ugnet_: MUSEVENI: FACE OF A LOST REVOLUTIONARY?
Museveni: Face of a lost revolutionary?By Mwambutsya NdebesaPosted June 1- 6, 2003...contrary to popular belief Museveni did not go to Mozambique basically for military training or fighting but as a researcher under the supervision of a then radical Zimbabwean Professor Nathan Shamunyarira, now turned conservative and supporter of life presidency for Mugabe.The recent political events in Uganda which have seen President Museveni drop his long-term comrades in politics in favour of conservative entrants is clear indicator of how Museveni the man has made a U-turn from a radical revolutionary to a conservative. As they say birds of a feather flock together. And President Yoweri Museveni has shade off the revolutionary feathers and put on the conservative ones. Just look at his latest political ideologues and you will know what I am talking about.Mr Yoweri Tibuhaburwa Museveni was born in a Banyankore/Bahororo and Judeo-Christian conservative environment in rural Kikoni village of present Ntungamo district. He was later introduced to liberal ideas at Ntare School. But what later shaped his ideological worldview was acquired at Dar-es-Salaam University. At Dar-es-Salaam, Mr Museveni was initiated and nurtured into revolutionary ideology and politics by radical scholars such as Dr. Walter Rodney a historian and Mr Clive Thomas, an economist who had brought the revolutionary tradition from Latin America the latter's home continent.Mr Museveni rose into this revolutionary tradition and became the leader of the student revolutionary society at Dar-es-Salaam University. He later went to Mozambique to do his BA research project titled "Fanonian Theory of Violence and its Verification in Mozambique." By the way contrary to popular belief Museveni did not go to Mozambique basically for military training or fighting but as a researcher under the supervision of a then radical Zimbabwean Professor Nathan Shamunyarira, now turned conservative and supporter of life presidency for Mugabe.President Museveni joined politics as a revolutionary. He was more on the left of the centre. His political ideologues were people like Mr Eriya Kategaya and Mr Amanya Mushega who were equally left of the centre, and radical revolutionaries. When NRM came into power it was revolutionary in thought and rhetoric at least at the leadership level. The NRM leadership of comrades such as Mr Bidandi Ssali and Mr Kintu Musoke was clearly nationalist in outlook and ideology.Museveni has now made a u-turn and is now in "political bed" with conservatives and tribalists rather than nationalists and radicals. At the intellectual level Museveni these days would rather fraternize with conservative intellectuals such as Prof. Apolo Nsibambi, Prof. Semakula Kiwanuka, Dr. Foster Byarugaba, etc rather than radical revolutionary intellectuals such as comrades Prof. Mahmood Mamdani, Prof. Dani Wadada-Nabudere, Prof. Fredrick Juuko, etc.On the political front the most trusted political cadres are conservatives such as Prof. Gilbert Bukenya, Gen. Moses Ali, Hajji Moses Kigongo, Mr Sam Kutesa, Mr Henry Muganwa Kajura, Hajji Naduli, etc and not nationalist radicals such as Mr Bidandi, Mr Kategaya, Mr Waphakabulo, Mr Mushega, Mr Omwony Ojok, etc. On the military front, the most trusted are the conservatives such Maj Gen. James Kazini and not radicals such as Maj Gen. Mugisha Muntu. On the mass media front, Mr Museveni would rather listen to the political advice given by ultra conservative columnists such as Mr John Nagenda rather than radical nationalists such as Mr Charles Onyango-Obbo or veteran nationalist journalists such as Mr Wafula Oguttu. On the diplomatic front, the most fraternized with are no longer radical states such as North Korea and China but conservative ones such as USA and UK.We are now witnessing Mr Museveni and some conservative populist cadres taking centre stage in forming the party. The NRM party being formed, one can conclude is a conservative party led by an alliance of conservative, tribal, anarchist and populist forces. The process of founding the NRM party has been purged of nationalists and radicals who have been replaced by conservatives, tribalists and populists. The nationalist ideology is no longer the guiding principle.Judging from the new cabinet appointments, President Museveni does not seem to be guided by the nationalist and revolutionary ideology but tribal and religious considerations. Appointments are not guided by clarity of ideological position one has but the tribal or religious vote one can deliver. Appointments are not guided by ideological loyalty to the system or party but loyalty to the individual. In my language they counsel thus: "when a young chick abandons its mother (read nationalist ideology) it risks being eaten by a hawk". Similarly when Mr Museveni abandons his erstwhile ideological allies i.e radical nationalists) in favour of tribal
ugnet_: A QUOTE OF THE MONTH
"Uganda National Resistance Movement is an old Dog that should have been put away by the SPCA long time ago !!" Y. Yaobang The Mulindwas Communication Group"With Yoweri Museveni, Uganda is in anarchy" Groupe de communication Mulindwas "avec Yoweri Museveni, l'Ouganda est dans l'anarchie"
ugnet_: THE NRM VICE CHAIR-MAN QUITS
Kigongo to quit By Mariam Nakalema After two decades as Musevenis number two in the Movement, Haji Musa Kigongo has decided to call it a day. In two to three months, I am giving up my post of vice chairman. I am not standing again; enough is enough, he said in an exclusive interview. To explain why he was quitting, he used a Luganda proverb: Ekita ekitava ku sengejjero kifuuka wankindo. (The calabash that doesnt leave the brewery gets many stitches) meaning that if you overstay at the scene of action, you sustain injuries. Look at my head, there is hardly any hair left! Kigongo said as he rubbed his bald. Movement leaders are already establishing an organisation, the NRM, which will contest in the 2006 elections. Kigongo and recently-dropped minister Bidandi Ssali are in charge of getting the NRM registered. Kigongo is Ugandas longest serving Speaker of Parliament, having served as Chairman of the interim legislature, the NRC, from 1986 to 1995. He presided over the legal transformation of Uganda from a revolutionary state to a constitutional democracy. Under Kigongos tenure, the NRC, initially made of 38 unelected members, was expanded through the 1989 general elections. It also formulated the laws that enabled Ugandas political transition and created the framework for making the 1995 Constitution. Kigongo told Sunday Vision he was going to concentrate on his business modernising his Mosa Courts apartments, and looking after his family. It is long since I last ate supper with my children, or saw them going to bed, he added. On the third term, Kigongo said whether President Museveni wants it or not, it is not in his powers to grant himself a third term. Parliament has the mandate to lift the clause on presidential terms, he said. Since the Movement recommendations are already with the Constitutional Review Commission, we need to be patient and wait for the decisions of Cabinet and Parliament, he said. He advised that those for or against the third term should only concentrate on lobbying parliament. This should not take up much of our time, said the bush veteran. But Kigongo was apprehensive about the presidents attitude toward dissenters telling them to quit the Movement. That is wrong, we need each other, he said adding that members should not be expelled but should quit on their own. He advised federalists to lobby Parliament which, he said, is scheduled to debate the CRCs report. On Musevenis successor, he said that the Movement has enough presidential material from whom to pick a successor at the right time. Published on: Sunday, 1st June, 2003 The Mulindwas Communication Group"With Yoweri Museveni, Uganda is in anarchy" Groupe de communication Mulindwas "avec Yoweri Museveni, l'Ouganda est dans l'anarchie"
ugnet_: New wave of tribal war convulses Republic of Congo
Posted on Fri, May. 30, 2003 New wave of tribal war convulses Republic of Congo By Sudarsan Raghavan Knight Ridder Newspapers BUNIA, Democratic Republic of Congo - Joseph Nzeloy had committed the worst possible crime in the town of Bunia: He belonged to the wrong tribe. He was a Hema. So three Lendu gunmen burst into his home and slit the throats of his wife, eight children and two brothers. Then they turned the knife on him, slicing so deep that his head almost came off. He survived by playing dead. "I couldn't do anything," mumbled Nzeloy through the bloodied bandage wrapped around his thin, long neck. "I was powerless." This embattled town is the latest killing field of the Democratic Republic of Congo. An estimated 3 million people have died in a four-year war that once involved nine foreign nations vying for Congo's vast deposits of gold, diamonds, coltan - a mineral used in cell phones and video games - and possibly, oil. Today, the foreign troops are largely gone as the result of a multinational peace pact, but the scramble for wealth continues. Local Hema and Lendu militias tussle for control of the mineral-rich northeastern province of Ituri as United Nations peacekeepers watch helplessly. The Congolese government backs the Lendus, while neighboring Uganda and Rwanda support various Hema factions. The Ugandans are said to be seeking access to diamonds and mineral wealth; Rwanda hopes the Hemas can keep the Congolese military away from its borders. "All the warlords want is power and money," said the Rev. Jan Mol, an influential Belgian priest who has lived in Bunia, Ituri's largest town, for more than a decade. "They exploit the ethnic problems for economic and political interests." On Friday, the U.N. Security Council unanimously approved a rapid reaction force of 1,400 troops. Peacekeepers from France, Britain and other nations are expected to arrive as early as this week. It's unclear whether they will have the authority to use force to disarm rival militias. The authorization follows repeated calls by U.N. diplomats, human rights observers and Pope John Paul II to pay attention to the orgy of Hema-Lendu violence in Ituri. Some said they remembered the unheeded warnings about Rwanda in 1994, when ethnic Hutu militias slaughtered 800,000 ethnic Tutsis. The Hemas are traditionally cattle raisers, while the Lendus are mostly farmers. They have battled over Ituri's resources for centuries. The clashes became deadlier after outside benefactors began arming them when Congo's civil war erupted in August 1998. The latest bloodbath came last month, hours after Uganda pulled out its 9,000 troops under the peace agreement. So far, the Red Cross has buried 415 bodies, the vast majority civilians, in unmarked graves around Bunia. Hundreds more, including tiny children with gunshot wounds, wait for treatment inside a coffee warehouse converted to a makeshift hospital. Thousands have fled to squalid refugee camps in the U.N. compound and near the airport. They arrived with stories of horrific atrocities, including acts of cannibalism by Lendu warriors, who are said to believe that eating human flesh will bring them magical powers. Many Congolese are angry at the inability of 700 mostly Uruguayan U.N. peacekeepers to protect them. At a nearby Roman Catholic church, Jean Edouard Dhena Ndjango, 48, recalled when three Lendu gunmen burst in and killed two priests and 22 others who had taken refuge in the church compound. They included Ndjango's mother and his 4-year-old son, whose stomach was slit open. "This (U.N.) observer mission is useless," he said with bitterness. "You can't observe when people are killing each other and then count the bodies afterwards." Col. Daniel Vollot, the sector commander for U.N. forces in Bunia, said his primary orders were to protect U.N. property and personnel, as well as strategic sites such as the airport. "Each day, I receive new tasks, but my strength remains the same," Vollot said. "I am not able to do miracles." Bunia will be the first challenge for the new U.N. peacekeepers. Today it is a ghost town controlled by the Union of Congolese Patriots, a Hema militia with around 15,000 troops. Stores are shut, houses burned. Beer-drinking teenagers in pickup trucks mounted with machine guns patrol the streets. Scowling child soldiers wearing baggy fatigues brandish Kalashnikov rifles as if they were toys. Bunia was once majority Lendu, but tens of thousands have fled. The Union of Congolese Patriots, through radio broadcasts, has ordered all Lendu to leave town, U.N. and church officials say. The United Nations has evacuated several people who received threats via handwritten notes. The Lendu aren't the only targets of the UPC soldiers. Scores of homes of fellow Hemas and other tribal groups have been looted. Women and girls are routinely being kidnapped and raped,
ugnet_: Orgies of bloody murder have left Congo traumatised
