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URGED CAUTION: Betti Kamya |
By Richard Mutumba
COL. Kizza Besigye�s article posted on the Internet and partly published in the press is not a call for war.
Reform Agenda spokesperson Beti Kamya yesterday said the article was intended to help Uganda establish sanity to avoid conditions for war.
The exiled Besigye was the runner-up in the presidential elections in 2001. Besigye, the chairman of the Reform Agenda, was early this week quoted as saying conditions are ripe for more armed conflicts.
Besigye outlined eight points which he said were the causes of wars within and between societies and countries.
�All the eight conditions exist in Uganda in such a magnitude that does not only explain the presence of war in the country, but also suggests a strong likelihood of more wars,� he said.
Besigye listed the causes as quest for freedom and human dignity, justice, popular sovereignty including patriotism, nationalism and secessionism, militarism (relying on the military to solve problems), power-driven charisma of a leader, imperialism, economic pressure and unemployment.
�As long as the conditions exist in a manner and magnitude exceeding the threshold for the parties involved, war will result,� he said.
Kamya said instead of sensationalising the article, the media should lead the public to debate whether the problems he mentioned exist in Uganda.
�The US, Congo, Russia and countries all over the world are fighting. We should ask whether the reasons causing these countries to fight are captured in Besigye�s eight reasons. If yes, we should ask whether Uganda can survive amid those conditions,� Kamya said.
Kamya said if such conditions remain, Besigye or no Besigye, eventually there will be war.
Another Reform Agenda stalwart and MP for Aswa, Reagan Okumu, said Besigye�s article was intellectual. �Besigye, a soldier, finds it easier to analyse the matter in a war-like situation. A lawyer may think about taking the Government to court,� he said.
Okumu said Besigye�s article should!
be an e
ye opener. He said the public should not look at it from a negative point of view.
Besigye wrote, �Certainly, I would never initiate or join a war situation unless it cannot be avoided. I can only participate in war which has been imposed on me.�
The Movement information chief Ofwono Opondo said Besigye�s article confirmed the Government�s fears that Besigye intends to wage war on Uganda.
�We have told the public that from intelligence sources Besigye has been mobilising for war. The article and his appearance on radio talk-shows is to prepare the minds of Ugandans,� he said.
Besigye wrote, �Whereas the consequences of war are so grave indeed, it should also be clear that they only amount to a cost. If the need justifies the cost, then the cost, however high, must be paid.� Ends
Published on: Friday, 13th December, 2002 |
