Dear Sir

Re: Your newspaper's editorial of 6/7/03

The Government of Botswana views with concern the false and misleading statement contained in your lead editorial of the 6th of July edition of your newspaper that Botswana "houses a huge US Air Force base". This assertion is without foundation. In this respect this Office has grown weary of denying international press reports to the contrary whose historic origin can be traced to the political rantings of ultra right wing supporters of the old Apartheid regime. At the time there were those in South Africa who wished to deny our nation's independent capacity for self-defence in the face of their own acts of aggression.

Unfortunately, over the years some more progressive elements within the region have blindly repeated the disinformation of their historic opponents. For the record the Government of Botswana reiterates that:

• There is no US military base in Botswana.
  
• There never has been any U.S. military base in Botswana.
  
• It is has been and remains the standing policy of Botswana not to allow any foreign military bases on our territory.

We further wish to inform your readers that the Botswana Defence Force's main airbase, located at Mapaharangwane some 70 kilometres west of Gaborone, was built from local funds solely for the domestic defence of our country.