Orgies of bloody murder have left Congo traumatised By Declan Walsh, in Bunia, D R Congo 31 May 2003When the came for Joseph Nzeloy, the Congolese gunmen had an argument. Should they kill the farmer's family by slicing open their stomachs, cutting their throats or chopping off their heads? After a thought, they decided. With a gun to his temple, Mr Nzeloy, 62, watched as the killers grabbed his wife, eight children and two brothers, and bound them. Then, one by one, they sliced their throats. Mr Nzeloy survived after being left for dead. "I heard everything but could do nothing. I was powerless," he said from his hospital bed. This is the sort of killing the United Nations hopes to stop in Bunia, in the Ituri region of north-eastern Congo, with an emergency force sanctioned yesterday. A force of about 1,400 peace-keepers, led by the French but including troops from Britain and Belgium, Germany, Spain and Italy, will try to stop the massacres. Between three and four million people have died in Congo's war since 1998 but western intervention has been minimal. But this month's vicious battle for Bunia has finally prompted a response from the West. Fighting between the rival Hema and Lendu tribes left more than 400 people dead. By local standards the bloodshed was not exceptional - villages were annihilated last year - but it happened metres from 700 UN troops, who did nothing to stop it. Reports of cannibalism helped attract the West's attention. Some fighters believe that eating an enemy's heart, kidney or sexual organs brings magical powers. Benoit Tshikala found a friend's body on 12 May. His throat had been slit, his stomach cut open and his heart removed. "I had heard of that before but never seen it. I am still traumatised," said Mr Tshikala. At the height of hostilities, one Lendu soldier paraded around the town with a kidney strapped to his chest. For now the UN has only a fingerhold on stability in Bunia. Armoured vehicles manned by Uruguayan troops thunder along the road from the headquarters to the airport. But true control lies with the Union of Congolese Patriots (UPC), the ruthless Hema militia that seized control two weeks ago. Daniel Litsha, secretary general of the UPC, described his group as "Congolese nationalists" who only sought "peace, reconciliation and the unity of our country". But on the streets of Bunia, the evidence suggested otherwise. Dozens of child soldiers swaggered down Bunia's main street. Baraka Asiye, a 15-year-old with small, deadened eyes, sat on a motorcycle he was barely big enough to ride. An AK-47 was slung casually across his back. "I don't know how many Lendus I have killed," he said. "Some of them I shot, others I killed by hand with a knife." He added: "They are not good people. They are the enemy." The troop deployment announced yesterday has raised fears that the Lendu militia will attempt to seize control of Bunia before the soldiers arrive. The UPC has intensified intimidation against the few remaining Lendu. Some have been killed; others found bullets in front of their doors. In the past few days anonymous letters have warned "enemies" to leave within 48 hours. Nearly all have gone. Yesterday morning a UN vehicle was followed closely by a pick-up truck full of gunmen. "It was clear intimidation," said Isabelle Abric, a UN spokeswoman. UN troops also found six mines on the edge of the airstrip, which is expected to be the flashpoint for any outbreak of fighting. In the airport terminal, hundreds sat on their bags, hoping for a flight out. Many had been waiting for two or three weeks but few had the $60 (£36) fare to fly by cargo plane to Beni, 150km to the south. In front of the town's Catholic church, a mound of freshly turned earth in a beanfield marked a mass grave. Three Lendu militiamen burst into the church hall where terrified civilians had been sheltering. They singled out the Hema and opened fire. Twenty-two people died in the attack. Jean-Edouard Dhena Ndjango later found his mother had been shot in the head and his four-year-old son had had his stomach slit open. Why were the UN peace-keepers cowering in their base at the time, he asked angrily. "This observation mission is useless. You can't observe when people are killing one another and then count the bodies afterwards." Fresh atrocities are flaring elsewhere in Ituri. According to Amnesty International, dozens of people are being imprisoned in metal containers in Aru, on the Ugandan border, following an attempted coup against the FAPC militia. Several have been tortured and at least four have been executed. Rwanda and Uganda, who have covertly supported the rival Hema and Lendu groups, are manipulating the conflict. The spate of tribal killings has invited comparisons with Rwanda's 1994 genocide but analysts say an all-out slaughter is still unlikely in Ituri. "This is not a state-led genocide," said François Grignon of the International Crisis Group. "But you have two
ugnet_: 107 Huts Razed in Nebbi Clashes
107 Huts Razed in Nebbi Clashes New Vision (Kampala) May 30, 2003 Posted to the web May 30, 2003 Kampala Whether in or out of DR Congo's Ituri region, trouble seems to be doggedly trailing the Lendu community. Steven Candia reports that one person was killed and 107 houses set ablaze in yet another inter-tribal clashes between the Lendu and Kebu communities in Zeu, Nebbi district in Uganda, on Monday. It is not clear what sparked off the clashes that left upper and lower Makuru villages in Zeu sub-county hardest hit. Police spokesman Assuman Mugenyi said on Wednesday that Kebu tribesmen who accosted a group of Lendu tribesmen headed for a funeral of a colleague triggered off the fighting. "They were harassed by the Kebu and went back and mobilised their tribesmen to avenge," Mugenyi said. Charged with anger, armed with sticks and clubs, the Kebu, who numbered about 100 descended on Mawa village, setting the mud-and-wattle houses ablaze. The clashes rapidly spilled over to the neighbouring villages of Makuru. Though the attack was swift, many of the Lendu managed to flee to safety but the situation was only saved by the Police from the nearby Olwo Police Post. Their colleagues from Zeu reinforced them, when upon arrival, created a buffer zone between the two warring tribes. However, by the time the Police stepped in, a Kebu man was slain, as many others were feared to have sustained injuries. Mugenyi said the Police, who still maintain a heavy presence in the area, were yet to identify the dead. He said investighations into the clashes were on.
ugnet_: A BRITISH PAEDOPHILE TAKEN OFF THE STREET
Africans Can you imagine if this story were about Africa, and especially Zimbabwe? It is this kind of "scoop" Caroline, Cathy Buckle and pat Andersons look to put on a front burner. However being about the old England... No single word. The story about babies being used in South Africa as a cure for AIDS just how long did that unproven pack of lies was sent floating around the internet? God must help us as we live against White Do-Gooders and their African slaves- The Chifu Wa malindi's of Africa. And we have plenty. Em === BBC News, May 30, 2003University boss jailed for child pornA former vice-chancellor of Loughborough University has been jailed for nine months after police found thousands of indecent pictures of children on hiscomputer.Professor Ian Coates Morison admitted he was addicted to child porn and surfed the internet at home and at work in search of pictures. He even wrote sexual fantasies for other paedophiles to download from the internet. Coates Morison, who admitted 14 counts of making and possessing indecent photos and two of publishing indecent articles, was jailed at Nottingham Crown Court on Friday. The Oxford graduate, of Pilcher Gate, Nottingham, was caught after police officers working on Operation Ore raided his home following a tip-off from authorities in the United States. They discovered about 10,000 pictures featuring children as young as five. Coates Morison took the role of pro-vice-chancellor at Loughborough University in 1998 but resigned his post when the allegations came to light. His solicitor said Coates Morison accepted his career was over.In additions to his jail sentence, he was told to register as a sex-offender for 10 years. The Mulindwas Communication Group"With Yoweri Museveni, Uganda is in anarchy" Groupe de communication Mulindwas "avec Yoweri Museveni, l'Ouganda est dans l'anarchie"
ugnet_: Humanitarians Confirm 4,000 Families On the Run in Kabezi Commune
I told you so...but you would not hear!!
Matek
Humanitarians Confirm 4,000 Families On the Run in Kabezi Commune
UN Integrated Regional Information Networks
May 30, 2003
Posted to the web May 30, 2003
Bujumbura
Some 4,000 households - at least 20,000 persons - have fled Masama, Gitenga, Mwaza and Kiremba hills of Kabezi Commune in Bujumbura Rural Province, following fighting between the Forces nationales de liberation (FNL) faction of Agathon Rwasa and the army, humanitarian officials told IRIN on Friday.
"According to the list we have from the administration, 4,000 households have fled since 23 May. They are dispersed in villages at Mutambu, Mutumba and Kabezi sectors. Food distribution by the World Food Programme is planned on 5 and 6 June, and will take place at Kabezi," Nathalie Kabirori of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs told IRIN.
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"Fighting has now stopped, but there is still tension and the population fears returning home," Kabirori said. "Last Wednesday, 28 May, sporadic shots were heard and some of the population who have already joined their homes fled again. They are dispersed in neighbouring villages, they share food with their neighbours who have welcomed them."
The population of Bujumbura Rural is often uprooted due to clashes between the army and Rwasa's FNL, which has refused to take part in peace talks with the government.
ugnet_: Security Alert After LRA Rebels Kill 15
Security Alert After LRA Rebels Kill 15 UN Integrated Regional Information Networks May 30, 2003 Posted to the web May 30, 2003 Kampala Security officials in war-torn northern Uganda are on high alert following two Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) rebel attacks on civilian vehicles. According to the army, the LRA attacked a bus travelling through northwest Uganda on the Karuma-Pakwach road on Wednesday, setting fire to the bus and killing 14 people. Another 12 were seriously injured and rushed to Pakwach hospital. Officials said the death toll was expected to rise as the 12 are in critical condition. Prior to the ambush, the area had been free of rebel activity for some seven months, according to army spokesman for Gulu district, Lt Paddy Ankunda. A day later, the LRA ambushed a civilian pick-up truck about 40km east of Gulu on the Gulu-Moroto road. "They killed one and seriously injured another before burning the pick-up truck they were travelling in to ash," Ankunda told IRIN. Security has been beefed up in response to the attacks, according to security sources. "We still have measures to pursue them hard and efforts are being made to curtail future occurrences of this nature," said Ankunda. He added that security had also been massively increased around Gulu following a recent trend which has seen rebel attacks and child abductions encroaching further on the town. Gulu is strategically the most important town in the northern region. However, Ankunda played down the recent ambushes. "These are just last resort acts of desperation, characteristic of any losing army to gain empty publicity," he told IRIN. "The aim is to send a message to the world that they still exist by unleashing mayhem on innocent civilians." Meanwhile, elsewhere in Northern Uganda as Ankunda has barely finished his remarks above Lord's Resistance Army Rebels Abduct 30 From Lira District New Vision (Kampala)May 29, 2003 Posted to the web May 30, 2003 James Odong Kampala THE Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) rebels on Monday abducted about 30 people from Alebtong in Moroto and Otuke counties in Lira district.The over 100 rebels struck Alebtong trading centre in Moroto county on Sunday, looting merchandise from the surrounding shops.Moroto county MP Dr. Alex Okot said the rebels looted drugs from the health centres and abducted people looking after the patients."They spent over five hours in Alebtong and freed prisoners," he said. Otuke county MP Daniel Omara Atubo said the rebels forced 13 captives to carry their loot.The UPDF fourth Division spokesperson, Lt Paddy Ankunda, could not give the exact number of captives taken. And get this, netters, Lt Akundu could not give the exact number of captives taken...
ugnet_: UPC's PRESIDENTIAL POLICY COMMISSION Congratulates Catholic Church
Bishops Saluted On 3rd Term The Monitor (Kampala) May 30, 2003 Posted to the web May 30, 2003 Ssemujju Ibrahim Nganda Kampala The Uganda People's Congress (UPC) has praised the Catholic Church for denouncing attempts by the Movement to change the Constitution in order to allow President Yoweri Museveni seek re-election in 2006. In 2006, when his second constitutional term ends, Mr Museveni would have ruled Uganda for 20 years. "On behalf of Uganda People's Congress and on my behalf, I wish to congratulate the Catholic Church for speaking out in place of the silent and intimidated majority on the above matter," reads UPC's letter to Emmanuel Cardinal Wamala, the head of the Uganda's Catholics. Mr Henry Mayega, the vice chairman of UPC's Presidential Policy Commission, signed the letter dated 28 May. Catholic Church officials addressed journalists in Kampala on Tuesday to denounce moves to have Mr Museveni run for another term. "The Church has displayed once again a high level of magnanimity by rejecting the politics of intrigue and patronage. The Church has always had this great and honorable responsibility of siding with the truth and the oppressed," the letter reads further. "It is in this light that the Uganda People's Congress expresses its gratitude to the Catholic Church."
