ugnet_: Fwd: What will Toronto meet on Acholi get?
What will Toronto meet on Acholi get? Letter from Toronto, Opiyo Oloya LAST Sunday, ahead of the Toronto conference on the crisis in northern Uganda, this writer sat down with delegate Msgr Matthew Odong, vicar-general of Gulu Archdiocese, to find out what he hopes will be achieved at the meeting. Over an hour, in between greeting well-wishers and blessing little children, Msgr. Odong expressed his personal thoughts and as secretary-general of the Acholi Religious Leaders Peace Initiative (ARLPI), here is what he had to say for the record. On the crisis in the north: We have now reached a very critical point where we can say honestly that we need outside help urgently. The crisis has many layers, each presenting a different challenge. At the very basic level, many of the people in the camps have lost their dignity and the will to survive. Let me put it this way, the camps have eaten away at the core of our people. They are in a 40 m deep hole, and they cannot get out without help. We know that suicide has become a problem-it has happened in some of the camps including Anaka. The immediate challenge, therefore, is to restore hope by initiating peace dialogue and begin the process of disbanding the camps. At another level, the crisis is an international one because Joseph Kony and LRA continue to operate with logistical support originating from Sudan. This despite continued denial from Sudan that it is not providing any support. Ask yourself a simple question: How can a rebel force operate year after year without someone giving the weapons to fight? Whether the Government is doing enough: The Government has the capacity and means to do much more than what it has done to date. Let there be no mistake about this the Government has not done enough to protect the citizens from the rebels. In fact, there are reports that in Pader district, some farmers now rent the UPDF for protection while they work in their fields. Can you imagine a taxpayer who pays the salary of the army being asked for extra money for protection? Thats how bad it is. But more important, the Government seems indecisive on what to do about the crisis. One moment its ready to talk peace and the next its ready to wage war. War has not worked in 18 years, now peace must be given a chance. How to end the conflict: As ARLPI has been saying all along, the gun has failed to solve the problem. Although some individuals in the Government see talking peace with the rebels as surrender or defeat, the ARLPI is saying that it is the most realistic and certain way to achieve peace. In 1994, peace came right to the doorstep because of the courageous effort of Betty Bigombe who worked hard to bring the rebels out. When President Museveni issued the ultimatum to the rebels to surrender, the LRA dug its heels in and there has not been peace since that day, ten years ago. Now, if President Museveni can recreate that original effort, we will achieve peace before the end of this year. Its a win-win for everyone the Government, the citizens and the LRA. Who should play a role in resolving the conflict? The crisis is both a national and international tragedy. At the international level, the UN must take leadership. It would be a shame if Kofi Annan were to come 10 years from now to commemorate genocide in northern Uganda in the same way he has done in Rwanda. There is immediate need for the UN to work with concerned countries like Canada and members of the EU to set up a structure for getting the dialogue between the Government and the LRA back on track. At the national level, Ugandans in the Diaspora and at home must work with one purpose. What we need is a new type of nationalism where we act with one voice on issues affecting any part of Uganda. If Kigezi needs help, thats our collective problem until it is resolved. In fact, we are now beginning to see a lot of that happening as Ugandans from other parts respond to the crisis in the north. This is a very positive development: it gives us Acholi a lot pride and hope that our fellow citizens have not forgotten us. What the Toronto Conference will achieve: The crisis in the north is not going to be resolved by being quiet and alone. There is urgency to get countries like Canada involved in spearheading the resolution of the problem. Firstly, this conference provides yet another great chance to raise the alarm for international response. Secondly, it is a forum to show that Ugandans themselves have not given up on the problem for a lasting solution. Finally, the networking establishes future contacts for helping our most traumatised people heal and move forward. [EMAIL PROTECTED] Published on: Wednesday, 30th June, 2004 Ochan Otim NB: I hope you will find time to read and sign a petition to stop the Northern Uganda carnage at: http://www.petitiononline.com/savacoli/petition.html
ugnet_: Ssemo, SaJudges Favour ys Museveni
