XUG Coalition Statement on CHOGM
>> Friday, November 16, 2007
Questioning the "Common Wealth"
November 18, 2007
It is a great shame that an organization like the Commonwealth, which professes to stand for the rule of law, respect for human rights, democratic pluralism and peaceful co-existence with neighboring states, is rewarding a military dictator with chairmanship of the Commonwealth, concluding the upcoming Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), November 23-25th in Kampala, Uganda.
The record of President Yoweri Museveni’s rule in Uganda since he shot himself to power in 1986 indicates that he has consistently violated, and continues to disregard, all of the principles and ideals of the Commonwealth. In light of this, we question the criteria used by the Commonwealth Heads of Government in selecting Uganda as the host country for CHOGM and the appointment of General Museveni as Chair.
Democracy?
As U.S. Senator John Kerry noted in a letter to President George Bush on October 29, the day before Museveni’s visit to the White House: “Breaking his express promise to abide by the terms of the Constitution allowed President Museveni to seek reelection for a third time in 2006.” Kerry urged Bush to “ask President Museveni to reaffirm his commitment to the rule of law.”[3]
Shackling the Rule of Law
Under Museveni's dictatorship there is no longer any pretense of rule of law; enforcement of the government’s will has extended to the courts. Shockingly, on November 25, 2005 and again on March 12, 2007, a secretive force called "The Black Mambas Squad" which is directly controlled by General Museveni's agents and not accountable to Parliament, stormed Uganda’s High Court to intimidate judges and re-arrest political prisoners who had been granted bail or released by the courts.[4] After the second incident, in protest of the gross interference and dismissal of Uganda’s judicial system,[5] judges and lawyers went on strike nationwide.[6] Even in the darkest days of Amin’s dictatorship this never happened.
Containing the Opposition
During the 2006 election, on several occasions, opposition political party candidates’ demonstrations, meetings and gatherings were violently suppressed by the police and government armed militias. On April 23, 2005 the government army was utilized to beat up four opposition ministers of parliament: Hon. Michael Ocula, Hon. Odongo Otto, Hon. Reagan Okumu and Hon. Latigo Morris. Harassment of two of the MP’s (Okumu and Latigo) continued when they were jailed on falsely trumped up murder charges. A Human Rights Watch report of the incident called attention to a Ugandan law which permits the detention of suspects on charges such as treason, rape and murder for almost a year without being eligible for bail.[7]
Equally as alarming, Uganda now operates "safe houses" where political opposition members or those suspected of being anti-government are routinely tortured.[8] Danish Ambassador and Head of the European Union’s Delegation to Uganda Styg Barlyng, whose Kampala residence is located next to one, witnessed a torture victim’s attempted escape in March 31, 2006. The escapee’s tormentors overpowered the Ambassador’s security guards and dragged the screaming suspect back into the "safe house."[9] Amnesty International has recently launched an “action alert” to address such tortures in Uganda.[10]
Repression of the Press
The press has not been spared by the oppressive hand of the
Regional Military Aggression
Separately, in 2004, the International Criminal Court (ICC) initiated its own investigation of crimes against humanity involving
Forced Displacement, Death in Acholiland
Nearly two million Ugandans from northern and eastern
A survey conducted by Uganda's own Ministry of Health and the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2005 revealed that at the height of the crisis, more than 1,000 excess deaths per week occurred in these 200 or so camps due to the camp conditions, which were characterized by insufficient access to basic needs such as water, health care, food and protection. [20] This translates into 52,000 deaths per year or 520,000 in the last decade and more than a million over the duration of the war.
Forgotten Crisis, Ignored Genocide
While there has been a lot of agreement about the travesty of the crisis in northern
Two former top UN officials have attempted to bring the northern Ugandan crisis to the world’s attention. Dr. Olara Otunnu, former UN Undersecretary General for Children in Armed Conflict rightly refers to the northern situation as a “secret genocide.” While Jan Egeland, UN Undersecretary General for Humanitarian Affairs in 2003 enshrined the inaction of both the Ugandan government and the international community--calling the northern crisis “. . . the biggest forgotten, neglected humanitarian emergency in the world today.”
Mortgaging
In northern
Betrayal and Justice?
The millions of Ugandans who have suffered and survived the tyranny of Uganda’s recent history, beginning with the 1971 military coup by Idi Amin had much hope in the new Constitution, and were wholly betrayed when Gen. Museveni fundamentally destroyed it, by lifting presidential term limits—essentially recreating the law to suit his own ends.
This complete disregard of law has been translated to millions of Congolese[25] who have been adversely impacted by
Common citizens of the commonwealth must pressure their governments to end their collusion in
> 21 Years and Running Writing Campaign
[1] BBC News, “Uganda MPs ‘beaten by troops,’” 23 November, 2004. http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/africa/4034717.stm.
[2] Human Rights Watch “In Hope and Fear:
[3] Allimadi, Milton. “Kerry:
[4] Dewey, Gudrun. “A Reflection on Real Security for
[5] “Widespread Condemnation of High Court Invasion,” Legal Brief Africa, Issue 221, 12 March 2007, http://www.legalbrief.co.za/article.php?story=20070312150046401.
[6] BBC News, “Strike halts Ugandan High Court,” 28 November 2005, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4477110.stm
[7] “
[8] Sung, Michael. “Torture Most Common Rights Abuse Complaint in
[9] Mukasa, Henry. “
[10] Amnesty International, “Amnesty International Public Statement on Torture in
[11] “Attacks in the Press in 2002,” Committee to Protect Journalists, 31 March 2003, http://www.cpj.org/attacks02/africa02/uganda.html.
[12] “A day after station is shut, Ugandan talk show host is arrested,” Committee for the Protection of Journalists, 12 August 2005, http://www.cpj.org/news/2005/Uganda12aug05na.html.
[13] Robert Ménard, “How to ‘kick out’ a foreign journalist,” Reporters Without Borders, April 3, 2006, http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=16911
[14] “Armed Activities on the Territory of the
[15] Wasswa, Henry “Will
[16] Human Rights Watch “ICC/DRC: Second War Crimes Suspect to Face Justice in
[17] Patrick, Erin “Little Protection in ‘Protected Villages’: IDPs in
[18] “Uganda Floods,” Web Source: Logic Cluster, [Retrieved 18 November, 2007], http://www.logcluster.org/uganda-floods.
[19] Pflanz, Mike. “
[20]
[21] Isingoma, John. “Word on the Street: Government Redistribution of Land” 25 August 2006, http://www.ugpulse.com/articles/daily/homepage.asp?ID=483.
[22] BBC NEWS. “Deaths in
[23] Kasasira, Risdel. “MPs decline to give Madhavan land in Acholi,” Monitor, 6 October 2007, http://allafrica.com/stories/200710080264.html.
[25] AP News, “Armed Congo Groups Accused of War Crimes,” 10 August 2004, http://www.peacewomen.org/news/DRC/Aug04/warcrimes.html.
[26] Kalyegira Timothy. “Political implication of the
0 comments:
Post a Comment