2 April 2009

Today the Western Cape High Court refused to enter into the merits of my urgent application aimed at ordering Government to allow the Dalai Lama to come to South Africa.  

In response to a technical point raised by the Government, the Court held that my application was not urgent enough, that the violation of the relevant constitutional rights which I alleged had been breached by the barring of the Dalai Lama's entry was not intense enough and that such rights were not important enough to warrant an urgent consideration of the matter. Therefore, the matter would be moved to the ordinary court roll where it may be heard up to two years from now. 

This matter is urgent for all South Africans and to remove from the domestic and international image of our democracy the infamy which now tarnishes it. For this reason, I have given instruction to my lawyers to bring the matter to the Constitutional Court as soon as possible. I have been assured that this will be done in a matter of days so that justice will not be delayed.
 

Contact:
Dr Mario Oriani-Ambrosini
082 556 0240