"He said the major work for the Judges is to settle chicken and goat theft cases but not determining the country's destiny." now this according to Museveni the University of Dar Saleem Graduate!!! Ssemo, SaJudges Favour ys Museveni Email This Page Print This Page Visit The Publisher's Site The Monitor (Kampala) June 30, 2004 Posted to the web June 29, 2004 Ignatius Ssuuna Mpigi President Yoweri Museveni has said Democratic Party (DP) President, Paul Kawanga Ssemogerere always files weak cases but he's helped out by his friends, the Judges. "Ssemogerere files weak cases but his friends, the Judges help him. I assure Ugandans to stay calm because nobody will cause another anarchy in Uganda under the Movement leadership," Museveni told residents of Mawokota county at Butoolo headquarters on Monday. He said the major work for the Judges is to settle chicken and goat theft cases but not determining the country's destiny. The president was reacting to Mpigi LC5 chairman, Mr Badru Kabega's concerns that the events of last Friday's court ruling demonstrates that a small group of elite, if left on their own, may hijack the power of the people and render the National Resistance Movement (NRM) revolution useless This service is hosted on the Infocom network http://www.infocom.co.ug
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ugnet_: DRC: UN Arrests Politiical Leaders in Itur
DRC: UN Arrests Politiical Leaders in Itur Email This Page Print This Page Visit The Publisher's Site UN Integrated Regional Information Networks June 29, 2004 Posted to the web June 29, 2004 Kinshasa The UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC) has arrested the leaders of two armed groups in the northeastern district of Ituri, according to the MONUC spokesman in Bunia, Rachel Eklou. The men, who were arrested on Thursday, are Floribert Kisembo and Pitchou Iribi. Kisembo leads a faction of the Union des patriotes congolais (UPC, Union of Congolese Patriots), an armed group mainly composed of members of the Hema ethnic group. MONUC said Kisembo was still recruiting child soldiers. Iribi is the acting president of the Front des nationalistes intégrationnistes (FNI, Nationalist Integrationist Front), made up mostly of the Lendu people. Eklou said on Friday that Iribi was arrested at the request of the state prosecutor and charged with criminal conspiracy. On 14 May, the UPC and the FNI signed the Kinshasa Act of Commitment (Acte d'Engagement de Kinshasa), under UN auspices. The agreement aims at ending the fighting and at disarming all combatants in Ituri and reinserting them into civilian life. Despite an end in 2002 to a five-year civil war, fighting continued in Ituri, Orientale Province, with different militia groups fighting for control of the mineral-rich district. Up to 50,000 people in the district have died in the fighting since 1999, and hundreds of thousands of others have been displaced, according the UN figures. Relevant Links Central Africa Congo-Kinshasa Peacekeeping and Intervention Forces Post-Conflict Challenges UN troops have been deployed in Ituri under a stronger mandate - Chapter Seven of the UN Charter - that allows them to use force, where necessary, to protect civilians, UN staff and other humanitarian actors. A transitional government of national unity was installed in the capital, Kinshasa, in June 2003. The government has been trying to stamp its authority across the country, but the east, including the provinces of South and North Kivu, has remained volatile. This service is hosted on the Infocom network http://www.infocom.co.ug
ugnet_: PARLIAMENT COMMISSION ISSUES TOLL OF NORTH CRISIS
UGANDA 28/6/2004 17:49 PARLIAMENT COMMISSION ISSUES TOLL OF NORTH CRISIS Peace/Justice, Standard Over 8,000 children have been abducted in North Uganda in the past 12 months by the rebels of the LRA (lordæ Resistance Army). This is the most preoccupying toll that emerged from a report drawn up by the National Commission for security and humanitarian affairs of the Ugandan parliament, presented in the past days to the Kampala parliamentarians. The report in fact adds that based on estimates, since the start of the conflict in North Uganda, æetween 20,000 and 25,000 children?have ended up in the hands of the rebels. Also explaining that æhe boys are indoctrinated and transformed into combatants, while the girls become sex slaves of the rebel commanders? Adding that they are both used as carriers, sent to the front line in clashes with the armed forces and to æommit all sorts of atrocities against the local communities of the North? Based on the report, the available data does not consent an exact toll of the damages caused by the North Ugandan crisis, though the mere financial cost for the Acholi amounts to around $1,3-billion. But the damages caused by the rebels continue even in their absence, consuming the lives of the hundreds of thousands forced to live in displaced camps afflicted by a serious lack of food and overcrowding. The Parliamentary Commission report estimates that to feed the 1.5-million displaced crowded in the camps of the North the nation would need $340,000 a day. æhe lack of food is a priority? underlines the report adding that the WFP (World Food Programme) has informed the commission of possible interruptions in aid distribution in the next months. From May to December 102,000 tonnes of food in the value of $54-million risk not being consigned. In conclusion the commission reiterates its request for the declaration of North Uganda as a disaster zone. Since 1986, the armed gangs headed by Joseph Kony (which include a large number of child-soldiers) have been reaping death and destruction in the northern zones of the nation, without the government of Kampala succeeding in halting the violence on a military level, nor on a negotiation level. The conflict has so far resulted in an estimated 100,000 victims, 25,000 minors abducted and over 1-million (1,500,000 according to some sources, displaced. [BO]
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ugnet_: Did Muteesa II Ever Import Arms to Overthrow Obote?