ugnet_: Banning Political Debate is Absurd
Banning Political Debate is Absurd Brilliant piece below! Matek The Monitor (Kampala) EDITORIAL May 29, 2003 Posted to the web May 29, 2003 Kampala Has National Political Commissar Dr Crispus Kiyonga finally taken leave of his mind? We hope not. Last weekend Dr Kiyonga was in Kasese attending a burial where he is reported to have issued a strange warning to the people. He warned against discussion of the current political situation in the country, alleging that ill-intentioned people can exploit such debate for mischievous purpose. Surely as the political commissar for the country, the doctor knows that people are excited by political events, especially if these have serious bearing on the country's leadership. Dr Kiyonga must also be aware of the simple truth that you cannot stop people from thinking and talking about their leaders' actions because these actions affect them. It would be hilarious if the warning did not carry an uncanny, and worrying, similarity to a decree issued by the despotic former president Idi Amin Dada. Field Marshal Amin, in one of his lowest moments, banned the spreading of what he called rumours. What Dr Kiyonga is promoting cannot be very different from the mad general's decree because like that ban on rumour-mongering, which at worst can be described as a minor nuisance, this warning could very easily degenerate into something much worse. Something like the state getting the right to decide what the people should or should not think about. Dr Kiyonga should clarify his remarks. He should tell us if he seriously thinks it is dangerous for Ugandans to think and talk about issues that affect their country. If this is his position, then we have an even bigger problem on our hands than we first thought. We live in delicate political times. President Yoweri Museveni is seeking a constitutional amendment whose implications are that he would have a realistic chance of becoming president for life. Political debate is at fever pitch in some parts of the country. People, and not only the politicians, are asking themselves what the recent sacking from cabinet of ministers who resisted Mr Museveni's plans mean for the future. The people are evaluating the different signals from different political actors and weighing their options. Without discussion it is impossible for them to make rational decisions on matters that will impact on their lives in so many ways. Again, we hope the national political commissar was speaking either in jest or was misunderstood.
ugnet_: Face of.... Political fog..? How about anarchy..chaos...
The 70's and 80's will look like picnic Museveni: Face of a lost revolutionary? By Mwambutsya Ndebesa Posted June 1- 6, 2003 ...contrary to popular belief Museveni did not go to Mozambique basically for military training or fighting but as a researcher under the supervision of a then radical Zimbabwean Professor Nathan Shamunyarira, now turned conservative and supporter of life presidency for Mugabe. The recent political events in Uganda which have seen President Museveni drop his long-term comrades in politics in favour of conservative entrants is clear indicator of how Museveni the man has made a U-turn from a radical revolutionary to a conservative. As they say birds of a feather flock together. And President Yoweri Museveni has shade off the revolutionary feathers and put on the conservative ones. Just look at his latest political ideologues and you will know what I am talking about. Mr Yoweri Tibuhaburwa Museveni was born in a Banyankore/Bahororo and Judeo-Christian conservative environment in rural Kikoni village of present Ntungamo district. He was later introduced to liberal ideas at Ntare School. But what later shaped his ideological worldview was acquired at Dar-es-Salaam University. At Dar-es-Salaam, Mr Museveni was initiated and nurtured into revolutionary ideology and politics by radical scholars such as Dr. Walter Rodney a historian and Mr Clive Thomas, an economist who had brought the revolutionary tradition from Latin America the latter's home continent. Mr Museveni rose into this revolutionary tradition and became the leader of the student revolutionary society at Dar-es-Salaam University. He later went to Mozambique to do his BA research project titled "Fanonian Theory of Violence and its Verification in Mozambique." By the way contrary to popular belief Museveni did not go to Mozambique basically for military training or fighting but as a researcher under the supervision of a then radical Zimbabwean Professor Nathan Shamunyarira, now turned conservative and supporter of life presidency for Mugabe. President Museveni joined politics as a revolutionary. He was more on the left of the centre. His political ideologues were people like Mr Eriya Kategaya and Mr Amanya Mushega who were equally left of the centre, and radical revolutionaries. When NRM came into power it was revolutionary in thought and rhetoric at least at the leadership level. The NRM leadership of comrades such as Mr Bidandi Ssali and Mr Kintu Musoke was clearly nationalist in outlook and ideology. Museveni has now made a u-turn and is now in "political bed" with conservatives and tribalists rather than nationalists and radicals. At the intellectual level Museveni these days would rather fraternize with conservative intellectuals such as Prof. Apolo Nsibambi, Prof. Semakula Kiwanuka, Dr. Foster Byarugaba, etc rather than radical revolutionary intellectuals such as comrades Prof. Mahmood Mamdani, Prof. Dani Wadada-Nabudere, Prof. Fredrick Juuko, etc. On the political front the most trusted political cadres are conservatives such as Prof. Gilbert Bukenya, Gen. Moses Ali, Hajji Moses Kigongo, Mr Sam Kutesa, Mr Henry Muganwa Kajura, Hajji Naduli, etc and not nationalist radicals such as Mr Bidandi, Mr Kategaya, Mr Waphakabulo, Mr Mushega, Mr Omwony Ojok, etc. On the military front, the most trusted are the conservatives such Maj Gen. James Kazini and not radicals such as Maj Gen. Mugisha Muntu. On the mass media front, Mr Museveni would rather listen to the political advice given by ultra conservative columnists such as Mr John Nagenda rather than radical nationalists such as Mr Charles Onyango-Obbo or veteran nationalist journalists such as Mr Wafula Oguttu. On the diplomatic front, the most fraternized with are no longer radical states such as North Korea and China but conservative ones such as USA and UK. We are now witnessing Mr Museveni and some conservative populist cadres taking centre stage in forming the party. The NRM party being formed, one can conclude is a conservative party led by an alliance of conservative, tribal, anarchist and populist forces. The process of founding the NRM party has been purged of nationalists and radicals who have been replaced by conservatives, tribalists and populists. The nationalist ideology is no longer the guiding principle. Judging from the new cabinet appointments, President Museveni does not seem to be guided by the nationalist and revolutionary ideology but tribal and religious considerations. Appointments are not guided by clarity of ideological position one has but the tribal or religious vote one can deliver. Appointments are not guided by ideological loyalty to the system or party but loyalty to the individual. In my language they counsel thus: "when a young chick abandons its mother (read nationalist ideology) it risks being eaten by a hawk". Similarly when Mr Museveni abandons his erstwhile ideological allies i.e radical nationalists) in favour of tribal
ugnet_: ZIMBABWE'S MASS ACTION IS ILLEGAL
High Court declares mass action illegal By Munyaradzi Huni and Farai Dzirutwe THE High Court last night declared that the planned mass action to oust President Mugabe is illegal and has directed the MDC to call off the action that was scheduled to start tomorrow and end on Friday. Justice Ben Hlatshwayo, sitting at the High Court, issued the provisional order directing the MDC and Mr Morgan Tsvangirai, who were first and second respondents respectively in the case brought by the police commissioner, to call off the mass action. This effectively means that anyone who will participate in the mass action will be violating a court order. A leading Harare lawyer, Mr Terrence Hussein, said the MDC and Mr Tsvangirai were compelled to obey the court order or risk killing their pending court case in which they are challenging President Mugabes legitimacy. He said failure to obey the order is an impediment to their pending case as it will not be heard in any court. "The respondents have a choice to either comply with the order or have the hearing of their pending petition stopped. Precedence and the law is very clear on this point and the respondents are obliged to publicly call off their action. Granting the order, Justice Hlatshwayo declared that the MDC and Mr Tsvangirai had acted unlawfully in calling for demonstrations intended to oust a legitimately elected President. "Accordingly, it is ordered that: (1) The respondents be interdicted from organising, urging or suggesting or setting up the mass demonstrations intended to remove the lawfully elected President and Government. (2) That the respondents shall pay the applicants cost of suit in relation to this application jointly and severally, the one paying, the other to be absolved," reads the order. In granting interim relief, Justice Hlatshwayo said: "Pending determination of this matter, the applicant is granted the following relief: "The respondents are interdicted from holding the mass stayaway and public demonstrations scheduled for 2 June to 6 June 2003." The Minister of State for Information and Publicity, Professor Jonathan Moyo, said Government welcomed the judgment. "The idea that anyone, let alone somebody who claims to be a leader, can wake up one day and threaten to organise hooligans and Rhodesian Selous Scouts to take to the streets to march to State House to oust a democratically and constitutionally elected President, is repugnant and totally unacceptable under the rule of law. "Only criminals and terrorists, not democrats, do that. That is why Government joins all peace-loving and democratic Zimbabweans in welcoming the High Court order, which confirms what should be obvious to the MDC, Morgan Tsvangirai and their British sponsors," said the minister. Several indigenous business people who have lost property worth millions of dollars in the MDC-organised mass actions expressed relief that the High Court had directed the MDC to call of the mass action. "I lost property worth millions of dollars in the previous MDC mass actions, and I am very happy that the High Court has declared the planned mass action illegal. It was obvious that we were going to suffer again and, surely, this order is good news to me," said one businessman, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals. Meanwhile, some African diplomats have condemned the planned MDC mass action, saying it shows the opposition partys total disregard for the efforts that are being made by countries such as Nigeria, South Africa and Malawi to promote dialogue. The diplomats spoke amid revelations that the MDC was busy mapping out a strategy to carry out acts of sabotage across the country beginning tonight. It is understood that the opposition party had already paid some of its hooligans large sums of money to intimidate those who are against the planned mass action. Police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Wayne Bvudzijena, in a statement yesterday, said uniformed forces encompassing the police and army had already started making patrols in the high-density suburbs to reassure the residents that they were ready to deal with any acts of sabotage and banditry. In separate interviews, some African diplomats said by calling for the mass action, the MDC leader, Mr Morgan Tsvangirai, had shown that he was never interested in dialogue and therefore should not expect any African country to show him respect anymore. President Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria, President Thabo Mbeki of South
ugnet_: OPPOSITION-LED STRIKES MUST BE BANNED
By Don Muvuti What makes MDCs stayaways and demonstrations undemocratic is the goal of these activities and the way they are conducted. Their goal is to bring about "regime change", i.e., another government, of course, emerging from MDC itself. The stayaways and demonstrations are staged to the accompaniment of violence. In practice, this way of replacing a government by another has found justification in a colonial situation where the colonised find themselves with no choice but to resort to any means at their disposal to end colonial rule. Another justification is the existence of a dictatorship whose rule is nothing but ruthless oppression and exploitation of its people. Beneficiaries of the dictatorship are the dictator himself and his ilk only. The rest are at the mercy of the dictator. Zimbabwe is neither a colony nor is its government a dictatorship. We, its citizens, know its history. We waged a century of struggle for democracy leading to a just rule of law and good governance. Because of the intransigence of the colonial enemy, we had to top the century of struggle with 15 years of war, costing us numerous lives, maimings and loss of property. Since the time our struggle was rewarded with political independence, we have held five one-person-one-vote elections according to which the society invested its power on the liberation movement Zanu-PF. This movement has run the society strictly according to principles of democracy. Because of this, Zimbabwe used to be hailed internationally as a well-run, peaceful democracy. What made it necessary for our image of peace and democracy to be attacked by undemocratic stayaways and demonstrations? Before answering this question let us be clear what, in general, stayaways and demonstrations are. A stayaway is a strike. As we know, strikes are a feature of the production of goods and services. In this process when employees and their employers arrive at a deadlock on issues or conditions of employment, the former may resort to a strike. When a strike takes place, the loser is not only the employer. Both sides have something to lose. In addition there is the society the consumers of the products who also get affected. The striking workforce takes all this into its stride as it hopes to emerge the winner in the end. However, on the one hand strikes do affect the national economy. On the other hand strikes become occasionally necessary to the workforce if that is the only scenario left for drawing attention to their problems. Because of this dilemma all societies, Zimbabwe included, have established legal frameworks strictly according to which strikes should be conducted. Needless to state that in a democratic set-up ignoring the legal framework is to indulge in illegality, and this should be unacceptable and indeed punishable. That is what should happen in a democracy if the rule of law is to be taken seriously. Demonstrations are aimed at attracting the attention of the general public as well as specific targets of the demonstration to the existence of grievances affecting the demonstrators and those they purport to represent. The aim is to get the authority targeted to address the grievances hopefully without delay. Thus demonstrations are not confined to the workforce - any person or group of persons can stage a demonstration on any issue they consider important and deserving of urgent attention. Demonstrations usually take the form of marches to persons identified as having the power and authority to address the problems. The marchers may be wielding placards with messages of their grievances. They may chant the messages as they go along. At the terminus a petition is usually presented epitomising the complaints that have necessitated the demonstration and asking for action to resolve the complaints. As demonstrations are not completely free from inconveniences to the public, about all societies, ours included, have established legal frameworks for this type of protest as well. In a democratic set-up ignoring the legal framework is an invitation to lawlessness and, as such, should be shunned. Let us now turn to the question posed earlier: Why is a democracy like Zimbabwe being subjected to stayaways and demonstrations pregnant with violence to bring about "regime change" when it is clear that these activities are redundant to democratic processes and hence undemocratic? The answer will be clear if we look more closely into the nature of the stayaways and
