ugnet_: THE FIGURES OF LOTTERY 2004 ARE OUT
Media NoteOffice of the SpokesmanWashington, DCJune 24, 2003Diversity Visa Lottery 2004 (DV-2004) Results=The Kentucky Consular Center in Williamsburg,Kentucky, has registered and notified the winners ofthe DV-2004 diversity lottery. The diversity lotterywas conducted under the terms of section 203(c) of theImmigration and Nationality Act and makes available*50,000 permanent resident visas annually to personsfrom countries with low rates of immigration to theUnited States. Approximately 111,000 applicants havebeen registered and notified and may now make anapplication for an immigrant visa. Since it is likelythat some of the first *50,000 persons registered willnot pursue their cases to visa issuance, this largerfigure should insure that all DV-2004 numbers will beused during fiscal year 2004 (October 1, 2003 untilSeptember 30, 2004). Applicants registered for the DV-2004 program wereselected at random from the approximately 7.3 millionqualified entries received during the one-monthapplication period that ran from Noon on October 7,2002 through Noon on November 6, 2002. An additional2.9 million applications were either received outsideof the mail-in period or were disqualified for failingto properly follow directions. The visas have beenapportioned among six geographic regions, with amaximum of seven percent available to persons born inany single country. During the visa interview,principal applicants must provide proof of a highschool education or its equivalent or show two yearsof work experience in an occupation that requires atleast two years of training or experience within thepast five years. Those selected will need to act ontheir immigrant visa applications quickly. Applicantsshould follow the instructions in their notificationletter and must fully complete the informationrequested. Registrants living legally in the United States whowish to apply for adjustment of their status mustcontact the Bureau of Citizenship and ImmigrationServices for information on the requirements andprocedures. Once the total *50,000 visa numbers havebeen used, the program for fiscal year 2004 will end.Selected applicants who do not receive visas bySeptember 30, 2004, will derive no further benefitfrom their DV-2004 registration. Similarly, spousesand children accompanying or following to join DV-2004principal applicants are only entitled to derivativediversity visa status until September 30, 2004. Only participants in the DV-2004 program who wereselected for further processing have been notified.Those who have not received notification were notselected. They may try for the upcoming DV-2005lottery if they wish. The dates for the mail-in periodfor the DV-2005 lottery program will be widelypublicized during August 2003. * The Nicaraguan and Central American Relief Act(NCARA) passed by Congress in November 1997 stipulatedthat up to 5,000 of the 55,000 annually-allocateddiversity visas be made available for use under theNCARA program. The reduction of the limit of availablevisas to 50,000 began with DV-2000. The following is the statistical breakdown byforeign-state chargeability of those registered forthe DV-2004 program: AFRICA ALGERIA 1,285 ERITREA 373NAMIBIA 10 ANGOLA 17ETHIOPIA 6,353 NIGER 35 BENIN 209 GABON 14NIGERIA 7,145 BOTSWANA 8 GAMBIA, THE 65 RWANDA 87 BURKINA FASO 34 GHANA 7,040SAO TOME AND PRINCIPE 0 BURUNDI 27GUINEA 22 SENEGAL 269 CAMEROON 1,531 GUINEA-BISSAU 6 SEYCHELLES 1 CAPE VERDE 4KENYA 5,721 SIERRA LEONE 2,149 CENTRAL AFRICAN REP. 10 LESOTHO 0SOMALIA 566 CHAD 41LIBERIA 