ugnet_: "We are perfecting the art of KILLING"!-Museveni boasted!
"You will hear what will happen to Kony in three weeks," he said. "We are perfecting the art of killing," Mr Museveni boasted, prompting delegates to murmur. Rwanda can't cross border - Museveni By Ssemujju Ibrahim Nganda April 1, 2003 President Yoweri Museveni yesterday told the Movement National Conference (NC) that he does not mind Rwanda deploying its soldiers at the border with Uganda. "Nobody can cross that border," Mr Museveni said yesterday while responding to submissions made by the NC delegates meeting at the International Conference Centre in Kampala. He said the Uganda Peoples Defence Forces (UPDF) would stay in their barracks despite Rwanda's reported deployment near the Uganda border. He said that Ugandans should not get worried as long as the Rwandan troops remain inside their country. A delegate from the home area of renegade UPDF officer Lt. Col. Anthony Kyakabale asked Mr Museveni to allow local leaders there to persuade him to return from exile in Rwanda. "We don't want war," the delegate said. "Get in touch with him. After all he has not killed. If we have forgiven [Mr Joseph] Kony, who has killed, what about Kyakabale?" Mr Museveni said. He cited the Amnesty Law which allows rebels and insurgents like the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) leader, Mr Kony, to be pardoned. Mr Museveni said Lt. Col. Kyakabale and others were taken to the DR Congo by "some people" that he did not name to fight the government of Uganda. Lt. Col. Kyakabale and several other renegade UPDF officers are living in exile in Rwanda. But yesterday, President Museveni said that the Lendu tribal militia in the DR Congo had killed many of Lt. Col. Kyakabale's recruits. Talking about rebellions in the country, a seemingly angry Mr Museveni gave Mr Kony a new deadline of three weeks to surrender or face the firepower of the UPDF. "You will hear what will happen to Kony in three weeks," he said. "We are perfecting the art of killing," Mr Museveni boasted, prompting delegates to murmur. "Killing bandits," the president quickly qualified his statement. Talking about the alleged mistreatment of Movement supporters in Kampala by multiparty leaders, Mr Museveni said that the police and local administration should deal with the problem. He told Ms Mariam Kiwanuka Namayanja (from the Vice President's office) that mistreatment of the Movement's supporters is not a strong reason to oppose a return to competitive multiparty politics. Mr Museveni was accompanied by his wife Janet. The president recalled telling the former Electoral Commission chairman Hajji Aziz Kasujja to computerise the voter registers to eliminate rigging but the project fell through. Mr Museveni said he has again asked the new EC Chairman, Prof. Badru Kiggundu, to ensure the computerised voters register is ready for the 2006 general elections. Mr Museveni said that he also knows of Movement supporters who rigged in the 2001 elections. "But it was much less," he said. According to the president, the opposition massively rigged the elections in Kampala. Mr Museveni, who presided over the NC meeting, allowed all delegates representing interest groups to read out their memoranda except the army and police. "The army and police wanted to say something but I would discourage them because of the phase we are entering," he said. He said the army should concentrate on defeating Mr Kony. "That would be enough contribution. The police should also concentrate on controlling crime," Mr Museveni said. "Once we open up, the army and intelligence services should stay out [of politics]." He said that the security organs are supposed to serve all people. Former President Godfrey Binaisa said that Baganda should give up their demand that Kampala should once again become part of Buganda. The former president said that Buganda should also come down on its other demands. He said Buganda should be granted federal status without being burdened to persuade other regions to accept the arrangement. More than 50 delegates who spoke over the two days proposed a third term for Mr Museveni and supported the idea of freeing political parties. The Young Movement Association praised Minister of Local Government Jaberi Bidandi Ssali for igniting the debate on freeing political parties. Protect your PC - Click here for McAfee.com VirusScan Online
ugnet_: PRES. BUSH- THE NEW NERO
Bush - The New NeroBy Francois de BernardHa-aretz Daily3-31-3 'The American President is personally suffering from a paranoid psychosis...' A new pathology is ravaging the city. It has taken control of the neurons of the empire. First it infected the emperor himself and then it was transmitted to his oligarchs. First it took control of the center and now it is shaking the peripheries, from north to south and from east to west. Now, at the height of its fury, the incredulity has given way to stupor. This is the feeling that is giving rise to an unbearable and diffuse malaise among "experts" as well as among "ordinary citizens." This is an indisputable intuition, which has been persistently rejected because it is unacceptable. How can we admit that we have returned to the worst hours of the Roman Empire, those that bear the tragic seal of Caligula and Nero? How is it possible now, in our day, when supposedly there is the most comprehensive application of "democracy" in the history of humanity, to accept the idea that the most "developed," wealthy and powerful nation in the world has a leadership that has come down with a devastating psychosis? Indeed, everything is impelling us to minimize the gravity of this matter, insofar as possible. But the time has come for us to open our eyes. The time has come to forget the old idea - forged during the course of two centuries - of the United States as the bridgehead of the "free world" and "democracy." The reality that we are trying to keep at a distance is that the United States has become a theocracy and a pathocracy. It has become a theocracy because nearly all the important decisions of President George W. Bush's administration are taken "in the name of God" - an angry and vengeful God, not a God of love and compassion - and because this system is not encountering any serious opposition on the part of the legislative and legal institutions, not to mention the media. We are Democracy, by the will of our angry God, and our role is to promote it in His name and for His sake. The fact that this democracy has only a marginal and metaphorical connection to 2,5000 years of political tradition is of no importance. The self-definition and the self-justification are the two breasts of the empire. Just as the United Nations is a negligible factor that can be ignored when it opposes our plans, we were established in order to impose on the rest of the world the idea of democracy that corresponds only to our convictions. For two years now - and increasingly since September 11, 2001, there has been a great deal of focus in the discourse on the subject of "good and evil" and the strategy derived from it with respect to the "axis of evil." This has generally been based on the return, in full force, of the primitive moralizing that runs through a large part of the political and intellectual history of the United States. But in fact, it is something of an entirely different nature. It is the brutal transformation of an oligarchic republic tinged with democracy into a republic that is essentially theocratic. If we realize this, then it is possible to understand that everything becomes possible from the point of view of Bush's administration, from the rejection of the Kyoto treaty to the perpetuation of the death penalty, from the attempt to marginalize the UN to the approaching exit from the World Trade Organization, from the war in Afghanistan to the war in Iraq. But the United States has also become a pathocracy, that is, a regime that is neurotic in essence, the leaders of which are, quite simply, psychopaths. I offer the hypothesis that the American president is personally suffering from a paranoid psychosis and that the quartet he has formed with Vice President Dick Cheney, National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld constitutes a government that is both theocratic and pathocratic. Therefore we must not slip into the ordinary plaint that claims: "He's crazy, they're all crazy." It is necessary to understand the extent to which the new Emperor, his principal advisers and those who carry out his directives have brought the most disturbing pathology into the heart of the world empire. In order to judge w