Amins Loyal Aide, a Briton, Is Court Jester and Survivor By John Darnton(sp?) Special to the New York Times The New York Times, Saturday, December 2, 1978 Nairobi, Kenya, Dec 1 The second hated man in Uganda, refugees from that country agree, is not a Ugandan at all. He is a middle-aged British-born major with a salt-and-pepper mustache, a cockney accent and a shadowy past. Robert Astles, known throughout Uganda simply as Mr. Bob, helped found State Research Bureau that has killed thousands of Government opponents, organized the carrying of President Idi Amin in a sedan chair by whites, and is married to a Ugandan woman who is the Minister of Culture. Arriving in Uganda during the 1950s as a relatively poor road-construction foreman, he has ingratiated his way into power and wealth, now owning a 50-acre pineapple plantation, a two-story mansion near President Amins villa, several motorboats and a fleet of cars including two Mercedes-Benzes. Mr. Astles serves the Uganda leader in a complex role that combines factotum, court jester, foreign policy adviser, commercial czar and chief spy. Although he has played a major role in Ugandas security and intelligence organizations for 18 years, both under former President Milton Obote and Mr. Amin, he has remained curiously out of the limelight. But interviews with refugees, with Ugandans working for President Amins intelligence services and with Western diplomats have shed some light on his activities. Only recently especially with the Tanzania border war has the full extent of his influence become apparent. Among other things, he plotted and wrote the Presidents war pronouncements, traveled to Nairobi to prevent Kenya from cutting off oil, and served as Mr. Amins spokesman to the outside world on a telephone line from Kampala to reporters in Nairobi. Mr. Astles, under the cover of close aide to the president, charged four days ago that thousands of Tanzanians had invaded Uganda and, two days ago, reported the president as missing. Predictably, Mr. Amin turned up today. A Talent for Embellishment With an instinctive feel for the preferences of the Western news media, Mr. Astles relayed a contemptuous challenge by President Amin to President Julius K. Nyerere of Tanzania to meet him in the ring and settle their counties dispute. And it was Mr. Astles who provided vivid descriptions of Tanzanian soldiers being eaten by crocodiles while crossing the Kagera River. It is not unknown for whites to rise to important behind-the-scenes positions in black Africa. Kenya, Zambia and many French-speaking African nations have kept whites as backroom advisers, especially on economic matters. What is unusual about Mr. Astles is that he has reached a position of pre-eminence with seemingly few qualifications and that he is the only European willing to serve and publicly defend Ugandas dictator. It is also noteworthy that he has survived. In two occasions, one in 1976 and again later this year, he has had to flee for his life, speeding across Lake Victoria in a motorboat just ahead of Ugandan soldiers out to kill him. Both times, he managed to return to Uganda within weeks, and to the Presidents side. Bob is brilliant opportunist, said an official in Ugandas intelligence service, who is in Kenya to check on the spy network here and consented to be interviewed. Unless you know about the running of the Government, he is somewhat invisible. He sees Amin everyday. He is his right-hand man. He is responsible for much of the bloodshed. If you pick a quarrel with him and you dont take to the hills, you are dead. The official, who asked that his name be withheld, said that he had collaborated with Mr. Astles in 1972 in setting up the State Research Bureau, the most feared of Ugandas three secret security networks. Its victims are commonly picked up in broad daylight and stuffed into the trunk of a car on the way to an interrogation, from which they do not return. With an elaborate network of spies extending into at least three countries, Mr. Astles has been credited with unearthing a plot to topple President Amin in February. Fifteen people who were charged as conspirators were executed. Sources still active in Ugandan intelligence say that some of them might have been spared, but that Mr. Astles insisted that they all be put to death. An intelligence officer explained: When the Defense Council sits, the orders for execution go to Astles. He takes it to Amin. In 1974 it came about that all information collected by State Research goes to him and he decided what goes to Amin and what goes to the Security Council. Origins in England Robert Astles, who is from Ashford in the county of Kent, is believed to have arrived in East Africa after World War II, in which he served in the army, not the Royal Air Force, as President Amin has said. In the late 1950s he went to Uganda, where he worked as a road foreman for the pre-i
ugnet_: Under federalism,power checks power
Under federalism, power checks power By John Ken Lukyamuzi June 30, 2004 Mr Edward Mulindwas recent essay titled Do Not Give Federalism A Bad Name perplexed me. No one would like to give federalism a bad name. The level of moral decadence Mulindwa witnessed when he visited Uganda should not be related to the perception of federalism. Mulindwa posed one pertinent question, Is our Nation failing because of a unitary system? He added what we need in Uganda is not an administrative system. What we need is an effective leadership. Mulindwas conclusion that Uganda has gone to the dogs because she lacks an effective leadership is not based on facts. He relates that to a scenario where a policeman could not pursue people who had stolen his shoes before he could receive a bribe. Good enough Mulindwa was able to report the tragedy of his own brother. His brother had caused his shirt to disappear as it was being hanged on a clothesline to dry. The two occurrences cannot justify the conclusion that what we need is effective leadership. The two occurrences call for an effective administrative order at the grass roots to check on excesses like mistrust and immorality. In Uganda, government after government has collapsed due to lack of accountability. In Musevenis Uganda, one has to stand by a big person for ones area to develop. In Karamoja, until recently when disarmament was enforced, everyone required a gun to fight cattle rustling. Under a federal arrangement, the guns need not be withdrawn from the Karimojong. They can remain in the area under the control of a small government. Successful service delivery in Uganda need not be enforced through additional districts. All we need is economic and political viability in the regions to improve governance. Human resource capacities and the market forces. Federo not monarchical A lot has been written about federalism in Uganda. Some writers confuse federalism with feudalism while others relate federalism to monarchism.The rest are cynics. There are others who say that federalism will never come here. In 1993 when the National Resistance Council sanctioned the return of kingdoms few ever believed their ears. We have quasi kingdoms today. The biggest challenge today underlies two questions. Have Ugandans ever fully pronounced themselves on the system of government which best suits them? If so, why has Uganda failed to regain the