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| Families of Chibok missing girls refuse to see Jonathan. |
Parents of schoolgirls abducted by #BokoHaram reject offer to hold meeting with #Nigerian president http://bbc.in/1mRFcXA
Nigeria's president Goodluck Jonathan has accused activists of "playing politics" after his meeting with parents of the abducted schoolgirls was called off.
The #BringBackOurGirls group should be ashamed of manipulating "the victims of terrorism", he said.
Mr Jonathan had been due to hold his first meeting with some of the girls' parents on Tuesday.
This is a real twist of things. President Goodluck Jonathan had been urged by the international
and local community for a long time to meet the victim's parents.But President Goodluck Jonathan repeatedly ignored these pleas saying it was not safe for him to go to Chibok where the families resides.
The President promised activist Malala Yousafzai from Pakistan he would meet the families and promised to bring back the missing girls.
Islamist group Boko Haram captured more than 200 girls during a raid on their boarding school in Chibok in April.
President Jonathan had been widely criticised for failing to meet distraught parents and not doing enough to rescue the girls.
'Psychological terrorism'
#BringBackOurGirls was a global campaign launched on social media to secure the release of the girls.
President Jonathan agreed to the meeting on Monday following an appeal by Pakistani rights campaigner Malala Yousafzai.
Mr Jonathan had planned to meet 12 parents and five girls who escaped shortly after being captured but the parents withdrew at the last minute without giving any reason.
"Unfortunately, political forces within the Nigerian chapter of Bring Back Our Girls have decided to take this opportunity to play politics with the situation and the grief of the parents and the girls. They should be ashamed of their actions," he said in a statement.
“It now appears that our fight to get the girls of Chibok back is not only a fight against a terrorist insurgency, but also against a political opposition.”
“It is with great regret that I announce the cancellation of the meeting with 12 parents of the abducted Chibock children, as well as five of the brave girls who escaped from the terrorist organization Boko Haram.
I scheduled this meeting, which was to be open to the media for coverage by Nigerian and international press, to listen to their stories and to privately brief the parents and the girls on our efforts to rescue the abducted girls.”
“My priority is not politics. My priority is the return of these girls.”
“Unfortunately, political forces within the Nigerian chapter of Bring Back Our Girls have decided to take this opportunity to play politics with the situation and the grief of the parents and the girls. They should be ashamed of their actions.”
“Those who would manipulate the victims of terrorism for their own benefit, are engaging in a similar kind of evil: psychological terrorism.”
“I want to be clear, this government stands with complete solidarity with the girls and their parents. We are doing everything in our power to bring back our girls. Despite the shameful and disgusting games being played by the Nigerian chapter of Bring Back Our Girls, as a father of girls, I stand ready to meet with the parents of our abducted children and the truly brave girls that have escaped this nightmare through the grace of God.”
“It now appears that our fight to get the girls of Chibok back is not only a fight against a terrorist insurgency, but also against a political opposition.”
“It is with great regret that I announce the cancellation of the meeting with 12 parents of the abducted Chibock children, as well as five of the brave girls who escaped from the terrorist organization Boko Haram.
I scheduled this meeting, which was to be open to the media for coverage by Nigerian and international press, to listen to their stories and to privately brief the parents and the girls on our efforts to rescue the abducted girls.”
“My priority is not politics. My priority is the return of these girls.”
“Unfortunately, political forces within the Nigerian chapter of Bring Back Our Girls have decided to take this opportunity to play politics with the situation and the grief of the parents and the girls. They should be ashamed of their actions.”
“Those who would manipulate the victims of terrorism for their own benefit, are engaging in a similar kind of evil: psychological terrorism.”
“I want to be clear, this government stands with complete solidarity with the girls and their parents. We are doing everything in our power to bring back our girls. Despite the shameful and disgusting games being played by the Nigerian chapter of Bring Back Our Girls, as a father of girls, I stand ready to meet with the parents of our abducted children and the truly brave girls that have escaped this nightmare through the grace of God.”
"Those who would manipulate the victims of terrorism for their own benefit are engaging in a similar kind of evil: Psychological terrorism," he added.
Mr Jonathan's spokesman Doyin Okupe said the president was "extremely distraught".
"He cannot understand this. He cannot fathom this - that Nigeria's mothers will do this type of thing for children," Mr Okupe said.
Nigeria is due to hold presidential elections next year.
source BBC NEWS