ugnet_: TONNY BLAIR, THE WAR CRIMINAL
Blair, the war criminal Tam DalyellMy constituency Labour party has just voted to recommend that Tony Blair reconsider his position as party leader because he gave British backing to a war against Iraq without clearly expressed support from the UN. I agree with this motion. I also believe that since Mr Blair is going ahead with his support for a US attack without unambiguous UN authorisation, he should be branded as a war criminal and sent to The Hague. I have served in the House of Commons as a Labour member for 41 years, and I would never have dreamed of saying this about any one of my previous leaders. But Blair is a man who has disdain for both the House of Commons and international law. This is a grave thing to say about my leader. But it is far less serious than the results of a war that could set western Christendom against Islam. The overwhelming majority of international lawyers, including several who advise the government (such as Rabinder Singh, a partner in Cherie Booth's Matrix Chambers), have concluded that military action in Iraq without proper UN security council authorisation is illegal under international law. The Foreign Office's deputy legal adviser, Elizabeth Wilmhurst, resigned on precisely this point after 30 years' service. This puts the prime minister and those who will be fighting in his and President Bush's name in a vulnerable legal position. Already lawyers are getting phone calls from anxious members of the armed forces. Blair accuses opponents of war of "appeasement" - in spite of the fact that, in many cases, their active opposition to Saddam's dictatorship well predates his. (I signed the 1987 early day motion against arms exports to Iraq. Blair and Gordon Brown didn't.) If anyone is the "appeaser" it is Blair, in his support for the US government's pre-emptive attack on Saddam. I am not anti-American. I was a member of the executive of the British-American parliamentary group. I share at one remove four times over a grandmother with Harry S Truman, and I hope to attend the celebrations in Missouri in May to mark the anniversary of his birthday. But many in this country think the fundamentalists now running the White House are using Blair's support as a fig leaf against their critics. It is useful for these people to say to their opponents: "But a British Labour prime minister supports us." If Britain had made it clear months ago that we would not be party to a US attack on Iraq, US public opinion itself might have stopped this war. Many in the Labour party believe Blair has misunderstood the pressing danger. It comes not from Iraq, but from terrorism. If there is a link between al-Qaida and Saddam Hussein, it is this: Osama bin Laden hates Saddam Hussein. On at least two occasions Bin Laden's organisation has tried to assassinate Saddam. The effect of this war, however, could well be to bring the pair together. This is a war that will strengthen terrorism. I don't think that Blair really understands the horrors of modern-day warfare. In 1994 I visited Baghdad (all expenses paid by me) and saw the carbonated limbs of women and children who had been impregnated against a wall by the heat of just one cruise missile. In the current war, hundreds of cruise missiles have been launched just to soften up the enemy. We are told that the US intends to use incapacitating bio-chemical and depleted-uranium weapons. We are receiving information that the it intends to use war in Iraq as an opportunity to test out a range of weapons: cluster aviation bombs with self-guided munitions and pulse bombs being examples. The UN was created in response to the indiscriminate horror of modern warfare in the 1940s. The UN's charter describes its role as saving "future generations from the scourge of war". Surely that means that all those who claim to uphold the UN charter should pursue peaceful solutions to their limits? The draft work plans of the UN weapons inspectorate make clear that the inspectors believed they could have made real progress down their non-violent path to disarmament. The Labour party will not tolerate a leader who takes the country into an avoidable war. As Napoleon and Hitler found with the snow at the gates of Moscow, so Blair and Bush might find that the biggest weapon of mass destruction they encounter, before the gates of Baghdad, is the sun. They might be wise to pull out troops now, before they are cooked in the sands of the desert while laying seige to the city. They may lose political face; but the careers of Bush and Blair are of little consequence compared to environmental mayhem and military agony. · Tam Dalyell is Labour MP for Linlithgow and Father of the House of Commons. A longer version of this article appears in Red Pepper magazine. The Mulindwas Communication Group"With Yoweri Museveni Uganda is in Anarchy" Le groupe de transmission de Mulindwas " avec Yowe
ugnet_: US WANTS TO PRIVATIZE IRAQ'S OIL
Read The Small Print - US Wants To Privatize Iraq's Oil No One Here Believes This Is A Humanitarian WarBy Jonathan Steele in DamascusThe Guardian - UK3-31-3 In this highly-politicised city where anger over the invasion of Iraq alternates with pride in the resistance, there is one sure way to lighten the mood. Suggest that George Bush and Tony Blair launched their war because of Saddam Hussein's suspected weapons of mass destruction. Hoots of derision all round. Whether they are Syrians or members of the huge Iraqi exile community, everyone here believes this is a war for oil. In nearby Jordan and across the Arab world the view is the same. Some suggest a second motive - Washington's desire to strengthen Israel. Under one theory US hawks want to break Iraq into several statelets and then do the same with Saudi Arabia, to confirm the Zionist state as the region's superpower. Others cite Donald Rumsfeld's recent comments about Iran and Syria as proof that war on Iraq is designed to frighten its neighbours, who happen to be the leading radicals in the anti-Zionist camp. Oil is the war aim on which all Arabs agree. While the Palestinian intifada is resistance to old-fashioned colonialism with its seizure and settlement of other people's land, they see the Iraqi intifada as popular defence against a more modern phenomenon. Washington does not need to settle Iraqi land, but it does want military bases and control of oil. Many Arabs already define this neo-colonial war as a historic turning point which might have as profound an effect on the Arab psyche as September 11 did on Americans. Arabs have long been accustomed to seeing Israeli tanks running rampant. Now the puppet-master, arrogant and unashamed, has sent his helicopter gunships and armoured vehicles to Arab soil. The US has mounted numerous coups in the Middle East to topple regimes in Egypt, Iran and Iraq itself. It has used crises, like the last Gulf war, to gain temporary bases and make them permanent. In