I was with greatly disappointed to learn yesterday, that the Executive Committee of the Marina da Gama Association do not plan to attend the mediation session scheduled at the South African Human Rights Commission for the 19th May 2008.

According to Mr. Jan de Groote, ExCom had not received official notice from the SAHRC. Apparently, the letter was addressed to their street address instead of the postal address and must have gotten lost in the mail. Mr de Groote advised me that he had read about the meeting on this website and that the Chairman had also received an e-mail from a member referring to the mediation session. Apparently, both he and Mr. Harrison phoned the SAHRC to find out what was going on, but Mr. de Groote claims that nobody they spoke to at the SAHRC knew anything about the meeting.

The SAHRC however advised us that all parties had confirmed the place, date and time of the meeting.

Mr. Peter Harrison, Chairman of the Marina da Gama Association, purportedly left for the UK yesterday and will only be returning early in June.

Of course I am devastated, but probably not more so than Ms. Anna Moore of the SAHRC. She had especially postponed her return to the UK in order to attend the mediation session.

Personally, I hope that ExCom see their way clear to still attend the meeting on Monday. This matter has dragged on for long enough and must now be settled, bit in the mean time, the meeting has been provisionally postponed to the 25th June 2008.

Anita