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This month's Goanet operations sponsored by an Anonymous Donor ------------------------------------------------------------------------ SOME TIME IN APRIL! KAMPALA IS BURNING\ By Dominic Fernandes [EMAIL PROTECTED] Widespread riots have broken out in Kampala - the capital of Uganda. Indians and Indian property have been targeted on a unprecedented scale. Two Indians have been reported killed by violent mobs, while two Ugandans have been shot by security forces trying their best to control the violence. Increasing resentment against the very prosperous Hindu Indian community seems to have finally burst out -- with frustrated unemployed youth going on a rampage against Indian property. This resentment has been building up from the last few years with Indians controlling a large part of the post-Obote II Ugandan economy with many people seeing the Indians as greedy businessmen eager to line their pockets at any cost! The final straw was the encroachment by the Indian business family The Mehtas on the eco treasure, the Mabira Forests, for sugar plantations. Mabira is one of the last remaining patches of natural forests and almost all Ugandans are upset with this give away by the government. The Indians are unfortunately being seen as supporters of an increasingly unpopular , anti-environment, only interested in exploiting Ugandan resources to line their pockets. Unfortunately, the common Indian on the streets, who has nothing to do with the Mehta family, or their devious plans, is being persecuted and made to pay a heavy price for the greed of some Indians. The Indians of Kampala are today stunned by the Anti-indian hatred spewed by the average Ugandan, whom we always considered to be gentle, well mannered and soft spoken. Unfortunately Indians seem to have become the Jews of Uganda, immensely rich and immensely hated. Most Indian organisations have closed for the day, and Indians have been advised to keep indoors -- security has been stepped up with Indian business men hiring shot-gun armed guards and bracing for more attacks, reminiscent of the Kristallnicht pogroms of the Nazis. The military police have been deployed with armoured cars moving about in central Kampala. It is difficult to move around to get pictures since I am an Asian, and fear being attacked. Reports say that the Hindu temple in Kampala has been attacked this morning. Investor confidence was only just beginning to pickup in the last few years with the international community being assured of relative calm and stability 20 years after the end of the Amin terror and the chaos of the 1980-85 civil war. These attacks can have serious consequences on the economic situation of the country already suffering from severe power shortages and endemic corruption a large scale exodus of Indian capital may leave a serious vacumn which will not be filled very easily or quickly . With the common wealth summit poised for November this year, the Ugandan authorities will need to work over time to prove to the investor community that the country is not headed to repeat history ! Dominic Fernandes Kampala, Uganda 12 April 2007. _______________________________________________ Goanet-news mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://lists.goanet.org/listinfo.cgi/goanet-news-goanet.org