Lebanon it once shelled an Arab capital and landed several hundred marines. But never before has it sent a vast army to change an Arab government. Even in Latin America, in two centuries of US hegemony, Washington has never dared to mount a full-scale invasion to overthrow a ruler in a major country. Its interventions in the Caribbean and Central America from 1898 to 1990 were against weak opponents in small states. Three years into the new millennium, the enormity of the shift and the impact of the spectacle on Arab television viewers cannot be over-estimated. Is it an image of the past or future, they ask, a one-off throw-back to Vietnam or a taste of things to come? Blair sensed Arab suspicions about the fate of Iraq's oil when he persuaded Bush at their Azores summit to produce a "vision for Iraq" which pledged to protect its natural resources (they shrank from using the O word) as a "national asset of and for the Iraqi people". No neo-colonialism here. Unfortunately, the small print is different, as could be expected from an administration run by oilmen. Leaks from the state department's "future of Iraq" office show Washington plans to privatise the Iraqi economy and particularly the state-owned national oil company. Experts on its energy panel want to start with "downstream" assets like retail petrol stations. This would be a quick way to gouge money from Iraqi consumers. Later they would privatise exploration and development. Even if majority ownership were restricted to Iraqis, Russia's grim experience of energy privatisation shows how a new class of oil magnates quickly send their profits to offshore banks. If the interests of all Iraqis are to be protected, it would be better to keep state control and modify the UN oil-for-food programme, which has been a relatively efficient and internationally supervised way of channelling revenues to the country's poor. Drop the controls on Iraq's imports of industrial goods. End the rule that all food under the programme has to be imported, thereby penalis ing Iraqi farmers and benefiting rich exporters in Canada, Australia and the US. But maintain the programme for several years to keep helping the 60% of Iraqis who depend on subsidised food (it will be more after this war) rather than channel revenues to a n
ugnet_: IRAQ PEACE SUMMIT FOR GULU- UGANDA
Iraq Peace Summit For Gulu By Vision reporter A peace summit will be held later this week at a secret location in northern Uganda to bring together Presidents George W Bush and Saddam Hussein in a last ditch effort to stop the war in Iraq. Former President Clinton who visited Uganda during his term of office has organised the top-secret meeting. Northern Uganda has been chosen because of its secluded position and because the airport can handle large airplanes. Prime Ministers Tony Blair and Aznar, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan and high-ranking delegations from France, Germany, Russia, China, and the Arab League are expected to attend. Former President Carter is already on site as moderator since he has previously been involved with the Kony peace negotiations. British development secretary Clare Short is also expected to make a special effort to bring Presidents Museveni and Kagame together at the summit. Tour companies are organising trips to Murchison Falls to demonstrate that negative travel advisories about Uganda are misleading. Embassy sources have declined to comment since the date is April 1. Ends The Mulindwas Communication Group"With Yoweri Museveni Uganda is in Anarchy" Le groupe de transmission de Mulindwas " avec Yoweri Museveni, Ouganda est dans anarchy "
ugnet_: A CHANGE OF STRATEGY
US Looks To Night Operations To Avoid Iraq HeatBy Will Dunham3-31-3 WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. and British forces may be compelled to fight at night because of the searing heat if the war in Iraq drags on into late spring or early summer, analysts said on Monday. The troops could also risk heat stroke on the battlefield if they don full-body chemical warfare suits in soaring temperatures. Every day that passes raises the chances that the invading armies will have to fight in the heat expected to come to Iraq, particularly southern Iraq, starting in late April and May. "It's only logical that the senior leadership wants to avoid large-scale operations in extreme weather conditions. You just don't want to do it. It's incredibly hard on the troops," said retired U.S. Marine Corps Col. Phil Anderson, an analyst with the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "Once it heats up to 100-plus degrees (Fahrenheit), it's going to make things very, very difficult." The average daily high temperature in Iraq in May is 96 degrees, rising to 105 degrees in June. Air Force Gen. Richard Myers, chairman of the military's Joint Chiefs of Staff, has said U.S. forces are capable of fighting in any weather, but said nighttime operations could be used in order to avoid the heat of the day. U.S. officials also have made the point that the Iraqis would have to fight in the same heat as the American and British forces invading Iraq. "There is no doubt that -- no matter what time of year -- we can fight and prevail," Myers said in remarks before the war began. But he said combat in the brutal temperatures that can occur in the Iraqi desert might prove difficult, particularly if U.S. troops had to be outfitted in restrictive, full-body suits to protect against chemical or biological weapons. "We will do better in that (summer desert) environment than any potential adversary. And part of that is enabled by the fact that we can fight at night," Myers said. "We are as good at night as we are in the daytime. That is not true of most forces and it would give us a tremendous edge." The threat of suffering heat stroke and dehydration may be particularly acute if U.S. and British soldiers are compelled to don the protective outfits to guard against any Iraqi use of chemical weapons such as nerve gas or biological weapons such as anthrax, Anderson said. 'IT'S UNBEARABLE' He noted that the protective suit is not porous -- "it doesn't breathe" -- and comes equipped with a hood and mask. "Having worn that gear for extended periods of time, often times in very warm climates, you reach a point where it's unbearable. Then you have heat casualties," Anderson said. Military analyst Loren Thompson of the Lexington Institute said one advantage of the heat in the event of an Iraqi attack with chemicals is that such weapons generally evaporate more quickly in the heat. "Chemical agents are less persistent in heat than they are in cooler weather," Thompson said. One way to evade the heat is with operations in the relative cool of the night. Analysts said the U.S. military uses the best thermal and infrared night-vision equipment in the world, which can make extensive night operations possible. "We own the night," Anderson said. Analysts said armored vehicles including the M1-A1 and M1-A2 tanks and the Bradley Fighting Vehicle are equipped with this technology, and individual soldiers and Marines have night-vision goggles. Thompson said the desire by U.S. commanders to avoid fighting in the heat already has had an impact on war strategy. He said that after Turkey denied access to its bases for U.S. ground troops to invade Iraq from the north, U.S. General Tommy Franks had to decide between two options for opening a northern front in the war. Thompson said the first option was to move a heavy armored force into Iraq that could not be in place until late spring, when temperatures already could approach 100 degrees. The second option was to insert a light ground force of paratroopers that could be put in place without waiting but would not have the same level of firepower.