glory, which obtained here between 1962 and 1966? The first four years of Ugandas political independence were a source of economic glory. There was order and the rule of law existed in every part of the country. We had the highest income per capita in sub-Saharan Africa. We had a semi-federal system of government. While Yoweri Kaguta Museveni is the longest serving President Uganda has ever had, we have been living in a war-ravaged situation since 1986. National cake issues Why are people fighting in northern Uganda? They are fighting for fairer dimensions of distributing the national cake. The concept of federalism is not a new phenomenon in Uganda. Uganda is what it is because of her history and geography. It is a unique country with unique cultures, languages, traditions and heritage. To many, a Uganda with that rich mosaic of culture is what makes us to be what we have been for so many years now. We should harness that common wealth. As a student of federalism I know that size is not the yardstick for federalism. witzerland is much smaller than Uganda in size but it is afederation. Federalism is the system of government where executive and sovereign powers are shared between the centre and the regions. It is the arrangement where government exists beyond the centre on the same land. It is the system where power checks power. Power at the regions will check power at the centre. It will also groom leaders and strengthen institutions. There are also models within federations. The USA has a Presidential in nature while Canada and New Zealand are Parliamentary in bias. India is a minority rights model and the United Arab Emirates ismonarchical in character. Uganda requires the famous hybrid model similar to what Malaysia is. In Malaysia, the five Kingdom-based states amicably exist along with nine unitary states. Malaysia is today one of the most powerful economic giants in south east Asia. Federalism will cause compromise where compromise in normal circumstances may not be attainable. That is why Uganda needs it. Mr Lukyamuzi is MP Rubaga South and 1993 Federal Studies Fellow of the Faculty of American Studies, Salisburg, Austria. ALL-NEW Yahoo! Messenger - so many all-new ways to express yourself
ugnet_: Should a king,judge or president rule Uganda?
Ear to The Ground: By Charles Onyango-Obbo Should a king, judge or president rule Uganda June 30, 2004 President Yoweri Museveni has rejected the decision of the Constitutional Court nullifying the 2000 referendum, which also ruled that no other mandatory referendum can be held. Museveni swears that in spite of what the judges have ruled, there will a referendum on lifting term limits, and thus effectively create a Presidency for life. And, you can be sure, there will be a referendum. The President rejected the Constitutional Court ruling because, he says, they "usurp the power of the people". We will leave it to the lawyers to argue the law. We can only say here that these kinds of positions by Presidents on constitutions in Uganda are not new. When the Uganda People's Congress government of Milton Obote overthrew the 1962 Constitution, they made exactly the same arguments as Museveni. They also argued the "doctrine of necessity", which was borrowed from the then racist minority regime in Rhodesia (Zimbabwe today), which said that sometimes overwhelming need to protect things like national security, national sovereignty justified the overthrow of a constitution. The difference is that in 1966 Obote overthrew a constitution that his government did not write. The constitution in place today, however, is a Movement constitution. In fact some uncharitable people call it the Museveni constitution. Therefore there is no law in issue, just high politics. For that reason, the significance of the President and his government's rejection of the Constitutional Court ruling must be seen in a wider political context. If a Constitutional Court rules that the referendum of 2000 was illegal and another one cannot be held, and the President and government rejects it, many things can happen tomorrow and the days to come if this becomes the standard. For example, imagine a Tanzanian contractor who owns a company called ABV Construction, and it did a job worth Shs 3 billion in Uganda and the government has delayed to pay you by two years. ABV goes to court, and the government is ordered to pay the company its Shs 3 billion. But because you have a government that does not respect court rulings, a minister or the President comes out to say that they will not honour the court order because it would not be in the national interest to pay the company. ABV built a road, and it cannot send auctioneers to grab it away. Besieged by creditors, it collapses. Other contractors in the region, will hear of this, of course. In future, they could demand that they be paid a huge chunk of the contract sum ahead (which they could themselves run away without doing the work). They could hike the contract sum, so that even if they are paid only 10 per cent before a minister orders that they should not get the rest, they will have recovered something. Or they will simply stay away. Or imagine the government signs a loan agreement for $ 200 milion for some project. When the repayment time arrives, the government can very easily turn around and refuse to pay - as Uganda is alleged to be doing with the over $ 100m it owes Libya. Well and good, but why should other international institutions lend to Uganda again in future if the government does not honour rules it willingly allowed to be governed by when they do not favour it? At lower levels, you could rent your house to the government and when they fail to pay, you order it to leave. It refuses. You go to court, and the judge says you should be paid your money. And the government says to hell with the judge. By the time you get to the district, the Assistant RDC will be refusing to pay for building materials he was given on credit at some corner shop in Iganga. It is accepted that poor countries like Uganda remain backward, to a large extent, because of the unpredictability of the rule of law. When business people and lending institutions are not sure that the law will protect their investment and capital, and that a President will not wake up one morning and decide that his personal whim is greater than the constitution, they go to countries where there is no such risk. Until recently, there had been a fairly high level of certainty in Uganda that decisions of courts will be respected. But now that the Movement and the President do not want to be governed that way, they still need to find a better alternative. The laws can be changed so that ministers, the President, and army generals decide. As long as the rules are known (e.g. how much do you pay to get your case heard, and when you are dissatisfied with a minister's ruling, you appeal to the President, and when you are not happy with the President you appeal to the Movement National Executive Committee etc.). This is why some dictatorships, that do not have independent courts and decisions are handed down to judges by party bureaucrats (as China was until recently), have still prospered. For when a ruling is handed down, ever
ugnet_: Don't intimidate us,Chief Justice tells Government(Is the Dar Axis finally falling apart??)
