South Africa was totally opposed to the death by stoning...

South Africa was totally opposed to the death by stoning sentence imposed on a Nigerian woman but an Islamic Court, but the issue should be seen in the broader Nigerian context, President Thabo Mbeki said in reply to Democratic Alliance leader Tony Leon during question time in the National Assembly.
The sentencing of Nigerian mother Amina Lawal to death-by-stoning has caused an international controversy and contestants of the Miss World pageant in Nigeria threatened a boycott in protest.
Mbeki said he had discussed "various elements of the situation in Nigeria" with President Olusegun Obasanjo, as had Deputy President Jacob Zuma.
"You have here, a multi-cultural, multi-religious, and multi-ethnic society. It is very complex."
South Africa was keen to see Nigeria "succeed in many respects".
"One of them being the central one of how do you build a successful multi-ethnic, multi-religious society in the specifics of Nigeria's history. The issue of the introduction of Sharia law in some of the Nigerian states, is a matter about which President Obasanjo is preoccupied, and he has been dealing with it."
The particular matter of Lawal arose in that context, Mbeki said.
"We are obviously opposed to the stoning of people, and so we have absolutely no objection to people raising this matter. Indeed, deal with the question of Mrs Lawal, but deal with the much larger question, which is of great importance to the future of the continent. About issues of peace, stability, democracy, prosperity, and so on in Nigeria," Mbeki said.
In reply, Leon said in a statement that it was not good enough to "simply invoke multi-culturalism or the imposition of religious law to rationalise or 'contextualise' this inhuman sentence".
"The crisp question here is the sanctity and value we place on human life and the primacy of place, or otherwise, of human rights in the African Union and its master plan, the New Partnership for Africa's Development.
"If we do not stand up for the rights of an individual in such circumstances, when the eyes of the world are focused on her plight, then how can we expect the world to accept our undertaking to respect and protect human rights under the AU Charter.
"The time has come for President Mbeki to assume the leadership role his chairmanship of the AU demands and take a clear stand," Leon said.
Meanwhile, Miss South Africa pageant owners Sun International divisional director Philip Georgas said the pageant's management would watch developments before a final decision on Miss SA Vanessa Carreira's participation would be made.
Participants from at least eight countries including Switzerland, France, Denmark, Norway, Togo and Ivory Coast vowed to boycott the pageant should the sentence stand.