Gazette newspaper, we believe that there is a need for clarification.

While it is true that the Hon. Minister for Defence, Justice and Security acknowledged the possibility that some degree of institutional jealousy may have been directed towards the Directorate of Intelligence and Security (DIS) at the time of its inception, he did not say nor otherwise mean to imply that this has currently resulted in bad blood between it and the Police Service.

We wish to here once more emphasize that the two organizations are effectively cooperating with each other when called upon to do so, as is indeed suggested elsewhere in the article.

In this context we view the heading of the article as misleading as it does not relate to the full content of the article, much less the substance of the interview.

We are concerned that if left uncorrected the article has the potential to encourage the very rivalry its headline falsely suggests. Thank you.