Dont intimidate us, Chief Justice tells Government By Solomon Muyita June 30, 2004 BE FIRM: Odoki KAMPALA - The Chief Justice, Benjamin Odoki has asked the government and Ugandans to leave the courts to function without any intimidation. Mr Odoki also urged the courts to continue functioning normally as per their judicial oath of executing their duties without fear or favour. This comes in the wake of attacks on the Judiciary and judges by a cross-section of the public, starting from President Yoweri Museveni over their ruling against the 2000 Referendum Act on Friday. Museveni accused the judges of usurping the power of the people by declaring the referendum null and void. Odoki, who was launching a Uganda Human Rights Commission Corporate Plan for 2004 - 2009, re-assured the Judiciary that he had taken the necessary steps to ensure their safety and that of the courts. I am constrained to comment on this matter of great importance because it has caused tension in the public. As head of the Judiciary, I want to assure the country and everybody that the judgement of the Constitutional Court has and will not cause a constitutional, political or judicial crisis in this country. OUR MAN: Demonstrators hold an effigy of president Yoweri Museveni yesterday (Photo by James Akena)I have read all the rulings of the five judges and I want to appeal to the people and government to be calm because the ruling did not touch the pillars of the State. They remain secure in the Constitution. The Executive, the Legislature and the Judiciary are duly appointed and will continue to function, Odoki said. He commended the governments idea to appeal against the verdict. I commend the decision to appeal because it is going to restore everything peacefully through the rule of law, he said. He said he presided over some matters in the Supreme Court at Mengo yesterday just to ensure that the courts are still functioning normally.The UHRC Chairperson, Mrs Margaret Sekaggya, said her organisation fully supports the rule of law. Its good its us who have provided the Chief Justice a platform to defend the rule of law in this country, she said. Odoki said that UHRC work complements that of the courts and that the organisation should be retained in the Constitution. He said their corporate plan would make their services more accessible by many people because of the introduction of many offices countrywide. © 2004 The Monitor Publications ALL-NEW Yahoo! Messenger - so many all-new ways to express yourself
ugnet_: May 21, 1974
From: President Amin To: Prime Minister Edward Heath and Sir Alec Douglas-Home, assuring them of my continued friendship. May 21, 1974 Gentlemen, It is almost three years since I paid a visit to the United Kingdom during which you warmly and generously welcomed and entertained me, as Prime minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, respectively. Since then, because of my declaring Economic War in Uganda, both of you have had some hard and nasty things to say about me, but I wish to assure both of you that you are still my best friends. For Mr Edward Heath in particular, I remember your warm welcome, the dinner and reception that you gave me as a guest of your government. For Sir Alec Douglas-Home, I wish to assure you of my continued genuine friendship and regard for you; as, indeed, I have a special liking for Scottish people. May I request you to pass my best regards and wishes to all my Scottish brothers and sisters whose warm and generous welcome during my visit I still remember with admiration. Al-Hajji General Idi Amin Dada, V.C, D.S.O, M.C, President of the Republic of Uganda Ochan Otim NB: I hope you will find time to read and sign a petition to stop the Northern Uganda carnage at: http://www.petitiononline.com/savacoli/petition.html
ugnet_: Museveni Contacts Libya Over Kony
Museveni Contacts Libya Over Kony Email This Page Print This Page Visit The Publisher's Site New Vision (Kampala) June 26, 2004 Posted to the web June 28, 2004 Henry Mukasa and Hamis Kaheru Kampala PRESIDENT Yoweri Museveni has contacted several heads of state who might have contacts or influence regarding the Lord's Resistance Army rebel leader, Joseph Kony. Defence state minister Ruth Nankabirwa told Parliament on Thursday that Museveni had contacted Libya president Col. Muammar Gadaffi, who in turn talked to Sudan leader Gen. Omar Bashir "who is very influential in this war." "He (Museveni) has gone through his fellow heads of state and it has yielded some results," Nankabirwa said. "Negotiation isn't a tug-of-war. You must penetrate the two camps fighting and agree on the venue and the mediator. You cannot sit in Parliament and dictate issues concerning negotiations," Nankabirwa emphasised. The minister was reacting to comments by Lubaga South MP Ken Lukyamuzi that the Government should name a new northern war peace team since the old one is dysfunctional, with some members out of government and others in exile. This service is hosted on the Infocom network http://www.infocom.co.ug
ugnet_: MPs React to Museveni Remarks