ugnet_: PETER ARNETT HAS A JOB
Daily Mirror - UK Hires Fired NBC Reporter Peter Arnett3-31-3 LONDON (Reuters) - The Daily Mirror says it has hired veteran U.S reporter Peter Arnett, sacked by American TV network NBC after he told Iraqi television the U.S, war plan against Saddam Hussein had failed. "I report the truth of what is happening in Baghdad and will not apologise for it," he told the tabloid newspaper, one of the most prominent opponents of Britain's involvement in the war. Arnett, 68, who as a CNN reporter in 1991 was one of the few western journalists reporting from Baghdad during the previous Gulf War, said in an interview on Sunday with state-owned Iraqi TV that the U.S. military would need to rewrite its war plan. "I am still in shock and awe at being fired," New Zealand-born Arnett -- who won a Pulitzer prize for his Vietnam War coverage -- wrote under the banner headline "This war's NOT working." The Mulindwas Communication Group"With Yoweri Museveni Uganda is in Anarchy" Le groupe de transmission de Mulindwas " avec Yoweri Museveni, Ouganda est dans anarchy "
ugnet_: THE NUMBERS ARE COMMING IN
Twenty Iraqi Civilians Killed As US Hits Farm3-31-3 (AFP) -- Twenty people, including 11 children, were killed Saturday when a nighttime air raid hit a farm near Baghdad, relatives told AFP. Another 10 people were wounded in the attack, according to relatives who survived the bombardment, which destroyed three homes in the Al-Janabiin suburb on the edge of Baghdad. They said the dead also included seven women and two men belonging to five families. The two survivors were the only residents to escape unharmed from the ruins of the homes, according to an AFP journalist on the scene Monday. The Mulindwas Communication Group"With Yoweri Museveni Uganda is in Anarchy" Le groupe de transmission de Mulindwas " avec Yoweri Museveni, Ouganda est dans anarchy "
RE: ugnet_: Neither Museveni nor Nec can free political parties
“..I nurse the conviction that the limitation of the number of presidential terms is an American innovation that militates against the fundamental principles of parliamentary democracy” Wrote Paul Waibale Sr If only present and future Ugandan leaders practice the fundamental principles of parliamentary democracy, I would not have a problem with that. If our parliamentary democracy proves to be short-sighted and endorse a no-term limit and give Museveni and other future leaders life terms, they will take Uganda back in the days of kijambiaism. Our democracy is still determined by who has the bigger gun. The road to the State House is still decorated with citizens’ blood. Even after becoming a victor on the populist’s horse, victims continue to paint the country red with blood. The number of victims created during the fight to the state house more than double when the election campaign are done. Once again, our lose democracy still needs a term limit …. Just to limit the times an incumbent can rig himself or herself to power. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God; for it is written, " Vegence is mine, I will repay, says the Lord". No, "if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals upon his head". Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Romans 12:19-21 -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Monday, March 31, 2003 12:17 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: ugnet_: Neither Museveni nor Nec can free political parties Neither Museveni Nor NEC Can Free Parties THE WRITER: Paul Waibale Senior Recent newspaper headlines proclaiming that President Museveni has “released political parties” or urged the Movement’s National Executive Committee (NEC) to release them are technically misleading. While, in my submission, the inappropriate attribution of facts is, by and large, a consequence of semantic pit-falls, it would be impertinent to let it pass without comment. One obvious misconception created by that linguistic misappropriation is the false conclusion that it was either President Museveni or NEC, or both, that “locked up” political parties, and have, therefore, both the duty and authority to release them. Interestingly, neither Museveni nor NEC has the key to open for the political parties the door that was locked by Article 269 of the Constitution. A referendum is the key provided by the constitution for unlocking that door. Museveni has, quite correctly, in my view, categorically advised that a referendum is the proper way to proceed. It is pertinent to point out that the recent judgement of the constitutional court, which declared null and void two articles in the recently enacted law on political organisations, has no effect at all on the constitutional provision embodied in article 269 which demarcates the perimeter within which political parties have to operate. Given that situation, all that President Museveni and NEC can do to enhance the process of releasing political parties” (if I may borrow that rather crude terminology) is to actively mount a campaign to have article 269 expunged from the constitution. But that has to be in compliance with the prescribed method. Consequently, advancing the argument that there is no need for referendum merely because two articles in the political organisations law have been declared null and void is, to put it mildly, the height of folly. I am intrigued by President Museveni’s contribution to the so-called third term debate in which he suggested that the whole concept of limiting a president stay in office to a specific number of terms, be it two or 10, should be abolished. He contends that a president’s stay in office should be determined exclusively by the electorate rather than technicalities in the law. I have a lot of sympathy for President Museveni’s proposal. I nurse the conviction that the limitation of the number of presidential terms is an American innovation that militates against the fundamental principles of parliamentary democracy. In fact, it was an after thought that crept into the American constitution after one President wanted to contest for a fourth term after serving three consecutive ones. Interestingly, developing countries, particularly in Africa have blindly adopted that system and cultivated the false view that it symbolises democracy. Britain, which is regarded to be the world’s cradle of democracy does not have any such limitation. So long as somebody has the endorsement of the party he leads and that party has the ability to win elections any number of times, he or she will remain the occupant of 10 Downing Street. By that shroud combination, Margaret Thacher remained the Prime Minister of Britain for a good 12 years. Incidentally, the Frech and the Germans do not have limitations regarding the n
ugnet_: DEAR PRIME MINISTER BLAIR