ugnet_: WHAT 'FINAL PUSH' TSVANGIRAI
By Political Editor Munyaradzi Huni HAD an interesting call on Thursday from some anonymous caller who sounded a bit over-excited: "Hey, Munyaradzi, are you not afraid? (pause) By this time next week, you will be out of employment. Uchakaura mupfana," said the caller. Before getting my response the caller just hung up. At first I could not understand what the caller was talking about, but then it later dawned on me that the caller could have been talking about the so-called "final push" by the MDC scheduled to start tomorrow. I laughed. Renowned South African dub poet Mzwake Mbuli would say: "I dont belong to a generation of cowards," and I also dont belong to that generation, of not only cowards but also sell-outs. Me? Afraid? Of what? Lets get serious, please! But, surely, is there anyone out there, including MDC leader Mr Morgan Tsvangirai himself, who honestly and soberly thinks the so-called "final push" will lead to what the British imperialists, led by the gay gangsters at Number 10 Downing Street, would call "regime change?" Please, give us a break! I am not a guru in politics, but from the way Mr Tsvangirai is jumping around like some over-excited pre-school child during his first day at school, it looks as if the opposition leader desperately needs to learn a lot about the basics in politics. The man is just a disaster waiting to happen. No wonder why his British masters have dumped him and no wonder why those who should be advising him are just watching as he commits political suicide. Of course, there are those in the MDC who are still in the dark who think or cant believe that Mr Tsvangirai is no longer the chosen one for the British project in Zimbabwe, but people can dream on, isnt it? Remember these people had the same dreams just before the March 2002 presidential election and they went further to showcase their hallucinations by baking Mr Tsvangirai a birthday cake with the shape of State House. Mr Tsvangirai was so overwhelmed with the dream that he decided to take it to the comfort of the Meikles Hotel just as the results of the presidential election were about to be announced. Reports say the opposition leader almost fainted when he lost by over 400 000 votes to President Mugabe. Now after more than a year, Mr Tsvangirai has forgotten it all and he has started dreaming again. He is now talking about the "final push" to State House. The law doesnt matter anymore? His petition at the court doesnt matter anymore? Even the fact that he is facing high treason charges doesnt matter anymore? All he wants is to exercise his freedom to overturn the wishes of the 1 685 212 people who voted for President Mugabe in the presidential election. And can you believe it that Mr Tsvangirai ran away from the struggle that brought the independence to exercise these rights that he now claims to know so much? What a stinking coward? The opposition mouthpieces are not helping the MDC leader in any way. Just like they fooled him towards the presidential election, they are now fooling him again into believing that he is on his way to State House. For the whole of last week, the opposition mouthpieces were screaming all sorts of rubbish about the so-called "final push", urging people to join the MDC war-mongers in their march to State House. So some people dont listen, do they? Simon Chimbetu decided to hammer the message that "kuState House kure" in one of his songs, but it seems Mr Tsvangirai has been listening too much to the British vibes. Why cant Mr Tsvangirai wait for the courts to do their job if he really believes in the rule of law as he wants the world to believe? Why is he panicking? And, please, let me not hear his blind followers shouting that he is in such a suicidal rush because the economy is crumbling because he is the one who after realising that he has no chance of getting into power has been trying to cripple the economy to create resentment against the Government. Everyone knows it that Mr Tsvangirai has been going around the world calling for sanctions against the country and even went further to encourage South Africa to cut fuel and power supplies to Zimbabwe. Everyone knows it that it is the MDC-organised stayaways that have hit industries hard. Yes, Government erred here and there, but who doesnt know the efforts the Government is making through the National Economic Revival Programme to resuscitate the economy? Yes, there were problems here and there, but who cant see that the land reform exercise is slowly starting to bear fruit? Yes, there were shortages of basic commodities, but cooking oil, salt, bread and a few other commodities are slowly returning to the supermarket shelves. With things slowly getting back to normal, who would want to guess why Mr Tsvangirai is panicking? Is there anyone out there who doesnt know that once things get back to normal, Mr Tsvangirai and the MDC are finished? Of
ugnet_: UN's INERTIA WORSENS DRC PLIGHT
By Robert Mukondiwa FOR decades the Democratic Republic of Congo has been the subject of envy and controversy. The West, particularly Britain and the United States, have through their neo-colonialist imperialist machinery managed to possessively control Africas diamond bosom. Sensing the ascension of an independent, pan-Africanist and incorruptible mind in the form of Patrice Lumumba, US President Dwight Eisenhower ordered the assassination of the countrys first prime minister in 1960. CIA chief Allen Dulles sent a CIA scientist to Congo with a lethal virus. But before the plan could be activated, Lumumba was deposed. He was later captured with CIA help and killed by rebel forces, according to London-based political scientist David Pallister. In his stead they put their administrative harlot, Mobutu Sese Seko. This US-backed Mobutu dictatorship was blessed by the Congolese naivety, making a conducive atmosphere for American plunder, the effects of which are tragically visible today. Explaining Congos gradual plunder, international affairs analyst Antonio Figueiredo lays a great deal of the blame on the effects of the post-independence mental hangover and the masses ignorance, arguing that "it doesnt take much imagination to realise that successive generations of the Congolese in the mining of strategic minerals such as uranium (used by the US for the Second World War atomic bombs) up to the present with coltan (used for mobile phones and computers), did not even know the value, the nature or the use of what they were (or are) producing!" To this day, the Wests plunder of Congo continues. Armed with Congos background information, it is therefore easy for one to understand Americas alarm when she was caught flat-footed by the Sadc allied forces quick and decisive intervention in the Congo in 1998 as they, led by Zimbabwean forces, embarked on a military exercise meant to safeguard Congo from the threat of rebel forces, a campaign which the US saw as a threat to her interests. Hence Rwanda and Uganda, Americas traditional blue-eyed poodles in the region, joined the war to confront the allied forces on the farcical and preposterous pretext that they were merely safeguarding their nations security, which they feared could be compromised. The UN, whose shots are called by the US, is believed to have been coerced into standing back in the belief that the allied forces would falter, a dream which did not materialise. The US decided to use the "financial aid" trump card, tightening the screws, especially on Zimbabwes economy. No wonder therefore that the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, widely deemed as extensions of the US administration, demanded the withdrawal of Zimbabwean forces as a prerequisite for financial aid. The call was ignored, resulting in the total withholding of funding to Zimbabwe. Their plans having failed, the US and the UK tried to "divide and rule" Sadc through the use of our (very beloved but unfortunately politically anachronistic) friend down South, Nelson "Madiba" Mandela. Though the ploy worked partially, it did not manage to succeed in the main agenda of halting the allies campaign of securing the Congolese peoples sovereignty. All ploys having failed, the neo-colonialists decided to fight their war from the battle front and started accusing the allies of plundering Congolese resources and looting diamonds in a character assassination plan which they employed concurrently with programmes of economic sabotage within the allied countries homelands. This, along with the forming and funding of counter-revolutionary civic groups and political parties, notorious for their sermons in which they preached (and are still preaching!) senseless rhetoric and high-sounding nothings, became the US and the UK policy, particularly in Zimbabwe. This drive, alarmingly, could have worked had the West done their homework and imposed brainy puppets rather than empty vessels and kindergarten dropouts like Morgan Tsvangirai. After the final withdrawal of allied forces from the Congo, it emerges that the Congolese are the biggest losers in this drama. Fortunately, the UN, too, is in a fix thanks to it getting embroiled in the US and the UKs sinister agenda. Today, the Sadc allies sit back rubbing their hands in glee as the new drama unfolds, and the UN finds that, because of the absence of her prompt action, it is in a quagmire. In the week preceding May 11, fierce fighting was reported to have broken out between thousands of ethnic militia in one of the Congos eastern provinces, ironically, with the UN troops coming under heavy fire. In the Ituri provincial town of Bunia, 18 people were reported dead, with fears that the number of casualties could rise. Decaying corpses littered the streets in this fresh cataclysm which promises to last quite a while to come. The UNs plans to take over from the allied
ugnet_: DEFINING MOMENT FOR ZIMBABWEANS
WE are praying and hoping that reason will prevail and Zimbabweans will not be misled into backing the manoeuvres by the opposition MDC to attempt to remove a constitutionally elected President by force. This is a defining moment, not in the sense in which the opposition would want it to be, but in the sense that Zimbabweans have an opportunity to demonstrate their political maturity, and uphold the rule of law. They ought to remember they fought, among other things, for their democratic right to elect who should rule them. This is a right they have been exercising consistently since the attainment of independence 23 years go. Up until the former colonisers took a direct interest in these elections as they sought to protect the land privileges of their kith and kin, the elections had gone on smoothly. And in the case of the recent elections, which the MDC is disputing, they have found legal recourse in the form of the courts, where they have won several decisions over the 2000 parliamentary elections. It therefore becomes unfortunate that before the courts have sat to hear the latest complaint over the 2002 presidential elections, the MDC has abandoned that legal course of action and opted for the illegal one. Perhaps that is indication enough that they do not have confidence in the strength of their case and would rather ride on the back of the frustrations that people have over the state of the economy. They are hoping that they can whip up peoples emotions through public posturing at rallies and in their media to cause an uncalled for uprising. The fact that the country is going through economic difficulties, most of them manufactured by the countrys detractors, does not give a section of the urban voters the right to subvert the constitutional right of the person who has been voted for by the majority of the people nationally to exercise his mandate to govern. We are also aware that an amazing amount of pressure and intimidation will be exerted on those mature enough to ignore the call for a mass action, especially in the high-density areas. But we encourage them to rise above their fears and get on with their lives as usual. The police and other security forces have assured the nation that they will protect those who would want to get on with their duty of rebuilding the economy. It is imperative then for the business sector, especially the banks, the manufacturing companies and the retail shops, to show their respect for the rule of law by not shutting their businesses in support of an illegal mass action. Should they do so, then this will be confirmation that they are not sincere in their public statements that they would want to work with the government of the day to turn around the economy. The people should also reflect closely on what impact the so-called "final push" would have on their lives. Do they genuinely think that a popularly elected government can be changed that way? Or it would be just another push that will lead to nowhere. In fact, it is the poor workers who will bear the brunt of the economic stagnation that a week-long stayaway will bring onto the country. The employers who encourage them to stay away have a smart way of recovering their losses. As soon as the stayaway is over, they increase the prices of goods and services to recoup their losses. And who pays for that? The same worker who thought employers were doing him a favour by giving him a week off. Up to today, workers are still paying the price for the previous stayaways, through the economic difficulties that continue to get worse. Yet the economy could be turned around if everyone, the politicians, the business sector and labour were to be of one mind regarding the destiny of this country. We expect the people of Zimbabwe to rally around the vision pronounced in the National Economic Revival Programme and its template, the 10-point plan, and begin pulling the country out of the economic quagmire that it is in. Taking matters into their own hands would be foolish, as it would at best achieve nothing and at worst set the country up in flames. While many would have views about how the political question should be resolved, we believe they should give the African mediators an opportunity to find common grounds around which national dialogue and hopefully national consensus could be built. But then the MDC cannot be one day talking dialogue and violence the next. Or talking about challenging elections results in court today and tomorrow talking about marching to State House. Or be calling for sanctions yesterday only to wake up tomorrow and pretend to be concerned about the state of the economy and the suffering that people are going through. The opposition partys leadership ought to show some seriousness in their approach to politics and put the people of Zimbabwe first. The Mulindwas Communication Group"With Yoweri Museveni, Uganda is in anarchy"
