Street protests can still be avoided, Malawi leader told

Leading Malawi rights groups have said they could pull out of mass demonstrations scheduled for this week against president Bingu wa Mutharika as they await a court decision on whether the rallies are legal.

Opposition groups have given the president a deadline of today to listen to their demands, promising fresh protests if he does not address the chronic poverty that has ensnared most of the country's 13 million people.

"The demonstrations have been postponed and not cancelled, to allow the High Court to rule on the injunction and to allow time for mediation efforts to succeed," Rogers Newa, chairman of the organising committee, said.

Emmy Chanika, executive director for the Civil Liberties Committee, another leading group planning to take part in the rallies, said: "If the courts rule that we can go ahead, we plan to do so".

The groups want the president to declare his wealth, solve currency and fuel shortages that have hit the economy and restore diplomatic relations with the major aid donor, Britain.

Some opposition leaders have called for rallies regardless of what the court decides, handing out leaflets seeking support for street protests. Malawi police killed 19 people and injured 58 others during protests in July.