Dear Prime Minister BlairFrom Tom Smart[EMAIL PROTECTED]3-31-3 Dear Prime Minister, As the 'liberation' of Iraqi people turns into a Jihad against the invaders, I am becoming increasingly concerned about the direction we are heading. I was extremely suspicious of the apparent rush to war by US and UK but gave you my benefit of doubt hoping that War will be over quickly and 'oppressed' people of Iraq would be grateful to us. Now that 100s of Allied soldiers are losing their lives, and ordinary people of Iraq rise up against all our might and superior technological weapons, I am becoming very concerned. I see our troops being stuck there, as this is fast becomes another Vietnam. Yanks have already lost their respect in the world and screwed their economy; UK seems to be heading the same way. France and Russia have played an Ace by apposing this war and staying well clear. They are now seen as the good guys and will no doubt benefit over the years from contracts in the Middle East. In fact, I believe these two have framed us and are secretly helping Iraqis plan this war. Details of all our casualties seem to be coming in pictures from Al Jazeera TV and later confirmed by Allies when they have no other choice but to admit the losses. What about places were there are no cameras? WE WANT TO KNOW THE TRUTH, I AM FED WITH THEATRE-LIKE PRESS CONFERENCES COMING FROM YOU AND MR BUSH. If the bastards don't wish to be liberated, stuff them. We are seen to be killing the same people that we are meant to be liberating. How long can it go on? Opposition amongst Iraqi people is growing not reducing. Even if Saddam is killed, I can see this going on, even stronger if anything. As I approach my retirement, I am petrified with my deteriorating financial situation. Stock market crash has already eaten into my Savings and Endowment policy. Talking to my colleagues and friends, everyone is worried about the mis-information coming out of US and UK establishments is further deceiving and frightening the public. For example News like: * Umm Qasr has been taken (March 22). * Most Iraqis soldiers will not fight for Saddam and instead are surrendering in droves (March 22). * Iraqi citizens are greeting Americans as liberators (March 22). * An entire division of 8,000 Iraqi soldiers surrendered en masse near Basra (March 23). * Several Scud missiles, banned weapons, have been launched against U.S. forces in Kuwait (March 23). * Saddam's Fedayeen militia are few in number and do not pose a serious threat (March 23). * Basra has been taken (March 23). * Umm Qasr has been taken (March 23). * A captured chemical plant likely produced chemical weapons (March 23). * Nassiriya has been taken (March 23). * Umm Qasr has been taken (March 24). * The Iraqi government faces a "major rebellion" of anti-Saddam citizens in Basra (March 24). * A convoy of 1,000 Iraqi vehicles and Republican Guards are speeding south from Baghdad to engage U.S. troops and later destroyed.(March 25). We must get out of this shit hole ASAP. Are you big enough to admit that you got it wrong and resign? The new government or PM can then stop the war and bring our troops back home. Thank You Tom The Mulindwas Communication Group"With Yoweri Museveni Uganda is in Anarchy" Le groupe de transmission de Mulindwas " avec Yoweri Museveni, Ouganda est dans anarchy "
ugnet_: RESIDENTS OF BASRA AIN'T GOING ANY WHERE
Basra Residents Hold Off US-UK - Siege Drags OnBy Michael Georgy3-31-3 BASRA, Iraq (Reuters) - Shells pound Basra's crowded neighborhoods every night. British tanks rumble on the city's edge. Black smoke rises from oil pipelines while Iraqis watch their most precious commodity burn away. But residents of Iraq's second city said they can withstand the U.S.-British siege for months, raising questions over how long the troops can stay on the outskirts before launching an offensive. "It is really no problem for us. Basra is functioning normally. We feel some pressure but we can stay like this for a long time," said Ahmed, one city resident. Allied troops had expected to sweep through southern Iraq in a war to topple Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. But they have found resistance tougher than expected. U.S. and British troops control highways around Basra but they have not managed to penetrate the city despite aerial bombardment and artillery fire. The siege has failed to break Basra residents, suggesting Iraqis are not about to capitalize on the presence of foreign troops and rise up against Saddam loyalists, a move that would normally mean certain death. Basra is home to many of Iraq's Shiites, who say they have been persecuted and killed by Saddam's Baath party for decades. So allied troops may have thought military pressure would spark an uprising after decades of fear. But there are no signs of unrest here or other southern towns, where a Shiite revolt was crushed in the 1991 Gulf War after the Americans encouraged a rebellion and then left. "Basra will only fall when Baghdad falls," said Ahmed Hassan. "There is no other way. The militias are still here, there are members of the army operating." RESIDENTS STAY PUT While some people have left the city, most residents have stayed put and say pro-Saddam militias are operating in Basra confidently or firing at U.S. and British troops from sprawling shanty towns around the city. Hundreds of Iraqis in cars cross through checkpoints to leave Basra everyday. But they return a few hours later after visiting relatives in nearby towns. Those who try to leave for more pressing reasons such as medical needs are often turned back, fueling the growing anger over British and U.S. troops, who have tightened security. "If you don't let me through I will hate the Americans and British," said Adil Hussein, who was pleading with a British soldier to let him through to get treatment for an ulcer. "We only treat victims of war wounds," he was told. Basra's residents, meanwhile, carry on with life in a country which has suffered from three major wars since the 1980s. After shells land, Basra residents leave their homes to survey the damage or predict where the next one will crash, one of the only ways to pass time in electricity blackouts. When they are not shopping in bustling local markets or trading goods, Iraqis discuss skyrocketing vegetable prices. Others even make time for a drink, transporting boxes of whiskey across the Basra bridge. Even if allied troops eventually capture Basra, its residents say any attempts to impose rulers favored by Washington or London will backfire. "No way we will accept this. They think they can just come here and choose our leaders? That's when the machine guns will be all over the streets," said Muhammad. The Mulindwas Communication Group"With Yoweri Museveni Uganda is in Anarchy" Le groupe de transmission de Mulindwas " avec Yoweri Museveni, Ouganda est dans anarchy "
ugnet_: RWANDA USES INTERNATIONAL FUNDS TO FINANCE MILITARY REPRESSION........