1,570 SOUTH AFRICA 413 COMOROS 0 LIBYA 24SUDAN 1,183 CONGO 31MADAGASCAR 27 SWAZILAND 2 CONGO, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE 455MALAWI 32 TANZANIA 329 MALI 51 TOGO 2,819 COTE D'IVOIRE 268 MAURITANIA 25 TUNISIA 115 DJIBOUTI 24MAURITIUS 44 UGANDA 351 EGYPT 4,189 MOROCCO 5,069 ZAMBIA 124 EQUATORIAL GUINEA 1 MOZAMBIQUE 5 ZIMBABWE 168 ASIA AFGHANISTAN 46 IRAQ 174 MONGOLIA 65 BAHRAIN 15 ISRAEL 465 NEPAL 4,259 BANGLADESH 5,126 JAPAN 1,291 OMAN 3 BHUTAN 9 JORDAN 125 QATAR 8 BRUNEI 7 NORTH KOREA 4 SAUDI ARABIA 54BURMA 906 KUWAIT 45 SINGAPORE 137CAMBODIA 237 LAOS 10 SRI LANKA 1,418 HONG KONG SPECIAL LEBANON 105 SYRIA 64 ADMIN. REGION 293 MALAYSIA 222 TAIWAN 1,833 INDONESIA 844 MALDIVES 0 THAILAND 297 IRAN 1,431 YEMEN 106 EUROPE ALBANIA 3,071 GERMANY 1,227 NORTHERN IRELAND 51ANDORRA 1 GREECE 66 NORWAY 19ARMENIA 836 HUNGARY 139 POLAND 5,467AUSTRIA 64 ICELAND 17 PORTUGAL 46AZERBAIJAN 338 IRELAND 305 Macau 0 BELARUS 966 ITALY 165 ROMANIA 1,845 BELGIUM 46 KAZAKHSTAN 451 RUSSIA 2,600BOSNIA HERZEGOVINA 128 KYRGYZSTAN 206 SAN MARINO 0BULGARIA 3,482 LATVIA 172 SERBIA MONTENEGRO 448 CROATIA 73 LIECHTENSTEIN 1 SLOVAKIA 392 CYPRUS 11 LITHUANIA 2,059 SLOVENIA 8 CZECH REPUBLIC 172 LUXEMBOURG 4 SPAIN 62 DENMARK 39 MACEDONIA, FORMER SWEDEN 82 ESTONIA 71 YUGOSLAV REP. OF 166 SWITZERLAND 183 FINLAND
ugnet_: THE TODAY'S I TOLD YOU !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Netters Here we are with some facts coming out in today's New Vision. As I have stated before Federalists are looking for federal for Buganda, and we can twist all words as we love but those are the facts. Well here we are today when the Youths of Mpigi are asking for the very same thing promised to them by the federalists. In fact even Mr Kalule Sengo, a full MP stated and I quote " Be calm, Buganda will get federal any time." So if you have been out there thinking that federalists are fighting for a federal system in Uganda, go back to bed and wake up again. And it is this kind of double standards played by Federalists that has made them a joke, for the Ugandans of 2003 are not the same as the Ugandans of 1930 and you can count on that. What is coming up next? Well it is going to be the most interesting steps taken by Museveni, some schools of thought are stating that Museveni in his master plan of 2006 elections, he is going to make sure that Buganda has lost much of the land it had, then much of her properties will be sold off, and then the movement will sit with the federalists and offer them a some kind of half backed status in Uganda. And you bet Museveni has planed his third term thanks to the unfocused federalists. "Ffe akalulu Ka Museveni waffe" Em Mpigi Youth Want Federo The youth in Mpigi have vowed to pull out of the Movement if it refused to grant Buganda federo, reports Patrick Serugo. While touring development projects in Gomba county recently, area MP Kalule Sengo was told by the youth that they were to pull out of the system if the Government did not grant a federo system to Buganda by 2006. We are tired of being deceived every time by the Government. We have agitated for federo for so long but our dear government has kept a deaf ear, the youth told Sengo in Bukandula village. At a meeting attended by the LC3 chairman Kabulassoke sub-county, Moses Muzuula, residents said they were likely to support the third term if Buganda was granted a federo system of government. We are ready to support the third term if the government grants federo to Buganda kingdom, they said. They asked why the Movement leaders did raise the federo issue to the Constitutional Review Commission. They asked Ssengo to mobilise fellow MPs to press the Government on federo. However, Ssengo advised them to go slow on federo and assured them that federo would be on their way any time. Be calm, Buganda will get federo any time, Ssengo advised them. Ends 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_: Rebels attack Soroti town