ugnet_: ANTI-G8 RIOTERS RAMPAGE IN GENEVA
Anti-G8 Rioters Rampage In Geneva6-1-3 (AFP) -- Anti-globalisation rioters rampaged through Geneva overnight, smashing shop windows and hurling firebombs at government buildings as demonstrators geared up for major protests to mark the opening of a G8 summit. The trouble flared just hours before leaders of the world's most powerful nations were due to arrive across the border in the French Alpine resort of Evian for their three-day annual meeting. Tens of thousands of anti-globalisation activists are expected to join cross-border protests to air a multitude of grievances against the world's invitation-only rich club. To counter the threat, some 25,000 police and military personnel have been deployed in Evian and just across the Swiss border in Geneva to try to ensure the high-profile summit passes off peacefully. Security is so strict in Evian itself that the protestors have been forced to focus their campaign around Geneva and the French town of Annemasse, setting up vast tent camps. Protestors, some wearing masks, blocked a road and bridge on both sides of the border but riot police used tear gas to stop a group trying to reach Thonon, about 10 kilometers (six miles) from the heavily-fortified summit site. Protesters carried flags and banners reading "No to War", "The G8 is illegitimate" and "Peace". In Geneva, two molotov cocktails were hurled at local government offices while protesters threw stones and other missiles at windows and attempted to torch several of the shops. A police spokesman said firefighters had been attacked as they tried to fight the flames. Switzerland, which is not a G8 country, is putting on its biggest security operation since World War II amid fears of a repeat of the violence that shook the Genoa G8 meeting two years ago when a demonstrator was shot dead by police. Brief clashes Saturday, when French riot police used tear gas and batons to push back some 400 noisy protestors, gave an early indication of the scale of potential trouble ahead. Many shops and businesses in Geneva's chic downtown quarter have boarded up windows. Some are closed to avoid possible anti-capitalist rampages. Activists have vowed to block bridges to try to prevent official delegations arriving at the city's airport from passing into France to attend the summit. Others have published advice on the Internet on how to evade the security, including swimming in spread-out lines across Lake Geneva. Saturday's flare-up at Annemasse came when several hundred police officers pushed back about 400 protestors trying to block access to a meeting attended by a French Socialist Party delegation. No one was arrested. Shouting slogans against the Socialists, the demonstrators later moved into the town centre where a number of cars were damaged, police said. An anti-G8 summit in Annemasse, which had been running debates and rallies in recent days, closed Saturday with a concert devoted to the cancellation of Third World debt. "We contest the idea that the world can be run by a club of powerful people, without legitimacy," said Gus Massiah, president of the French third world campaign group CRID. "They have been democratically elected to govern their countries, but they have not received a mandate to govern the world." About 50 "fires of protest" lit up the skies after dark Saturday, and bonfires were lit around the Swiss and French shores of the lake. Earlier Saturday, about 200 demonstrators tried in vain to approach a hotel in Geneva where heads of state from developing countries were quartered. "Shame on you!" they cried, pointing toward Evian as Swiss President Pascal Couchepin welcomed the leaders of developing nations invited for an "enlarged dialogue" at the summit. Some 25 streakers daubed with red anti-G8 slogans also staged a brief but high-visibility protest. The Mulindwas Communication Group"With Yoweri Museveni, Uganda is in anarchy" Groupe de communication Mulindwas "avec Yoweri Museveni, l'Ouganda est dans l'anarchie"
ugnet_: MOBILE PHONES, RWANDA AND UGANDA
From: R.Astles To: Mulindwa Edward [EMAIL PROTECTED] Living History (902) Not long ago it would have been unbelievable to be told that the desktop computer was going to lead us into a modern 'killing field'. The PC has been seen as a table top device to give pleasure, anything from composing personal letters to entering into the realms of asteroid sciences and the yet to be discovered mysteries of our creation. It also gives hours of entertainment playing games as many of we first users discovered with the early ping ponging tennis game and the shooting from the hip at the screen with an electronic device. Soon our children were demanding to take part in those first harmless games. Then came the programmes which had those who enjoyed such fantasies shooting aircraft out of the skies or locking a sumptuous damsel in a damp dungeon but all leading to the increasingly sinister but popular programme machines like Game Boys. These breed violence in the young who manipulate the keys with such vigorous skill that their brows drip with sweat as their rockets or bullets screech across the screen. Better, we say, than getting involved in a real war that has the participants dripping real blood. The tragedy is that these Game Boys and the later mobile phones with built in graphics used for games by both the young and adults are themselves the cause of brows in other parts of the world dripping not sweat but blood itself. Few of the world's public are aware that, even as I write, ten year old lads, dressed in professional military uniform and toting Kalashnikovs, are killing men, women and children to keep these Game Boys activated and inventing ever faster and more lethal graphics of screen deaths. One taps his keyboard to enjoy imaginary brutality, the other mindlessly pulls his trigger to enjoy the reality. I am writing, as I have so often in the past in my Living History, of the carnage within the Democratic Republic of Congo, mostly in the region of the Ituri with its capital Bunia. If there is a God then it is the Devil who has placed there ninety five per cent of the world's discovered COLTAN, the very material essential for the production of the Game Boy. It is today's equivalent of gold and is under the control of two of the world's War Lords, President Museveni of Uganda and President Kagame of Rwanda. Both have great friends in America and Britain and both have to be spoken of with the careful respect concocted by the world's great industrialists because they need Coltan and the other precious timbers and minerals being looted from the Congolese people. It has been forgotten that this was once a peaceful province until it was invaded both by the Ugandans and the Rwandese who, with the viciousness shown by smugglers, especially in drugs, throughout the world, divided the province into two with the Ugandans supporting the Lendu tribe and the Rwandese siding with the Hema. Since then millions have lost their lives as bullets spray out from teenagers' guns like water. Nobody cares so long as Coltan mysteriously leaves the Democratic Republic without its people being aware of their loss. It has been a smuggling campaign that even the infamous South American smuggling gangsters must envy. I recently wrote about the disappointment of Kofia Annan, the United Nations Secretary General, when a United Nations Report exposing the involvement at a high military level of both Uganda and Rwanda in massive exploitation and smuggling of Coltan causing innocent civilians to be killed and constantly raped by their soldiers, was smartly swept under the table. Seemingly at the time it was paramount with the world's superpower and its friends to shield both Rwanda and Uganda from any serious hostile comment. Coltan was politically licensed as a most essential mineral for a modern war machine. Without it there could be none of the sophisticated marvels in communication systems used in the recent war. It was much the same as the secrecy over mining uranium in the Congo in the 1940s. Now, perhaps because of removing one tyrant from the Middle East, there is a sudden interest in protecting the Congolese in Ituri region from further slaughter. And what do we see? More madness! It is intended to send in British troops under French command after the absolute failure of the present UN peacekeepers to remove children with guns. And that is not the end of it. The Rwandese and the Ugandans, more or less including their Tutsi powered government, detest the French for their support of the Hutu at the time they were massacring the Tutsi and already last week saw the French Colonel being slashed across the chest with a panga as he remonstrated with young killers who had been on a rampage beheading tiny babies. So French, and British, troops are to enter a battle zone run by murderous savages when they are already hated by the very two powers which have caused the mayhem, out of greed and desire for
ugnet_: A QUOTE FROM RELIABLE SOURCES
"With the formation of new parties impossible and the one significant old party dissolved, the RPF (Rwanda Patriotic Front) will have assured the electoral victory it so badly wants." Alison Des Forges, Senior Adviser to the Africa Division of Human Rights Watch The Mulindwas Communication Group"With Yoweri Museveni, Uganda is in anarchy" Groupe de communication Mulindwas "avec Yoweri Museveni, l'Ouganda est dans l'anarchie"
ugnet_: WORLD LEADERS SEEK HARMONY AFTER IRAQ WAR
World Leaders Seek Harmony After Iraq War 35 minutes ago By TERENCE HUNT, Associated Press Writer EVIAN, France - World leaders clamped a harmonious face on a summit simmering with Iraq (news - web sites) war disputes Sunday, striking a united front with pledges of billions of dollars to fight AIDS (news - web sites) and hunger in poor nations. AP Photo The meeting's most closely watched moment was the welcoming handshake between French President Jacques Chirac and President Bush (news - web sites), whose wartime differences led to angry recriminations on both sides of the Atlantic. They greeted each other with polite smiles, a brief handshake and small talk before walking into a luncheon with other presidents and prime ministers. Chirac, at a news conference later, praised Bush for getting Congress to pass a $15 billion package to combat AIDS in the developing world. "Bush took a decision in this area that I would not hesitate to call historic," Chirac said. He said France would triple its AIDS spending, to about $179 million, and European Union (news - web sites) officials said the 15 member nations are expected to commit about $1.2 billion in new funds at a summit in Greece later this month. Largely peaceful demonstrations against the summit deteriorated into battles between riot police and protestors that continued into early Monday. For more than nine hours, police used rubber pellets, tear gas and water cannons against several thousand militants who rampaged through the Swiss city of Geneva, across the lake from the meeting. The protesters looted gas stations, pharmacies and other shops, leaving downtown Geneva in a state of chaos. Only a handful of stores were left intact mainly those which had anti-G-8 or anti-war banners in their windows. Even the bulletproof windows of big banks were smashed. Inside the summit, there was a concerted effort to get beyond Iraq. "Everybody talked positively. Nobody talked about the past," said Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien, attending his 10th and final summit. "Everybody was concentrating on creating a mood of solidarity." Swiss President Pascal Couchepin said that even just one hour into the summit, "the atmosphere was much better. At the end of the day, the atmosphere was quite good." White House officials suggested Bush was taking a wait-and-see approach about his relationship with Chirac and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, another ardent war foe. It was a different matter, though, with Russian President Vladimir Putin (news - web sites), who also opposed the U.S.-led drive to depose Saddam Hussein (news - web sites) but, in Washington's view, was not confrontational about it. Putin and Bush held a reconciliation meeting earlier Sunday in St. Petersburg, Russia, where they celebrated ratification of a major nuclear arms agreement and proclaimed their close friendship. "Strange as it may sound," Putin said, the United States and Russia have even strengthened ties a point that Bush was happy to echo. "We will show the world that friends can disagree, move beyond disagreement and work in a very constructive and important way to maintain the peace," Bush said. The annual summit of industrialized nations brought together the leaders of the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Canada and Russia at a spa on the banks of Lake Geneva. They were joined on the opening day by leaders from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Africa and developing countries such as China, India and Mexico a move intended in part to answer the criticism of anti-globalization protesters that the G-8 was a rich country's club insensitive to the needs of poorer countries. Chirac's spokeswoman, Catherine Colonna, said the leaders were not avoiding talking about Iraq but were focusing on the challenge of rebuilding Iraq rather than the fractious debates of the past. " We have not changed our point of view. Neither has the United States," she said. British Prime Minister Tony Blair (news - web sites) said the summit leaders should find areas of agreement. "The most important thing, particularly after all the differences there
ugnet_: GR WHAT HEADING SHOULD I PUT ON THIS CRAP?