Rwanda Uses International Funds to Finance Military Repression in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) Press Release Contact: CIDES(*) Phone: 202-390 5122 E-mail:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Washington, DC, March 31, 2003 - The Head of the Convention of Democratic and Social Institutions (CIDES) in the Congo (DRC) is determined to lead his political party to free elections (2005). In a letter dated March 26 to Mr. Calisto Madavo, the Vice President of the World Bank for Africa, to Kofi Annan Secretary general of UN and to Assistant Secretary of State Walter Kansteiner, he criticizes Rwanda's use of development funds provided by the international community, including the World Bank, IMF, and the British Government, as well as the illegal exploitation of resources to finance military repression and surrogate rebel forces in the Congo. Mr. Ngalamulume claims that the multi-billion dollar looting of DRC's resources, as well as military aggression, continue despite earlier reports of a complete withdrawal of Rwandan and Ugandan troops from the Congo. Only when these foreign forces stop their looting and miltary intervention, will a smooth political and economic transition be possible. A United Nations investigation has recently found that (1) the Rwandan Defense Force has recovered some US$320 million a year from commercial operations in eastern Congo; (2) both Rwanda and Uganda are involved in fuelling the fighting by delivering new weapons to local militias; and (3) the resources demonstrate that there is a risk of fresh hostilities breaking out on Congolese between these foreign armies for control of a strip of mineral-rich territory in ITURI. Therefore, the financial donors have failed to exercise appropriate diligence in insisting on non-military use as part of their funding conditions, which has made the donors complicit with the acts of the Rwandan leadership," added Mr. Ngalamulume. The presidential candidate is launching a formal protest of the ongoing international financing of Rwanda's military repression, destruction, killing and pillage in the eastern provinces of DRC and states that, "Over time it has become clear that the budgetary support received by Rwanda from the World Bank, the IMF, the government of the UK and other foreign sources has been used to finance the destructive aggression against my country. And the people of the eastern Congo, as well as the entire population of the DRC, are outraged at the support being given to the government of Rwanda to the detriment of the millions of my fellow citizens. The time has comes, says Ngalamulume, to put an end to the fighting in the DRC and to bring about democratic change. He is appealing to the international Community to quickly remedy the situation and support smooth political transition. A. Cathy Press Attachée (*) CIDES is a non-armed opposition political party. Its member are the generation of the new political thinkers in the DRC who understand the need to establish a stable legal infrastructure, to create a climate for economic growth and to ensure the protection of investment assets. CIDES is working to provide a democratic alternative The Mulindwas Communication Group"With Yoweri Museveni Uganda is in Anarchy" Le groupe de transmission de Mulindwas " avec Yoweri Museveni, Ouganda est dans anarchy "
ugnet_: A MARINE DOLPHINE HAS DEFECTED TO IRAQ
Takoma the dolphin is AwolFrom Daniel McGrory in Umm Qasr THE US Marines have suffered an embarrassment with reports last night that one of their most prized investigators may have defected. Takoma, the Atlantic bottle-nosed dolphin, had been in Iraq for 48 hours when he went missing on his first operation to snoop out mines. His handler, Petty Officer Taylor Whitaker, had proudly showed off Takomas skills and told how the 22-year-old dolphin was among the most pampered creatures in the American military. Takoma and his fellow mine hunters have a special diet, regular medical checks and their own sleeping quarters, which is more than can be said for the vast majority of the military whose domestic arrangements are basic, to say the least. The wayward Takoma set out on the first mission with his comrade, Makai, watched by the cameras as the pair of dolphins somersaulted over the inflatable dinghy carrying their handlers. Takomas role was to sweep the way clear for the arrival of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary, Sir Galahad. US officials had said that dolphins, first used in Vietnam, were a far better bet than all the technology on board the flotilla of ships. Petty Officer Whitaker had tempted fate by saying: Why would they go missing when they have the best food and daily spruce-ups and health checks? Two hours later Takoma had gone Awol. Twenty-four hours is not unusual, a nervous Petty Officer Whitaker said. After all, he may meet some local company. Takoma has now been missing for 48 hours and the solitary figure of Petty Officer Whitaker could be seen yesterday patting the water, calling his name and offering his favourite fish, but there was no response. The Mulindwas Communication Group"With Yoweri Museveni Uganda is in Anarchy" Le groupe de transmission de Mulindwas " avec Yoweri Museveni, Ouganda est dans anarchy "
ugnet_: 2 UK SOLDIERS HAVE REFUSED TO FIGHT
UK soldiers sent home from Iraq 'for refusing to fight' Two British soldiers have been sent home from the Gulf for refusing to fight in a war involving the deaths of civilians, according to a solicitor who advises troops. Justin Hugheston-Roberts says the soldiers from 16 Air Assault Brigade, based in Colchester, Essex, told their commanding officers they would not take part in the military action. Mr Hugheston-Roberts, chairman of Forces Law, said they could be thrown out of the Army or have to face a court martial. It is understood they are a private and an air technician. Mr Hugheston-Roberts said his organisation, which links service personnel with specialist solicitors across the country, had been approached by a number of people serving in the current conflict. He said: "We had a number of enquiries from services personnel saying we want to leave now. I am acting for a client who was returned from theatre a matter of a couple of weeks ago. "In previous conflicts we have had all personnel from all aspects of the military contact the network and find out how they can get out of the services. Normally this is just prior to the conflict." He said he could not comment further on his client who has been returned from the Gulf, but said the case was "completely dissimilar" to that of the two soldiers. A spokeswoman from the Ministry of Defence said: "We have no evidence that anybody has been sent back for refusing to fight. "We do get soldiers sent back all the time from theatre for various reasons such as medical, welfare and disciplinary things that need to be dealt with back in the units." Personnel serving in the Gulf from 16 Air Assault Brigade include 3rd Battalion The Parachute Regiment, 216 Signal Squadron and 16 Close Support Medical Regiment. The Mulindwas Communication Group"With Yoweri Museveni Uganda is in Anarchy" Le groupe de transmission de Mulindwas " avec Yoweri Museveni, Ouganda est dans anarchy "
ugnet_: “We are perfecting the art of killing,” Mr Museveni boasted,..what a quote!