Rebels attack Soroti townBy Monitor team June 25, 2003 Rebels of the Lord's Resistance Army yesterday morning launched a three-pronged attack on Soroti town. At least four people were confirmed dead in the attack that started just after 1 a.m. Two UPDF soldiers reportedly died in the fighting which lasted about 45 minutes. The Director General of the External Security Organisation, Mr David Pulkol, said that a group of about 50 rebels attempted to attack Soroti town. "The attempt was foiled. We knew about it in advance and the commanders were alerted," Pulkol said on phone from Soroti. He said that Charles Tabuley led the group following orders from LRA commander, Vincent Otti.Pulkol was silent on the causalities but said that the rebels were confronted before getting to the civilians they wanted to abduct. Appearing on a local radio together with one Capt. Agaba, the Soroti RDC, Edward Masiga said the fact that the attack was foiled means that there is no need to panic. The rebels first attacked Nakatunya, half a kilometre outside Soroti town, using mostly small arms. About ten minutes after, shots rang out in the general direction of Soroti Flying School where the army has set up its tactical base. Then sustained gunfire was heard south of the town around the Agip suburb and the Kichinjaj area down the Soroti-Mbale road. Three of the four civilians who died fell on the Soroti-Moroto highway and the other died at Arapai trading centre along the Soroti-Lira highway.RDC warns on rumours RDC Masiga and Capt. Agaba warned people who are spreading rumours of impeding attacks in order to loot the property of those who would have fled. Such rumour-millers, Mr Masiga warned, would be treated like the terrorists (rebels). Masiga, who chairs the district security committee, said that the rebels would be defeated."Very soon we shall have a major engagement with them [the rebels]," Masiga said. "We have filled all the places where they have been eluding us." Masiga then added: "I only hope they shall stand and fight and not run like they have been doing."Masiga advised people to stay indoors after midnight. "I am not imposing a curfew," he said. "But give our forces time to operate. Stay indoors and do not come our early again. You might be caught in the crossfire." 40 abducted in Gulu In other attacks elsewhere, at least 40 people were abducted from within six kilometres of Gulu town on Sunday and yesterday. Local people said that the rebels took 23 people from Kilombe parish in Layibi division, one kilometre south of Gulu town. A mentally sick woman was shot dead as the rebels fled, upon being pursued by the army. Another 19 people were on Monday night abducted from around Unyama camp for displaced people, five kilometres east of Gulu town. UPDF's 4th Division spokesman Lt. Paddy Ankunda confirmed the two attacks but said that he had no details. He only said that an unspecified number of people were abducted from the villages around Unyama valley on Monday.Joint report By Henry Ochieng, Sylvester Onyang, Patrick Elobu Angonu Richard M. Kavuma © 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 helps ELIMINATE E-MAIL VIRUSES. Get 2 months FREE*.