"Augustine Ruzindana and Pafo chairperson said the president's reaction was a clear manifestation that he had rejected the rule of law." owangee who said Gunmen respect the rule of law? Muce3beni is simple being exposed for the true gunmen who he is period. oh boy I am beginning to enjoy this!!! Matek MPs React to Museveni Remarks Email This Page Print This Page Visit The Publisher's Site The Monitor (Kampala) June 29, 2004 Posted to the web June 29, 2004 Richard Mutumba and Mercy Nalugo Kampala President Yoweri Museveni's remarks on the Constitutional Court ruling over the 2000 referendum yesterday attracted strong mixed reactions from MPs and ministers. While a cross-section of legislators criticised Museveni for over reacting and not respecting the rule of law, others attacked the judges for not being patriotic. The MPs told The Monitor Museveni used the wrong forum to address his problems. Museveni in a Radio and TV address to the nation rejected the Constitutional Court ruling saying the government would not accept the contents of the ruling. Augustine Ruzindana and Pafo chairperson said the president's reaction was a clear manifestation that he had rejected the rule of law. "His rejection of the court ruling does not show his respect for the rule of law. His statement is a rejection of the independence of the Judiciary. What is left for him is to declare what articles of the Constitution he wants suspended," Ruzindana said. The MP for Aruu County Mr Odonga Otto said by rejecting the Constitutional Court ruling the president behaved like a peasant. "President Museveni should stop behaving like a peasant. Once you protest a court judgement you go to (a higher) court. He is trying to show us that there is no difference between him and Amin," Otto said adding that Amin rejected several court rulings. "He is showing us he is a second hand dictator. Any further action, we shall implore other means including contacting Police to punish those violating court decrees," Otto said. Patrick Oboi (Amuriat) said President Museveni must respect the rule of law. "If the Judiciary has to be independent we must respect the outcomes of the ruling. The ruling implies the entire government and Parliament cease to exist. Where are we then? We are in a state of anarchy," Oboi said. He advised that government discusses the way forward than attacking the Judiciary. Like Oboi, Telego MP Mr Kassiano Wadri said the President should respect all the three arms of government if he is to believe in rule of law. "I was taken aback like any Ugandan who believes in the rule of law when I heard Museveni castigating a ruling by the Constitutional Court judges," Kassiano said. He warned that many more court actions are coming up against government. Latigo Ogenga (Agago County) said he was not surprised by the remarks because Museveni has persistently attacked the judges. He said following the ruling, there is no way a Constitution can be reversed. This (reversing the Constitution) he said would be committing treason of which the members have a right to fight him. "I Hope his colleagues who have been pushing him for a third term will learn from this and begin asking themselves where the country is going," Latigo said. The Bufumbira South MP and State Minister for Information, Dr James Nsaba Buturo said the judges were unfair for not proposing an alternative to their decision. Rushenyi County MP and State Minister for Finance Mwesigwa Rukutana said the court would have been kind enough and apply the principle of 'validate if possible' instead of attempting to put the country at a standstill. Kyaddondo South MP Mr Issa Kikungwe said he was waiting for the President to declare he doesn't believe in rule of law. "Let him overthrow his own government by fighting the rule of law," Kikungwe said. Wesonga Kamana (Bubulo West) said the president would have appealed against the ruling in the higher court of law. "But we should also pray for this country," Kamana said. Relevant Links East Africa Uganda Legal and Judicial Affairs Lubaga South MP John Ken Lukyamuzi said it was unfortunate for the President who is the fountain of honour to openly criticise the institution he is supposed to respect. Kassanda South MP and Legal Committee vice chairperson Mr Nyombi Tembo said the President's remarks were not a rejection of the court ruling but a mere observation of an important matter. "I don't think the president rejected the court ruling. He just made an observation. He was just complaining on the judgement. When one tries to cause a crisis and you are the one in power you must show that you are in control". This service is hosted on the Infocom network http://www.infocom.co.ug
ugnet_: Movement is Illegal says Besigye
Movement is Illegal - Besigye Email This Page Print This Page Visit The Publisher's Site The Monitor (Kampala) June 29, 2004 Posted to the web June 29, 2004 Badru D. Mulumba Kampala Col. Kizza Besigye yesterday called for the immediate dissolution of the Movement structures in a three-stage process following the nullification of the 2000 referendum by court. "It is now formal, with effect from June 25, the Movement is illegal. The ruling compounded the earlier findings of the Constitutional Court that the Movement was in all respects a political party. The findings and ruling of the Supreme Court in 2001 showed that the current government is also illegitimate," the former presidential candidate in 2001 said in a statement. He lives in exile, mainly in South Africa. His statement came a day after President Yoweri Museveni announced that he would not accept the Friday's Constitutional Court unanimous annulment of the June 29, 2000 referendum that extended the tenure of the Movement government for five years. "Government ought to dismantle the illegal NRM (Movement) structures- the Movement Committees from the village to the National Conference and the Movement Secretariat," Besigye said. He said the government should "set up a Transitional Government of national unity to manage the transition from the current one-party state to a multiparty democratic dispensation." This should be followed by dialogue with all stakeholders to form an all-inclusive National Conference to advise the Transitional Government and deal with conflict resolution, ending all wars and insurgency in Uganda. Museveni said the Friday court ruling was unacceptable and the judges cannot stop people from holding a referendum on political system they prefer. The court ruled that no other mandatory referendum can be held because article 271 of the Constitution that provided for such was not complied with during the 2000 referendum and it expired. Relevant Links East Africa Legal and Judicial Affairs Uganda But Besigye said Museveni's rejection of the judgement was predictable and consistent with his regime's ideology that does not accept that different arms of government should exercise power independently. Besigye heads the opposition Reform Agenda formed out of his 2001 campaign task force. This service is hosted on the Infocom network http://www.infocom.co.ug