“You will hear what will happen to Kony in three weeks,” he said. “We are perfecting the art of killing,” Mr Museveni boasted, prompting delegates to murmur. “Killing bandits,” the president quickly qualified his statement. "In the time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act" --George Orwell--
ugnet_: US Warns Syria and Iran Against Meddling in Iraq
US Warns Syria and Iran Against Meddling in IraqAgence France PresseWASHINGTON, 29 March 2003 - US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld yesterdayissued a dire warning to Tehran and Damascus to steer clear of Iraq,claiming military equipment had crossed into the country from Syria andIran-based rebels."We have information that shipments of military supplies have been crossing theborder from Syria into Iraq, including night vision goggles," he said ata Pentagon news conference. "These deliveries pose a direct threat to the livesof coalition forces. We consider such trafficking as hostile acts andwill hold the Syrian government accountable for such shipments," he said.He declined to say whether the Syrian government was behind the shipments,butstressed: "They control their border. We're hopeful that kind of thing does nothappen again," he said."There is no question but that to the extent mil! itary supplies, equipment orpeople move borders between Iraq and Syria that it vastly complicates oursituation," he said.He also said that hundreds of Iranian-backed Iraqi rebels had been seen cominginto Iraq, in reference to the Badr Corps, the military wing of the SupremeCouncil on Islamic Revolution in Iraq, the main Iran-based Iraqi oppositionmovement."The Badr Corps is trained, equipped and directed by Iran's IslamicRevolutionary Guard and we will hold the Iranian government responsible fortheir actions and will view Badr Corps activity inside Iraq as unhelpful," saidRumsfeld. "Armed Badr Corps members found in Iraq will have to be treated ascombatants," he said."We don't want neighboring countries or anyone else for that matter to be inthere assisting Iraqi forces," Rumsfeld said.Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad said yesterday that he hoped Washington wouldfail to oust Saddam Hussein.I! n an interview published in Lebanese daily As-Safir, Assad als! o predic ted that,if the United States and Britain were to take over Iraq, they would beconfronted by a "popular resistance" that would prevent them from controllingthe country.Syria, the only Arab member of the UN Security Council, voted for Resolution1441, which paved the way for the resumption of weapons inspections in Iraq.It said it did so on assurances that this would avoid a war.But as war approached, it joined China, France, Germany and Russia in preventinga new resolution specifically authorizing an attack on Iraq.Assad, never known for his diplomatic language, publicly predicted thatWashington would become bogged down in Iraq as it was in Vietnam, or forcedto abandon the country as it did in the 1980s in Lebanon, now under Syriandominance.His words made analysts wonder precisely what Syria's intentions are, especiallysince the interview was published the same day as a call by the country's muftifor ! suicide attacks against US forces.Although Syria is not included in US President Bush's "axis of evil", whichgroups Iran, Iraq and North Korea, it is still on the State Department'slist of countries supporting terrorism.And like Iran, it fears that it may be the next US target after Iraq inWashington's "war on terrorism." Mitayo Potosi Add photos to your e-mail with MSN 8. Get 2 months FREE*.
ugnet_: Fwd: Harlem Anti War March & Rally - Saturday 4/5
>Subject: Harlem Anti War March & Rally - Saturday 4/5 >Date: Mon, 31 Mar 2003 12:52:40 -0500 > >From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > >Brothers, Sisters, friends and Supporters: >US polls indicate overwhelming Black opposition to the racist and illegal war of "shock and awe" against the people of Iraq. People of African descent understand well the US doctrine of "shock and awe" terrorism to expand its empire that drips with the blood of people of color. On April 5th in the historic village of Harlem thousands of African descendants in the US along with people of color allies will raise their voices in protest against this WAR FOR OIL. We will debunk the myth that People of Color do not have a visible voice or presence in the anti-war movement. We will speak to our issues, give our analysis, and support allies without conditions. This is a historic moment for the world, and especially for people of color. It is no accident that African Americans comprise 30% of the 40% people of color serving as cannon fodder for the US military. A bleak future of minimum wage employment or the prison industrial complex drives our sons and daughters int! o the military. Instead of educating our kids public schools have become fertile ground for military recruitment while every obstacle is put in place to prevent our children from obtaining higher education. It is no accident that New York State's courts have ruled the public school system has the obligation to only provide our children with an 8th grade education. Not to mention the continued daily brutality and death of our young people at the hands of the police. If this is not enough, now they want the blood of our children to fight in the Middle East in a campaign of endless war (Iraq is only the first target in the region). ENOUGH IS ENOUGH! JOIN US ON APRIL 5TH IN HARLEM, LET US SPEAK WITH ONE VOICE. We need your endorsement and support to help mobilize the community of Harlem. > >Peace and Solidarity. >Nellie Bailey, Harlem Tenants Council > > > >A Call to All African Americans >& People of Color > >We must show the world that we stand >in opposition to this racist war in Iraq! >We stand in opposition to a war where most of our children's bodies will litter the deserts in Iraq. It is our children who are being sent to kill others due the economic draft that leaves them without jobs, decent homes, health care, quality education or protection against police brutality! It is our children and our families whose human rights continue to be violated by this racist government and big business. > >Join your sisters and brothers in Harlem >Saturday, April 5, 2003 @ 11 am >Assemble at Marcus Garvey Park at 124th St. & 5th Ave. > >March starts at 12:00 Noon >2 PM Rally at Harlem State Office Building >125th St. & Adam Clayton Powell Blvd (7th Ave.) > >Organizer: Black Solidarity Against the War Coalition; Endorsing groups (partial listing): District Council 1707:Raglan George/Executive Director, Brenda Stokley/Local 215, Victoria Mitchell//Local 107, Glenn Huff/Local 205, Norman Taylor/Local 