LILONGWE, 9 MAY, 2008.

Rights groups call on government and opposition leaders to discuss their differences amicably.

Human rights campaigners in the country have condemned what they described as hate speeches from political parties.

The condemnation came at a time when government and opposition political parties were holding talks behind closed doors, aimed at resolving their differences.

The talks started on Wednesday this week, when state president Bingu wa Mutharika invited leaders of opposition political parties to the new state house for discussions.

According to reports emerging from Lilongwe, issues of section 65 and this year's national budget were high on the agenda of this top level meeting.

Both sides of the discussions however have kept a tight lid on the progress made so far.

Other sources however who confided to Capital fm say that no solution has been found yet as both parties continue to cling to their initial demands.

According to the sources the government continued to plead with the opposition to allow parliament proceed with government bills and the national budget before the speaker rules on section 65.

On the other hand the opposition has reportedly maintained that issues surrounding section 65, which is a constitutional provision, should be tackled before the national budget is presented in parliament.

Meanwhile……….. The country's human rights campaigners have hailed the initiative as good and important for democracy.

Among the campaigners include Francis Antonio, who is the national coordinator for the Malawi Human Rights Defenders Forum and Rafik Hajat who heads the Institute for Policy Interaction IPI.

Hajat has urged both sides of the negotiations to hold their discussions with what he described as open and sober minds.

Meanwhile, people in the country continue to wait for the outcome of the discussions between president Mutharika and opposition leaders.

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