Re: ugnet_: Rebels abduct 100 Lwala schoolgirls
Gook, Now this is serious, hey! 100 (!!!) poor school girls! In those days of hell, Lakwena´s Stone-grenade soldiers rushed through the corridor like wild fire. Now the LRA raids instensify through Northern and Eastern Uganda in similar monstre, is history recurrence on the making for the fate of the LRA (rd. UPDFs strategic openning) or has the LRA finally guted up for State House?! The figures of abductees calls for cautious apprehensions. RGDS noc´l From: gook makanga [EMAIL PROTECTED] Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: ugnet_: Rebels abduct 100 Lwala schoolgirls Date: Wed, 25 Jun 2003 09:44:48 + _ STOP MORE SPAM with the new MSN 8 and get 2 months FREE* http://join.msn.com/?page=features/junkmail ---BeginMessage--- Rebels abduct 100 Lwala schoolgirlsBy Patrick Ebong June 25, 2003 Suspected rebels yesterday raided Lwala Girls Senior Secondary School and abducted 100 girls as the security situation further deteriorated. "They raided Lwala Girls Secondary School in Kaberamaido district and took away about 100 girls," army spokesman Maj. Shaban Bantariza told the AFP by telephone. "But our helicopters are trying to locate them so that they may be rescued," Bantariza said. Roman Catholic Church sources in Soroti confirmed the mass abduction at the Catholic-founded school, found 6 miles from Dokolo trading centre in Lira, the AFP reported. The school has about 400 students. The rebels have extended their areas of operation from northern Uganda to the Teso sub region. Kaberamaido LCV Chairman, Mr Victor Ekesu, told The Monitor on phone that the rebels entered the area between 11 p.m. on Monday night and 6 a.m. on Tuesday. "My brother, the situation here is bad. The rebels yesterday attacked us and abducted girls," Mr Ekesu said from Kaberamaido. Kaberamaido borders Soroti district to the west. The district is in panic according to Ekesu, who told The Monitor that he has himself fled to Kalaki sub-county, more than 15km from the Kaberamaido district headquarters. The rebels also looted merchandise from neighbouring Otuboi trading centre. During the raid on Lwala mission, Ekesu said, the rebels roughed up a Catholic priest, Fr William Ejuru. They grabbed Shs 3 million from the house of an elderly priest, Fr Van de Hardt. They also beat up the 70-year-old missionary. There was anxiety in Soroti town yesterday morning as the army moved out more battle vehicles and troops along the Soroti-Mbale road. At 6 a.m. a Gateway Bus was ambushed by suspected rebels at Katine-Kalaki junction, 12km from Soroti town along the Soroti-Lira road. The bus was travelling from Ochero, Kaberamaido district. The Monitor could not establish the causality figures, but one man Peter Ebucu and two others were confirmed dead.Several passengers were injured while others were taken captive. "The driver was hit, but managed to drive through the ambush up to a certain point, where he stopped the bus, because he had over-bled, and the locals helped him and took him to hospital," Bantariza said last night. Fifteen vehicles travelling from Lira to Soroti yesterday cancelled their journeys. The vehicles were supposed to move under a military convoy but the authorities felt it was unsafe to move even with army escort. © 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 STOP MORE SPAM with the new MSN 8 and get 2 months FREE* ---End Message---
Re: ugnet_: Rebels abduct 100 Lwala schoolgirls
Gook, Now this is serious, hey! 100 (!!!) poor school girls! In those days of hell, Lakwena´s Stone-grenade soldiers rushed through the corridor like wild fire. Now the LRA raids instensify through Northern and Eastern Uganda in similar monster, is history recurrence on the making for the fate of the LRA (rd. UPDFs strategic opening) or has the LRA finally gutted up for State House?! The figures of abductees calls for cautious apprehensions. RGDS noc´l From: gook makanga [EMAIL PROTECTED] Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: ugnet_: Rebels abduct 100 Lwala schoolgirls Date: Wed, 25 Jun 2003 09:44:48 + _ STOP MORE SPAM with the new MSN 8 and get 2 months FREE* http://join.msn.com/?page=features/junkmail
Re: ugnet_: Makerere Expels 500
Their professors and tutors should follow too. Fundermental change indeed. - Original Message - From: J Ssemakula To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ; [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Tuesday, June 24, 2003 9:11 PM Subject: ugnet_: Makerere Expels 500 Makerere Expels 500 By Fortunate Ahimbisibwe MAKERERE University's Nakawa based Business School (MUBS) has expelled over 500 students who have been pursuing a Bachelor of Commerce (External) degree. University officials said the students repeatedly failed examinations while others failed to raise a Cumulative Grade Point Average of two for two consecutive semesters. The students have been discontinued because they failed to raise the required passmark. The decision was taken by the Faculty Board of the MUBS, spokesperson Hellen Kawesa said yesterday. The list of the discontinued students was displayed at the Institute of Adult and Continuing Education, which runs the department of B.Com External degree. Most of the affected students failed the end of last semester examinations in February. The faculty board sat in Nakawa early this month. They have been discontinued after a series of warnings, Kawesa said. She said the university regulations empower the faculty board to discontinue students who fail examinations repeatedly. Sources said the number of students had grown and unserious students would not be tolerated. Ends Published on: Tuesday, 24th June, 2003 Tired of spam? Get advanced junk mail protection with MSN 8.