ugnet_: Africa and the oppression of the Palestinian nation
To the Honoruable Ladies and Gentlemen of Africa's Leadership Cadres, The AU has consistently advocated that Africans, included Africans in the diaspora, speak freely on the crucial matters impacting Africa and African peoples. I, and many others like myself, are very appreciative of this truly democratic gesture of the AU, and if I may, I will take this opportunity to exercise the option to have our voice heard. Many of us have noted with pride that the African Union has begun to make itself a factor in the struggle of the Palestinian people against settler colonialism and zionist fascism. We also note the comments of the Honorable President of South Africa in this matter that the affirmative resolution of the question of the illegal occupation of Palestine is an essential to the well-being of Africa at the UN Meeting on Palestine. We are hopeful that Pres. Mbeki's government will be able to bring the full force of their administration into play on behalf of our relations in Palestine.Dr. Kwame Nkrumah wrote that the basis of a real African renaissance is the correct presentation of history, I quote from his book, "Consciencism â Philosophy and Ideology for De-Colonisation" "In the new African renaissance, we place great emphasis on the presentation of history. Our history needs to be written as the history of our society, not as the story of European adventures. African society must be treated as enjoying its own integrity; its history must be a mirror of that society, and the European contact must find its place in this history only as an African experience, even if as a crucial one. That is to say, the European contact needs to be assessed and judged from the point of view of the principles animating African society, and from the point of view of the harmony and progress of this society. "When history is presented in this way, it can become not an account of how those African students referred to in the introduction became more Europeanized than others; it can become a map of the growing tragedy and the final triumph of our society. In this way, African history can come to guide and direct African action. African history can thus become a pointer at the ideology which should guide and direct African reconstruction. "This connection between an ideological standpoint and the writing of history is a perennial one. A check on the work of the great historians, including Herodotus and Thucydides, quickly exposes their passionate concern with ideology. Their irresistible moral, political and sociological comments are particular manifestations of more general ideological standpoints." ( from the SOCIETYAND IDEOLOGY section)The history of Africa on the question of zionist crimes has been for the most part an admirable one. Many of us recall the principled stand of the OAU Liberation Committee in 1968 refusing the blood money offered by the settler state of Israel. We also recall that the PAC of Azania was chosen by its peers on the Liberation Committee to announce its rejection of the zionist bribe. We also recall that the majority of Africa demonstrated steadfast resistance to the many intrigues of the zionist state and its sustainers in the West against the Congo, Nigeria and other states on the continent. We note that the leading spokesperson for the Democratic Alliance has already issued a statement against the AU incorporating the issue of Palestine as one of its primary action item. This is not at all surprising to anyone who understands the true nature of zionism and its parent system, international imperialism in its various forms and manifestations. But some of us are concerned that too many of our leaders, even some of whom appear to be earnestly trying to express solidarity with the Palestinian people, fail to grasp the global characteristics of zionism. As former US Senator Charles Percy observed, "Although the $3 billion dollars given by the United States each year to Israel seems assured no matter what occurs in the short term, U.S. financial markets are much more sensitive to perception of risk. It is little appreciated how much the new Israeli economy, which is based increasingly on high tech, is dependent on perceptions on Wall Street. Seventy Israeli companies are now listed on the NASDAQ Exchange and literally hundreds of millions of dollars of investment from the United States and especially Jewish Americans are now at stake in Israel." former Illinois Senator Charles Percy, "Middle East Issues in an American Political Life," October 30, 1996, speech at Al-Hewar Center, Washington DC http://www.alhewar.com/percy.html The struggle of Palestine against settler colonialism is in kind and degree no different from the struggle of any other people suffering from settler colonialism, the vestiges of colonialism, and the general global racist capitalist system. Hence, we understand that the real struggle of the 21st century and the foreseeable future is between the circles of avariciou