DP wants formal invitationThe Democratic party (DP) says it will meet President Yoweri Museveni only if they are given a formal invitation. A meeting held mid-this month and chaired by the DP President General Dr. Paul Kawanga Ssemwogerere (in picture) resolved that a selected team of DP officials should meet President Museveni on condition that government writes a formal invitation with a clearly defined agenda. This is after press reports that President Museveni through the National Political commissar Dr. Crispus Kiyonga wants to initiate talks with the DP. A statement signed by the DP Spokesman Jude Mbabali confirms that the state had contacted the party about the talks though informally. Mbabali writes that the development is a timely opportunity to the DP to comprehensively play its role in consolidating democracy. The Mulindwas Communication Group"With Yoweri Museveni, Uganda is in anarchy" Groupe de communication Mulindwas "avec Yoweri Museveni, l'Ouganda est dans l'anarchie"
ugnet_: FRENCH OFFICER HOPES FOR END TO KILLINGS
French officer hopes for end to killing 'This is the cruellest war that I have ever been in' Kees Broere National Post BUNIA, Democratic Republic of Congo - Colonel Daniel Vollot has seen his share of warfare, but none like the ethnic conflict raging in the Ituri region of northeastern Congo. "This is the cruellest war I have ever been in," says Col. Vollot, a slim, balding French army officer and the local commander for MONUC, the UN observation force in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The United Nations said yesterday it had found another 30 decomposing and mutilated bodies in Bunia, the chief city of the Ituri region, bringing the death toll to more than 300 after days of fighting between militias of the rival Hema and Lendu ethnic groups. With only a few lightly armed troops and no authority to intervene, Col. Vollot is desperate to see a more powerful force with a mandate to halt the bloodshed enter the country. "With many of the fighters, there is only one way you can stop them," he says. Although he does not say it, his meaning is clear: The only way to stop them is to shoot them. The colonel is still reeling from the images of war he has seen in the last few days -- such as babies, hacked in two by drugged, machete-wielding, child soldiers. "These are sick people," he says. "They are ready to do the worst imaginable." Most of Bunia, once a city of 350,000, is a ghost town. The plundered city centre is under the control of Hema fighters. They have agreed to a ceasefire with their enemies from the Lendu tribe, whom they have chased into the surrounding hills, but few believe the peace will hold. MONUC soldiers from Uruguay have secured two places in the city, the airport and their own headquarters near the centre. Behind rolls of barbed wire and a ring of armoured personnel carriers, the UN troops are sheltering some 10,000 traumatized Congolese civilians. Most have lost all of their belongings in the fighting. Cécile Balaluka is one. She is sitting near the tarmac at the airport, hoping a UN or relief organization plane will fly her out to a safe destination, such as Beni, 200 kilometres south. Tens of thousands of other people are trying to get there on foot. Many, especially the children, will probably not survive the march through the jungle. "Anywhere but here," Ms. Balaluka says. It has taken her more than a week to find a relatively safe passage to the airport. Now she is ready to leave Bunia once and for all. "They have pillaged all my stuff," she says. "Everything. Now my life is in MONUC's hands." The UN force has been criticized for not doing enough to protect the civilian population. Wrongly so, says Shannon Strother of UNICEF, the UN children's fund. "They have 700 people to do an impossible job. Without their help, we as humanitarians would be completely lost. They are doing everything they reasonably can." To date, MONUC's chief achievement has been to negotiate the ceasefire. Col. Vollot hopes it will soon be followed up by a UN-sanctioned rapid intervention force. A small group of French soldiers was due to leave Bunia yesterday for France to discuss the proposed intervention with the government. Britain, France and South Africa have said they will consider sending troops. Canada is expected to provide two military transport planes and a small number of troops. A battalion of the French Foreign Legion -- about 1,000 troops -- is in the West African country of Gabon waiting for the order to move. The ethnic conflict in Ituri, a region rich with gold, timber and the prospect of oil, has claimed 50,000 lives since 1998, when civil war broke out in the Congo. More than half a million people are internally displaced. The recent clashes for control of Bunia have added scores more casualties. Close to MONUC's headquarters in a former city council hall, a makeshift hospital has been set up. It has exactly one bed. On mattresses on the floor, about 50 people are waiting for treatment. Most of them have war-related injuries. "I saw Lendu fighters coming very close to my house," says Caliste Miyayo. "I told my children to get down on the floor. Then a grenade exploded nearby. Next thing I know, I was here in the hospital." Lendu fighters attacked him, probably assuming Miyayo is a Hema. "Nothing of the kind," he says. "I'm not even from this part of the country, I'm from the south of Congo. "It is such a catastrophe. The fighting used to be pretty small. Now the whole region is going up in flames." Bunia is almost without electricity, water and medicine. Most of the relief workers have fled during last week's fighting, though with the ceasefire they are slowly returning. The task they are heading is massive, if not nearly impossible. The situation in Ituri has been compared to that in Rwanda in 1994, when extremist Hutus killed at least 500,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus in three months. Lendu and Hema
ugnet_: Lendu Kill 250 Hema in 3 Hours
Lendu Kill 250 Hema in 3 Hours New Vision (Kampala) June 2, 2003 Posted to the web June 2, 2003 Emmy Allio Kampala EIGHT hours after the 53rd Battalion of the UPDF pulled out of the Congolese town of Tchomia, Lendu militias backed by some elements of the Kinshasa government army massacred a total of 253 Hema militias on Saturday. The dead included 57 children aged below 10 years. Twenty-seven of the dead were patients in Tchomia Hospital who were slaughtered in their beds. Hema chiefs said the killing and pillage took only three hours. "We are not burying the dead until the United Nations observer team comes from Bunia to see what Kinshasa soldiers and Lendu militias have done to the Hema," Kisembo Bitamara, the Hema paramount chief for South Bahema, said. He said, "The Hema are dying because the Hema are stopping Congolese president Joseph Kabila and Mbusa Nyamwisi from accessing the oil deposits at Kasenyi and Tchomia." He said Heritage oil and gas company which signed the oil deal was itching to start drilling the oil which is in the area that is occupied by the Hema. UPDF sources said President Yoweri Museveni's military assistant, Brig. Kale Kaihura, is in Kasenyi to ensure that the entire 53rd battalion pulls out by end of the week. The UPDF, who were trailed by over 10,000 Hema civilians from Bunia, left Tchomia and Kasenyi on Friday and Saturday respectively. Kisembo said the attackers descended from the Salama na Bibi mountains. He said they attacked the Lake Albert shore town at around 5:00am, but were repulsed after a three-hour battle. Uganda security sources said the Tchomia incident should be a warning to the international community that worse things could happen in Ituri. Tchomia and Kasenyi are controlled by the Party for Unity and Safeguard of Integrationists in Congo (PUSIC) which is led by Chief Kawa Mandro Panga. Kisembo, speaking on a satellite phone link from Tchomia, said 22 members of chief Kawa's family were killed. He said 12 of the attackers were also killed. Sources said over 20 PUSIC soldiers were killed, among them a commander identified as Kisembo. PUSIC and Thomas Lubanga's Union for Patriotic Congolese Union (UPC) have condemned the presence of the 3,000 Kinshasa soldiers in the southern parts of Ituri where they control the town of Komanda and part of Ituri. Diplomatic sources yesterday said DRC leader Joseph Kabila was under pressure to withdraw his army from Ituri. In April, Lendu militias massacred about 933 Hema civilians in Drodro, southeast of Bunia town. This prompted United Nations to order investigations in order to hunt the killers. In the ugly power game in Ituri, three factions of the Rwanda-backed UPC, Kinshasa-backed Lendu militias and PUSIC who are sympathetic to Uganda, are now sharing Bunia town. France and Britain have pledged troops to the international peacekeeping force to be deployed this week in Ituri. The United Nations peacekeeping force, MONUC, has failed to contain the situation, which has continued to worsen since the UPDF withdrew from the Democratic Republic of Congo. Over 100,000 Hema have taken refuge in western Uganda.
ugnet_: Leave 3rd Term Talk to Those in Suits - Sebunya
Leave 3rd Term Talk to Those in Suits - Sebunya New Vision (Kampala) June 2, 2003 Posted to the web June 2, 2003 Edris Kisambira Kampala AGRICULTURE state minister Kibirige Sebunya has asked Ugandans to tend to their gardens and leave the issue of the third-term for the President, "to us who wear suits." Speaking in Luganda at Kakiri at the launch of a eu1.1m food security project, Ssebunya said, How does the third-term involve you, some of you are wearing slippers and are making noise about a third term, leave that to us who wear suits." Ssebunya advised the people to concentrate on their gardens, saying involving themselves in the third-term talk would only serve to prevent them from providing for their families. "You people need to work hard in your gardens, get money and buy a shoe like mine, a shirt like mine, a coat like mine and then you can talk politics," Ssebunya said amidst bouts of laughter from everybody present. He attacked radio stations in the Buganda region for what he called wasting valuable air time on political talk, "instead of sensitising our people about market for agricultural produce, new farming methods and the opportunities available." Ssebunya joined the people in thanking President Yoweri Museveni for having selected Prof. Gilbert Bukenya to replace Dr. Speciosa Wandira Kazibwe. He said, "Now surely the people of Busiro, what reason would you give not to love Museveni. Why would you abandon and hate Museveni? He has given you a Vice-President, a son of the soil." He hailed the Italian government for funding 60% of the Eu1.1m food security project through the International Volunteers' Service Association. Busiro North Development Foundation (BNDF), a co-operative society, is the beneficiary and Prof Bukenya is the chairman of the foundation.
ugnet_: Re: Leave 3rd Term Talk to Those in Suits - Sebunya
OK: What can I say this animal called "politics" can sometimes act in very strange manners... Now Mwami Ssebunya says Ugandans should not talk of the sad term. I hear because Ugandans wear mere slippers! As if to insinuate that those who wear slippers are devoid of any reasoning or analytical thinking. In any case, were, if I may ask, does Sebunya get the audacity to tell Ugandans what they can or cannot discuss? The fact is the people can and should discuss all the Ugandan political issues which affects them and their family. and right now Museveni's wish for the SAD term is of great concern to the masses. Therefore, the issue should be debated openly and by all the people of Uganda. Matek In a message dated 6/2/2003 1:21:53 AM Eastern Daylight Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: Matek: The Minister of state for Agriculture is quoted as saying: "... tend to (your) gardens and leave the issue of the third-term for the President, "to us who wear suits." I hope now Bidandi understands why why the president was asking him ; "who are you?". The "Oli mwana wani?" mentality has set in. You have to waer a suite to carry weight. Ok.