ugnet_: SV: uTomato Plant in Luwero Nostalgic! Nadduli Luwero need educated planning
JUSTICE PARTY http://www.dfwa-u.tk I have read stories about Luwero tomato plant with some amount of scepticism. Now, this is not a negative view but rather a deeper concern rooted into (a). Ugandan tastes for tomatoes (b). Environmental endowment into which tomatoes grow (c). Ugandans social organisation and (d). Indeed tomato production economics. There is more to this. And therefore I will straight away advice LC V Hon. Hajji Abdul Nadduli to get on a first track basic most wanted educated planning for Luwero. Less of that is mirage. In 1970s as a small in Matabi, my uncle had a large high breed plot of tomatoes. In the evening he could put a relative small plastic can on my back plus a hand pump and he did the same with even a larger one. In a valley with cotton soil we headed and used effective pesticides to kill off tomato bugs to which in return he usually earned a sizable harvest every afternoon he packed on a pick-up and destined for Luwero then I think a sizable market to consume the whole lot. He never went beyond Luwero. Another family member, who had been disarmed as a police constable at Nakaseke police station, was also in tomato growing as early as 2000 on a relative small plot but really deep in the bush, and far away from any sizeable market. I pitied him- Nakaseke is so far and indeed Luwero is even far away. By that I mean to imply, I could not see any sizeable population consuming canned tomatoes i.e. in competition with fresh tomatoes sold in small quantities in almost every small town in Uganda! You can fail to get water but you will get tomatoes anywhere in Uganda! The larger question then is who will buy Luwero tomatoes? Europe, Africa or Ugandans? Tomatoes are the easiest, most probably the most researched plant that can be grown anywhere into the world, at the lowest cost ever. One can grow tomatoes in huge amount at low cost in temperate countries. Tomatoes can be grown on a balcony as flowers in a city centre. In other words tomatoes are very cheap and cant make an productive agro-industry in a country like Uganda. How will a tomatoes plant fair in Luwero and later alone in Uganda with such productive soil and enterprising people that tomatoes are rotting in Kampala markets an urban centre with high consumers? Now consider the other factor that packed tomatoes require such an environment with extensive electrification that once a tomato can is opened will require special attention i.e. quick refrigeration so that they do not go bad in a day! Ugandans have got not money to spend on packed tomatoes that is a very simple observational matter. What is the structure for consumption of packed tomatoes in Uganda? LC V Nadduli must think again. Most people in Luwero have come up with very good proposal that the honourable LC V Hajji Abdul Nadduli himself has scornfully discarded: I hear because of their intrigues with Luwero catholic vs Moslems, educated, non-educated LC and MPs and their ego-present aptitudes. Luwero and the region surrounding it from; Ngoma, Nakasongola, Nabisera, Hoima, Lwampanga the other side of Bugerere have got considerable amount of resources namely; cattle (cheese, milk, hides and skins) , abundant fruits like mangoes and pineapples and more varieties can be planted here with the most ease. Indeed Luwero district soils are good for groundnuts, peas and beans, cashew nuts and bananas. Fish can be grown in valleys and indeed water dams can be created. These resources combined into an industry will generate what cannot be seasonally got in any single Uganda urban centre and the country at large year round. Innovation and educated planning. Indeed these products make the bulk of children food in Europe both in dried and packed form. In other words Europe import such foodstuffs for the agro-product markets. Secondary if we were to think of such product consumption in other regions of the world like the Middle East given to the fact that LC V Hon. Hajji Abdul Nadduli has now been to Mecca it would have given him the view that tomatoes can be grown on marginal soils of the Arab countries irrigated with sewage waste from the toilets and hence produce million tonnes of tomatoes but not banana, fruit juice, fruit and milk yoghurts, or