President Frederick Chiluba of Zambia has urged Africans to trace their cultural roots and to revive and promote those which have been lost for future generations.
Speaking in Port Louis Mauritius, where he is on a state visit, Chiluba stressed the need for every African nation to uphold and practise its own beliefs and values.
The President said this at a civic reception cum cultural show where he was entertained to a variety of rich Mauritian cultural music and dances on Thursday night.
Mauritian minister of arts and culture Isang Man Kin told the visiting president that his Indian Ocean island-nation was multi-cultural and that there was tolerance, respect and understanding of other cultural which which contributed to harmony among the people.
The population of Mauritius, which is slightly more than one million, is 66 percent of Indian extraction and 27 percent Creole.
Chiluba had earlier on told representatives of various social-cultural organisations at the Royal Palm Hotel that Africans would not be forgiven by future generations if they forget about their rich cultural historical back grounds.
He said he was an admirer of the Jewish nation which has fought hard to revive its culture.
The Zambian president said Africans should not feel like underdogs in fighting for cultural recognition.
The Director of the African Cultural Centre in Port Louis, Andre Fanny, told Chiluba that Mauritians would benefit greatly from Zambians if a cultural agreement could be signed between the two governments.
He said the mission of the centre was to disseminate information on African culture and create links with outside cultures. He requested the Zambian government to provide video tapes on positive African culture.
Meanwhile, Chiluba, who was a former veteran Zambian trade union leader before he became president in 1991, advised trade union leaders in Africa to fight for workers rights peacefully and that strikes should be the last resort.
Nonetheless, he informed the workers representatives who paid a courtesy call on him that their primary role is to defend workers interests.
July 25, 1997
Source: Newswire