215, Betty Powell/Local 95; NYCLAW; A.N.S.W.E.R.; Muslim American Society; Al-Awda NY/NJ; The New England Committee to Defend Palestine; Women in Islam; Council on American Islamic relations (CCAIR-NY); The Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA); Defend Palestine Committee; Vieques Support Campaign; Prolibertad; Harlem Tenants Council; Harlem Fight Back; December 12th Movement; New York City Chapter of The National Conference of Black Lawyers; New York City Metro Area Chapter of N'COBRA; Patrice Lumumba Coalition; Black Telephone Workers for Justice; New Jersey State wide Coalition for Reparations; People's Organization for Progress; Black Workers Unity Movement; Blacks Against The War, Action for Community Empowerment;! Community Justice Center; Cuba Solidarity New York; The Emergency Committee for Palestine; New Jersey Solidarity; Monica Santana/Immigrant Rights Activist; William Camacaro/Committee in Solidarity with Venezuela; Silvia Arana/Latino Collective of WBAI; La Fuerzan de la Revolucion; NY City MetroChapter of the Black Radical Congress; The Free Mumia Abu Jamal Coalition; Valentin Silverio Partido de los Trabajadores Dominicanos; Carlos Bernales (Peru) Centro Cultural Abya-Yala ; Wilson Spencer Bloque de la Izqierda Dominicana; Luis Barrios Iglesia San Romero NYC; Working Peoples Voice Collective; Women for Racial and Economic Equality (WREE); Folk Singer & Activist Matt Jones; > >For additional information visit website:www.blacksagainstwar.com or contact [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > >-- >__ >Sign-up for your own FREE Personalized E-mail at Mail.com >http://www.mail.com/?sr=signup > MSN 8 helps ELIMINATE E-MAIL VIRUSES. Get 2 months FREE*.
ugnet_: Neither Museveni nor Nec can free political parties
Neither Museveni Nor NEC Can Free Parties THE WRITER: Paul Waibale Senior Recent newspaper headlines proclaiming that President Museveni has “released political parties” or urged the Movement’s National Executive Committee (NEC) to release them are technically misleading. While, in my submission, the inappropriate attribution of facts is, by and large, a consequence of semantic pit-falls, it would be impertinent to let it pass without comment. One obvious misconception created by that linguistic misappropriation is the false conclusion that it was either President Museveni or NEC, or both, that “locked up” political parties, and have, therefore, both the duty and authority to release them. Interestingly, neither Museveni nor NEC has the key to open for the political parties the door that was locked by Article 269 of the Constitution. A referendum is the key provided by the constitution for unlocking that door. Museveni has, quite correctly, in my view, categorically advised that a referendum is the proper way to proceed. It is pertinent to point out that the recent judgement of the constitutional court, which declared null and void two articles in the recently enacted law on political organisations, has no effect at all on the constitutional provision embodied in article 269 which demarcates the perimeter within which political parties have to operate. Given that situation, all that President Museveni and NEC can do to enhance the process of releasing political parties” (if I may borrow that rather crude terminology) is to actively mount a campaign to have article 269 expunged from the constitution. But that has to be in compliance with the prescribed method. Consequently, advancing the argument that there is no need for referendum merely because two articles in the political organisations law have been declared null and void is, to put it mildly, the height of folly. I am intrigued by President Museveni’s contribution to the so-called third term debate in which he suggested that the whole concept of limiting a president stay in office to a specific number of terms, be it two or 10, should be abolished. He contends that a president’s stay in office should be determined exclusively by the electorate rather than technicalities in the law. I have a lot of sympathy for President Museveni’s proposal. I nurse the conviction that the limitation of the number of presidential terms is an American innovation that militates against the fundamental principles of parliamentary democracy. In fact, it was an after thought that crept into the American constitution after one President wanted to contest for a fourth term after serving three consecutive ones. Interestingly, developing countries, particularly in Africa have blindly adopted that system and cultivated the false view that it symbolises democracy. Britain, which is regarded to be the world’s cradle of democracy does not have any such limitation. So long as somebody has the endorsement of the party he leads and that party has the ability to win elections any number of times, he or she will remain the occupant of 10 Downing Street. By that shroud combination, Margaret Thacher remained the Prime Minister of Britain for a good 12 years. Incidentally, the Frech and the Germans do not have limitations regarding the number of terms somebody can hold the post of President. It is important for Ugandans to realise that traditions imported from outside, whether from Britain or America, have to be swallowed with a pinch of salt. If we have to choose between the Ameican system where Congress has to approve ministerial appointments or the British one where the Prime Minister’s choice is final, should depend on careful study of both systems. It should not be dictated by sentimental considerations. Be that as it may, I would, as I have indeed subscribed in the past, support the idea of abolishing the setting of minimum academic qualifications for electoral offices. The present system has precipitated forgeries by prospective candidates who produce false crtificates in a bid to beat the qualification target. Subsequently, several MPs have had their elections nullified following petitions challenging their academic qualifications. Consequently, fresh elections have to be held, and at times the displaced MP is a very capable legislator. Why waste money on holding two elections and lengthy court proceedings just because one may not have acquired the standard of education that entitles him to hold one piece of paper or another? That is not the case in Britain or the United States where school drop-outs have turned out to be great Presidents and capable Prime Ministers. If they had had such supid hinderances, Sir Winston Churchill would never have become Britain’s, perhaps greatest, Prime Minister. And Reagan would never have had the opportunity to leap from the cinema screen to White House. Ends Published on: Monday, 31st March, 2003 Email this article t