ugnet_: WE WILL ENFORCE COURT ORDER : ZRP
Herald Reporters POLICE said yesterday the High Court order compelling the opposition MDC to stop its illegal mass action will be enforced to its fullest and anyone defying the order would meet the full wrath of the law. "The Zimbabwe Republic Police wish to advise the public and any other interested parties that we will enforce, to the fullest letter of the law, without fear or favour the High Courts order declaring illegal the mass action which the MDC and its leader Morgan Tsvangirai called for tomorrow (today)," police spokesman Assistant Commissioner Wayne Bvudzi-jena said in a statement last night. High Court Judge Justice Ben Hlatshwayo on Saturday night issued a provisional order directing the MDC and Mr Tsvangirai, cited as the first and second respondent respectively, to stop the action called to oust a constitutionally elected Govern-ment. The Commissioner of Police Augustine Chihuri filed the application. According to the law, anyone who goes ahead with any action in violation of a court order would be in contempt of court and the law would take its course. The Zimbabwe United Passenger Company, which on Friday, had filed an application seeking to bar the MDC from holding the mass action, yesterday said it had withdrawn its case. "Zupco welcomes the judgment by Justice Ben Hlatshwayo interdicting MDC and its leader from proceeding with the illegal demonstration planned for tomorrow (today). "Our urgent chamber application sought precisely the same remedy," the bus company said in a statement. It said it had instructed its lawyers to pursue damages in excess of $500 million for loss of property during the illegal MDC mass action in March. Friendly members of the Zimbabwe National Army were by yesterday patrolling most parts of Harare. Some were deployed at the Chitungwiza shopping complex while others were patrolling known trouble spots of Glen View, Kuwadzana and Glen Norah. The deployment was to ensure that all peace-loving Zimbabweans would be able to continue with their daily chores. In Chitungwiza, members of the national army public relations addressed the public and told them to be free in doing their day-to-day business. "We are a friendly force," said members of the national army through loud hailers. The Chitungwiza shopping complex will be open as police and the army are on guard. Roadblocks have also been mounted in all roads leading into the city and police are conducting searches where any offensive material will be confiscated. Patrols were also increased around the major security points of the country and in all public places members of the national army would be accompanied by police. All previous trouble spots in Glen Norah, Glen View, Kuwadzana and other high-density suburbs had received increased police attention and police would not entertain any nonsense. At the roadblocks police asked for identifications and luggage and body searches were done on all people. Justice Hlatshwayo ruled that MDC and its leader Mr Morgan Tsvangirai had acted unlawfully in calling for demonstrations intended to oust a legitimately elected President. "Accordingly, it is ordered that: (1) The respondents be interdicted from organising, urging or suggesting or setting up the mass demonstrations intended to remove the lawfully elected President and Government," he said. "The respondents are interdicted from holding the mass stayaway and public demonstrations scheduled for 2 June to 6 Jun 2003." The Minister of State for National Security and chairman of the Joint Operation Command, Cde Nicholas Goche warned last Friday that security forces are on full alert countrywide and have the means and capacity to deal with individuals and groups bent on overthrowing the Government. The JOC incorporates the ministries of Defence, Home Affairs and National Security. "The MDCs persistent calls for violent mass actions, not only negate national democratic practices but also undermine national security," he said. "This is not acceptable and the security forces will discharge their constitutional responsibilities of maintaining law and order." He said avenues for a constitutional change of government are there in the Constitution of Zimbabwe and stipulate that multi-party parliamentary and presidential elections be held every five or six years respectively. "Any other means of ascending to power are unconstitutional and therefore treasonous," Cde Goche said. Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Cde Patrick Chinamasa also warned that the perpetrators of the illegal mass actions would face the full wrath of the law. He said it was quite clear that the motive behind the threatened action was to effect a coup over a legitimately elected Government of Zimbabwe. The MDC is reported to have teamed up with the NCA and Crisis Zimbabwe all externally sponsored organisations, in their proposed march to oust President Mugabe. Some white
ugnet_: NOW THIS ONE IS GOOD (Way to go Kenya)
I have no urgent plan to fly BAAs an Executive Club member of British Airways, I received an e-mail message today from BA advertising a special offer. This offer included the promise of discounts on any flights booked with BA. This is what I replied: "I live in Kenya. I am very proud of this country. BA no longer flies here. The British Government refuses to allow its citizens to come here with no adequate explanation. The economy is suffering hugely as a result. In summary, I have absolutely no intention of using your airline. If I have to use an airline, it will be Kenya Airways. Certainly not to fly to England which has been subjected to regular terrorist attacks for the past 30 years and where the Houses of Parliament are now protected by concrete blocks". RICHARD VIGNE, Nairobi. The Mulindwas Communication Group"With Yoweri Museveni, Uganda is in anarchy" Groupe de communication Mulindwas "avec Yoweri Museveni, l'Ouganda est dans l'anarchie"
ugnet_: MORGAN TSVANGIRAI ENJOYING A FREE RIDE
Zimbabwe opposition leader 'arrested' Opposition officials say government forces are intimidating people Police in Zimbabwe have arrested opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai at the start of a week of planned protests called to drive President Robert Mugabe from power, opposition supporters have reported. Mr Tsvangirai, who leads the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), was said to have been picked up at his house and taken to a police station in Harare. Other opposition leaders are reported to have gone into hiding. Harare is very quiet, with few people turning up for work, reports say. Police and army patrols are out in force, with road blocks on the main routes leading into the city centre, and the roads around President Mugabe's official residence have been closed. The authorities have declared the protests illegal and warned that anyone taking part in them will "face the full wrath of the law". In the north of the capital, school children were seen making their way to classes, but some schools have planned to close over the next five days. The High Court in Zimbabwe banned the protests - called by the MDC - after police filed an application saying they would undermine law and order and challenge the country's constitutional democracy. After the protests were called, the government warned it would crush any demonstrations and the opposition leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, could be arrested. However Mr Tsvangirai said that the order was not binding and the marches would proceed "as planned", calling on Zimbabweans to "rise up in your millions". Panic-buying BBC correspondent Barnaby Phillips says that the protests mark a defining moment in Zimbabwe's history. If the demonstrations fail, he says, President Mugabe may feel encouraged to cling on to power, but if they succeed he will come under even greater pressure to resign. However, in Zimbabwe's cities people will have to weigh up their desperate desire for change with the knowledge that the government will employ brutal measures to suppress them, our correspondent adds. This weekend, people were panic-buying in preparation for the demonstrations. In Harare, shoppers stocked up on essentials while thousands queued up at banks to withdraw cash. 'Intimidation tactics' Mugabe denies causing the country's economic crisis One resident of the low-income suburb of Mabvuku, in eastern Harare, told the AFP news agency on Sunday that police had been moving around beer halls telling people to go home. An unnamed MDC official said the army was "trying to intimidate people by going into high-density suburbs in their trucks, with guns". The ruling Zanu-PF's chief spokesman Nathan Shamuyarira has said the time has come for a showdown with the MDC and that they must be "confronted and taught a lesson". Economic crisis The MDC accuses Mr Mugabe of causing the country's economic crisis - a charge he denies. However, it is not clear if ordinary Zimbabweans will want to be involved, given the harsh treatment meted out to protesters last time. Zimbabwe is in a severe economic crisis, with record inflation and unemployment, and shortages of food, fuel and foreign currency. President Mugabe, in power since the country gained independence from Britain in 1980, blames the crisis on opponents of his seizures of land from the tiny white minority for redistribution among landless blacks. Zimbabwe is under sanctions from the Commonwealth over the land seizures and alleged vote-rigging by the ruling party. The Mulindwas Communication Group"With Yoweri Museveni, Uganda is in anarchy" Groupe de communication Mulindwas "avec Yoweri Museveni, l'Ouganda est dans l'anarchie"
Re: ugnet_: GR WHAT HEADING SHOULD I PUT ON THIS CRAP?
Mulindwa, "DP's Ssemokulembekas for yet another post with the killer NRA/M"! Gook "You can't separate peace from freedom because no one can be at peace unless he has his freedom."- Malcom X Original Message Follows From: "Mulindwa Edward" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>CC: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>Subject: ugnet_: GR WHAT HEADING SHOULD I PUT ON THIS CRAP? Date: Sun, 1 Jun 2003 21:13:34 -0400 DP wants formal invitation The Democratic party (DP) says it will meet President Yoweri Museveni only if they are given a formal invitation. A meeting held mid-this month and chaired by the DP President General Dr. Paul Kawanga Ssemwogerere (in picture) resolved that a selected team of DP officials should meet President Museveni on condition that government writes a formal invitation with a clearly defined agenda. This is after press reports that President Museveni through the National Political commissar Dr. Crispus Kiyonga wants to initiate talks with the DP. A statement signed by the DP Spokesman Jude Mbabali confirms that the state had contacted the party about the talks though informally. Mbabali writes that the development is a timely opportunity to the DP to comprehensively play its role in consolidating democracy. The Mulindwas Communication Group "With Yoweri Museveni, Uganda is in anarchy" Groupe de communication Mulindwas "avec Yoweri Museveni, l'Ouganda est dans l'anarchie" Protect your PC - Click here for McAfee.com VirusScan Online
ugnet_: Mao not a true DP - Ssebaana
Mao not a true DP - SsebaanaBy Kennedy Lule June 2, 2003 The Democratic Party treasurer John Ssebaana Kizito has blasted Mr Norbert Mao for saying some leaders have squandered the party's money. "If he is a true DP member, why has he never brought it to our attention?" Mr Ssebaana, who also is the mayor of Kampala, said in a telephone interview yesterday. "He is a populist and I suspect he has been sent to make such allegations in order to divide the party." Mr Ssebaana declined to name the person who is behind Mr Mao's outburst. Press reports yesterday quoted Mr Mao, the Gulu Municipality MP, to have said that the opening up of political space will expose DP's lack of financial accountability, amongst other issues. But yesterday Mr Ssebaana challenged Mr Mao, who wants to stand for president on a DP ticket in 2006, to name people who have mismanaged the party's finances. "No donors have ever complained about mismanagement. But I need the said money if it was misappropriated because we have to run the party's activities," Mr Ssebaana said. Mr Ssebaana said they last received about $6,000 to set up the DP's Web site, which was done with additions from local contributions. He said Mr Mao is on the periphery of DP affairs and is not in a privileged position to comment on the party's accounts. "Mr Mao is not an active member. He just comes to our functions and makes exciting comments, and he goes away," he said. Mr Ssebaana said Mr Mao does not even contribute mabugo (condolence fees) when a party member dies. "He does not appreciate any work we do. We file petitions in court. We organise political rallies where police confront us with live bullets and others," he said. © 2003 The Monitor Publications Gook "You can't separate peace from freedom because no one can be at peace unless he has his freedom."- Malcom X MSN 8 with e-mail virus protection service: 2 months FREE*
ugnet_: Re: [DHR] Rwanda May 2003 : Analysis by The Economist Intelligence Unit