ugnet_: No Talks With Govt - Ssemo
No Talks With Govt - Ssemo Email This Page Print This Page Visit The Publisher's Site The Monitor (Kampala) June 29, 2004 Posted to the web June 29, 2004 Halima Abdallah and Richard M. Kavuma Kampala The Democratic Party (DP) has said there is no need for negotiations with the government on the political transition. This follows the Constitutional Court ruling that nullified the Referendum (Political Systems) Act 2000. "We don't need to engage in talks with Dr Crispus Kiyonga (National Political Commissar), or get a memorandum of understanding with G12. It is finished. The whole Movement system has been dismantled," DP President Dr Paul Kawanga Semogerere said. He was addressing a press conference at the DP headquarters in Kampala at the weekend, where he explained the implications if the judgment.a Court nullified the Act and the Referendum held on June 29, 2000, because Parliament did not follow the right procedures while enacting the Act. Under the Act, the Electoral Commission announced that Ugandans had chosen to be ruled under the Movement political system for another five years. Relevant Links East Africa Uganda But Semogerere said the Movement was no more and called upon parties to reap from the achievements in the courts and step up their efforts in championing the cause of freedom, "even in the face of oppression". Reform Agenda spokesperson Beti Kamya announced Col. Dr Kiiza Besigye's delight at the DP victory. DP lawyers Mr Joseph Balikuddembe, Erias Lukwago and John Baptist Kakooza attended. This service is hosted on the Infocom network http://www.infocom.co.ug
ugnet_: UPC asked to apologize to Baganda
The Lukiiko Lwabazzukulu ba Buganda has attacked the UPC for statements made recently by the Chairman Presidential Policy Commission Dr. James Rwanyarare (left) when the Baganda were commemorating the Lubiri attack by the central government in the 60s. Addressing a press conference in Mengo, Ddungu Musisi a member of the Lukiiko said former President Milton Obote and Rwanyarare must apologize to the Baganda for the atrocities they committed. Ddungu who gave the press copies of the letter they wrote to Dr. Obote said they wanted to reveal Rwanyarares lies. Some members lashed out at Rubaga South MP John Ken Lukyamuzi for what they called hypocrisy adding that most political parties are descendants of UPC. \\\"Always be a first rate version of yourself instead of a second rate version of someone else.\" Njoki Paul University of Pretoria This service is hosted on the Infocom network http://www.infocom.co.ug
Re: ugnet_: Bigombe Searching for Kony in Sudan
Matek/Vukoni Part of the problem seems to be that it is only the govt who can identify 'Kony'. 'Kony' is the only terrorist/guerilla fighter in the world who seems to be unknown by anyone else, except the guys he is fighting against! So if M7 knows that Betty Achan Bigombe did meet 'Kony' ten years ago, he has either to produce the same 'Kony' , or claim that Bigombe has failed to find 'Kony'., since 'Kony' probably lives elsewhere. This I think is (a complex) spin. Nume[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Bigombe is a good candidate because she is one of the few people who have ever met 'Kony'. A documentary made over 10 years ago by the Aboke missionaries showed the real Kony meeting Bigombe, to discuss the return of the Aboke girls Kony had abducted.It was shown on Austrian and UK TVNume Nume: I say good lack to Atuk Betty Bigombe!!!. I hope she finds "kony" hidding under the rocks of Southern SudanAfter all it is she who has ever Seen "Kony". Many however believe that "Kony" is in State House Nakasero or is it Nyakatura . He emerges at night to visit mayhem on our people.Matek This service is hosted on the Infocom networkhttp://www.infocom.co.ug Do you Yahoo!? New and Improved Yahoo! Mail - 100MB free storage!
Re: [Ugandacom] Re: ugnet_: Bigombe Searching for Kony in Sudan
Mulindwa As usual, YOU have not understood what is being discussed. Fortunately others have. Nume Edward Mulindwa <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: That is how Museveni has managed to lead Uganda for all these years, for one would expect Nume to be a brilliant man to analyze this situation better than buying this garbage of John Garanga is housing Konny. Em The Mulindwas Communication Group"With Yoweri Museveni, Uganda is in anarchy" Groupe de communication Mulindwas "avec Yoweri Museveni, l'Ouganda est dans l'anarchie" - Original Message - From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Monday, June 28, 2004 11:53 AM Subject: [Ugandacom] Re: ugnet_: Bigombe Searching for Kony in Sudan Bigombe is a good candidate because she is one of the few people who have ever met 'Kony'. A documentary made over 10 years ago by the Aboke missionaries showed the real Kony meeting Bigombe, to discuss the return of the Aboke girls Kony had abducted.It was shown on Austrian and UK TVNume Nume: I say good lack to Atuk Betty Bigombe!!!. I hope she finds "kony" hidding under the rocks of Southern SudanAfter all it is she who has ever Seen "Kony". Many however believe that "Kony" is in State House Nakasero or is it Nyakatura . He emerges at night to visit mayhem on our people.Matek Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ADVERTISEMENT Yahoo! Groups Links To visit your group on the web, go to:http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Ugandacom/ To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service. Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail - 50x more storage than other providers!