But has any body considered the fact that Paul kagame has made him self a president for the next 14 years? That and only that should make every body shiver for at least Museveni did not come out so blatantly as a dictator. For that basically means that in those 14 years there is no single Rwandese who can be a batter politician than him. I continue to do what I have done for the last 20 years, look at Africa and our leaders as they come and go in our own eyes, and they all fail to learn even a single lesson as we the population fail to learn as well. Kagame should have known better. 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: Placide Muhigana To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ; [EMAIL PROTECTED] ; [EMAIL PROTECTED] ; [EMAIL PROTECTED] ; [EMAIL PROTECTED] ; [EMAIL PROTECTED] ; [EMAIL PROTECTED] ; [EMAIL PROTECTED] ; [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Wednesday, May 28, 2003 12:51 PM Subject: [DHR] Rwanda May 2003 : Analysis by The Economist Intelligence Unit Extracts - (The) Mouvement democratique republicain (MDR), is in disarray, plagued by factional disputes, which many suspect have been fomented by the RPF - Multiparty politics is being tightly managed by the RPF to ensure its own victory. -The new constitution gives the government extensive powers to rule against those that it claims are acting against national unity, and these ill-defined powers will be used by the authorities to neutralise those that challenge the RPF's political hegemony. The domination of political power by Tutsis -- one of the main issues that actually motivates debate -- will remain an "untouchable" issue before and after the election. - Exiled politicians remain dispersed and weak, but are starting to join forces, and will pose a political challenge one day, particularly if they can secure a powerful backer. But this day seems far off, and the RPF will remain in power for many years to come. THE ECONOMIST INTELLIGENCE UNIT, MAY 2003 Outlook for 2003-04: Domestic politics Rwanda's first multiparty presidential and parliamentary elections since independence are scheduled for November 2003. The elections will mark the return to normal political activity which was suspended after the ruling Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) took power in 1994, ending the genocide in which up to 1m Tutsis and moderate Hutus were killed. Since then, a controlled form of political activity was allowed in which parties that had been elected before the genocide were allowed to resume their seats in parliament but were banned from campaigning or engaging in "normal" political activity. The elections are to be preceded by a referendum on a new constitution in late May, which is expected to be approved by voters without objection or much enthusiasm. The government has promised free and fair elections, and the voting is indeed likely to be relatively transparent and free of noticeable coercion. However, the transition to open, multiparty politics is being tightly managed by the RPF to ensure its own victory. As a result, there is concern that even as the government opens the political space formally, it will be shutting it down privately through a number of undeclared mechanisms and strategies. First of all, the current ban on party politics outside parliament will remain until after the constitution is ratified by referendum, giving political parties just five months to prepare for the elections. The state authorities will also keep a close eye on the RPF's political competitors once campaigning starts, and will act swiftly against any deemed to be promoting ethnic division. The new constitution gives the government extensive powers to rule against those that it claims are acting against national unity, and these ill-defined powers will be used by the authorities to neutralise those that challenge the RPF's political hegemony. The domination of political power by Tutsis -- one of the main issues that actually motivates debate -- will remain an "untouchable" issue before and after the election. As a result, it will be hard for the other parties to differentiate themselves from the RPF. Meanwhile, the main rival to the RPF, the Mouvement democratique republicain (MDR) which ruled from independence until 1973, is consumed by internal division and it is unlikely that the party will even unite behind a single candidate for the presidential election. A convincing RPF victory is expected in both the presidential and the parliamentary elections and, though some human rights
Re: ugnet_: Re: How Democratic is Uganda? (Feature)
Hej On the surface, it sounds right, but, HOW DEMOCRATIC ARE UGANDAN?! noc´l From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] CC: [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED],[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: ugnet_: Re: How Democratic is Uganda? (Feature) Date: Tue, 27 May 2003 12:34:17 EDT In a message dated 5/27/2003 12:09:34 PM Eastern Daylight Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: Without liberating parties first there is no way the referendum could be free and fair, explains Ssemogerere. And anyway it is wrong in principle. These fundamental rights are not to be decided by the majority. The right to associate holds even if only one person wants to exercise that right. I tend to aggree with this observation. Matek _ Protect your PC - get McAfee.com VirusScan Online http://clinic.mcafee.com/clinic/ibuy/campaign.asp?cid=3963
ugnet_: Uganda's problem: Law Masters
JUSTICE PARTY http://www.idr.co.ug/dfwa-u/gallery.htm www.dfwa-u.tk Uganda's problem: Law & Masters Ugandans should look closely at the structure of the judiciary - if it remains at the whims of existing regimes and political leaders to direct justice for the citizens - then there will never ever be justice for the people of Uganda, but only for those who wield political power and can use the judicial system to reach their own ends and justify the own illegitimacy and the acts accompanying them. The same goes to internal security agencies which are organised in a manner which suggests there should be no woman, man, child or animal in Uganda above those who are directly involved into these structures. Merit, experience and personality doesn't count in these entities! The day the judiciary branded corrupt by the present regime, becomes completely independent of the interference from the executive and it affiliates and start appointing through elective methods among themselves and approved by the parliament of Uganda, our country will continue to face turmoil; The following are the structures of concern to DFWA-U the IGG and his deputes, the Solicitor General, Attorney General, Director of Public Prosecutions - the police board elects among themselves the CID officials and the police board plus the IGP instead of the government doing so, the parliament appoints the Commissioner General of Prisons, Commander of the army, Chief of Staffs, Military Governing Board which should include politicians from all parties, ask :- -Who appoints who (a particular person) for the above positions ? - Why is a particular person appointed for the above positions? When is a particular person appointed for the above position? For what reasons is a particular person appointed for the above positions? Why is it that a particular person appoints a particular person for the above positions? What are the reason behind the appointment of a particular person for the above positions? Unless one get good and adequate explanations to satisfy the conditions and circumstances into which particular personalities are better than others and why they should be those positions - CORRUPTION IS STILL A GOVERNMENT FUTURE - and therefore the fate for our country still holds that the citizens are enslaved and encapsulated into a hopeless struggle for their freedoms. __ bwanika url: www.idr.co.ug Logon & Join in ug-academicsdb discussion list http://www.coollist.com/subcribe.html List ID: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Your Email address: ~~ ~~ url: http://uhpl.uganda.co.ug http://pub59.ezboard.com/fugandamanufacturersassociationfrm1
ugnet_: Movt overtures to DP are laughable
Movt overtures to DP are laughableBy Karoli Ssemogerere June 2, 2003 Capping another week in the President Yoweri Museveni third term project drama, was a preposterous proposal by the National Political Commissar, Dr Crispus Bazarrabusa Kiyonga to Democratic Party leaders requesting for a meeting to iron out their minor differences. Dr Kiyonga's outstretched arm did not include addressing the key deficiencies in Uganda's political system, that we continue to see unravelling by the day. First is the continued militarisation of the political process, that has choked the ability of national institutions and organizations to organize and realise the democracy quotient. Second, is the continued obsession with a personality cult rule enveloped around the person of the incumbent president and his family that is killing the critical and delicate process of evolution of genuinely national political leaders to shape the destiny of the country's future. Third, is the institutionalisation of a system that has come to be synonymous with corruption, manipulation, and deceptive respect for wishes of the majority of Ugandans. The corruption mafia has ensured that the benefits of economic growth in the consumer economy are limited to a narrow segment of the population, which has reaped from the immense social fall-out where Ugandans are willing to do almost anything to lift themselves from poverty. Fourth, is a growing catalytic apathy for national institutions like the Judiciary and with them the rule of law. Ugandans largely, even in areas of relative political stability, continue to enjoy those rights as benevolently granted to them by the national leaders. Opposition in any form whether peaceful barazas, political rallies, graduation parties, road demonstrations like those in Bunyoro is lethargic and poisonous even while we continue to fail to deal with more fundamental problems like the rebellion in Acholi. The next major flaw in Dr Kiyonga's analysis is a total failure to account as to why Uganda has been subjected to this costly experiment, through fraud, fear and deception. Then as now, political critics pointed to the Movement political system as a complete farce, a dress to be worn and shoved into the closet once it had won over the hearts of Ugandans. The light years Uganda has lost, in both economics and social change, to politicking is already beyond the pale. This fraud began with a similar process initiated by the now sacked former national political commissar, Mr Eriya Kategaya in the run-up to the 1994 Constituent Assembly elections, and was a cap to the 1992 National Resistance Ccouncil "Gentleman's Resolution" that suspended political party activity during the constitution making process. A position that gained legal currency in the Rwanyarare and Others v Attorney General, Constitutional Case No. 1 of 1993. It is instructive that Judge Alice Nansikombi Bahigeine's lead judgement completely reversed itself in the recent ruling that declared the Movement nothing more than a political faction, that was clinging to the structures of state - in effect creating a one party state prohibited by Article 75 of the Constitution. After 1994, Eriya Kategaya made a further analysis of the situation claiming rightfully that money was completely corrupting the political process after Abbey Kafumbe Mukasa and Capt. Francis Babu spent unprecedented amounts of money in the Kampala Central race. He, like others, soon changed wagons mid-stream to form Danze and Heritage Inc. to perpetuate the same bribery in 1996 from which the political system has never recovered to this date. What we find ourselves in today is a quandary of sorts. Political parties need to be allowed to reorganise internally without pre-conditions. Political parties alone are not a solution to the current mess. Infact, to presume so would be extremely dangerous. The moral fabric of the state is at stake. Waking up and giving Mr Museveni powers both constitutional and extra constitutional is such a huge organisational risk to the stability of Uganda. Ugandans need a roundtable to renegotiate their contract with an entity that was formed long after they had settled in their communities. It would be a tragedy of untold proportions if political parties signed off onto piecemeal reforms like funding of political parties in order to perpetuate a basic injustice and corrupt political system. The Movement then as now has never failed in its wily attempts to confuse and manipulate all sectors of society. It has deteriorated to an extent that its planted followers likes of Vincent Kirabokyamaria, Peter Kasenene and many others in different faiths, social organisations, and cultural organisations will issue the Mr Museveni refrain even when it completely distorts the genuine feelings and aspirations of the organisations they represent. That is why Msgr. Joseph Obunga should not be embarrassed with a Mr Kaseneene pretending to speak on his behalf, and
ugnet_: LRA Rebels Kill 20 in Fresh Raids
However, Lt Ankunda said the latest rebel atrocities are the kicks of a dying horse. "When you are fighting a terrorist you need to be patient," he said "However, the results from these skirmishes are good signals. When you kill and recover equipment, these are good signals." === I am sick and tired of this Lt. Ankunda's stories... every day the man keeps telling us that the so called LRA rebel attack on citizens is but quote "a kick of a dying horse" ..everyday the some story for now 17 years. ..and yet violence in northern Uganda Continues. ..and people continue to lose their lives. Matek LRA Rebels Kill 20 in Fresh Raids The Monitor (Kampala) June 2, 2003 Posted to the web June 2, 2003 John Muto-Ono P'lajur Richard M. Kavuma Kampala At least 19 people were killed and a Catholic mission burnt at the weekend as the rebel Lord's Resistance Army staged three raids in northern Uganda. On Friday the LRA overran Omiya Anyima trading centre, 40 km east of Kitgum, setting more than 100 huts ablaze. According to Fr Marvin Suentes, a priest at Omiya Anyima parish, the attack left five civilians and 11 rebels dead. Also dead is a UPDF soldier whose head was sliced off. The priest was speaking from Kitgum last evening, shortly after arriving from Omiya Anyima. "In one room of a burned house they wrote, 'LRA: We have defeated Omiya Anyima,'" said Fr Suentes, who survived the raid by hiding inside the Church. The Monitor could not, however, independently verify casualty figures for both civilians and fighters. Gulu-based 4 Division spokesman Lt. Paddy Ankunda said the UPDF clashed with the LRA north of Omiya Anyima. The army killed three rebels and rescued three abductees. "I am trying to verify reports that some civilians were killed," Lt Ankunda said on telephone. Kitgum LC-V Chairman Nahaman Ojwee said four people were killed and another four injured in the raid. Kitgum residents said they began hearing gunfire as early as 7 a.m. The gunfire reportedly continued for much of the day, with two helicopter gunships supporting the UPDF ground troops. The LRA also burned a lorry, killing two people, in Madi Opei sub county, Lamwo County, along the Uganda-Sudan border. The lorry belonged to Rapid Response Transporters. In another incident at Palabek kall, 40km north of Kitgum town, Local Defence Unit men captured three rebels along with their rifles. Explaining the increased rebel attacks, Ms Pamela Ayero, an LC-V women councillor for Madi Opei, said the rebels normally outnumber the LDU. "They have become too many. It is like when they target an area they come in large numbers," Ms Ayero said. Mr Ojwee said the district is requesting government to deploy three more battalions in Kitgum to boost security. However, Lt Ankunda said the latest rebel atrocities are the kicks of a dying horse. "When you are fighting a terrorist you need to be patient," he said "However, the results from these skirmishes are good signals. When you kill and recover equipment, these are good signals."