baby foods. Thirdly given to Luweros proximity to Kampala and resources in expansive grassland Luwero could make a good tourist region. The elephants here where ordered to be shot YET elephants can be tamed and indeed this is a fact in the entire Indian sub-continent and Asia. LC V Hon. Hajji Abdul Nadduli should listen and get advise from people who have eyes and schooled to see the wide view of things of that nature. There is no amount of political agitation and rhetorical demagoguery that will make anything happen unless there is an educated planning to develop Luwero. Thank you Bwanika ( kikyusa Luwero) ref: The Senegalese tomato industry is another telling example. In
ugnet_: Gamal Nkrumah talks with the Liberian President Charles Taylor
Tricks and Traps? Gamal Nkrumah talks with the Liberian President Charles Taylor about the prospects for peace in the war-torn West African country Al-Ahram Weekly More than 80 per cent of the population of this country voted for me in free and fair elections. My critics cannot discount the facts. They know that if presidential elections are to be held in October as originally scheduled that I will win again, Liberian President Charles Taylor told Al- Ahram Weekly. Depicted by the Western media as a silver-tongued villain, the cheekiest robber and most bloodthirsty murderer in West Africa for masterminding regional wars and scooping fat profits from feuding, the Liberian President protested his innocence and told the Weekly that he is prepared to sacrifice everything for peace, even if it means relinquishing office. President Taylor, democratically- elected in 1997 when his ruling National Patriotic Party was swept to power in a landslide victory to the chagrin of Western powers, has recently made overtures to his Liberian protagonists and appealed to Western powers to stop their relentless campaign to topple his government. He says that he is willing to give up power to keep the peace in Liberia. Action speaks louder than words, Taylor said. Negotiators working on his behalf signed a cease-fire agreement with armed Liberian opposition groups in neighbouring Ghana on Tuesday 17 June. Under the agreement aimed at ending Liberia's civil war, President Taylor pledged to relinquish power. A transitional government of national unity would accordingly be set up within 30 days. Britain and the United States are particularly suspicious of Taylor's links and impressive networks with insurgency groups throughout West Africa and his close ties with the Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. Two years ago, the United Nations, prompted by the US and Britain, imposed stringent economic sanctions on Liberia, a West African nation of 3.5 million people, 80 per cent of whom live in abject poverty. The UN sanctions have exacerbated the economic woes of the war- torn country, further aggravating the poverty problem and intensified the desperate scramble for fast-shrinking development funds and meagre resources. To compound matters, last month the UN extended the trade embargo to include Liberian timber, primarily because of Taylor's alleged involvement in this lucrative sector of the Liberian economy. Wood constitutes a major export earner for the impoverished West African nation. The Liberian president warned that the UN timber ban will intensify the great humanitarian and economic hardships [resulting from] previous UN sanctions. Especially galling for the Liberians is a feeling that the country has been singled out for retribution. There are many military dictators in Africa and leaders who have stayed in office for decades and yet the West is not interested in ousting them. The Western powers perhaps dislike my outspoken criticism of some of their policies and practices in Africa, Taylor said. Two years ago, Britain forcibly restored a modicum of peace in its former colony Sierra Leone. Taylor's support for armed opposition groups against the Sierra Leonean government antagonised Britain. Taylor is accused of backing the former armed Sierra Leonean opposition group the Revolutionary United Front (RUF), an organisation that Western governments and human rights groups say committed gross human rights violations in its ruthless quest for power. France, not to be outdone by the British, is currently trying hard to keep the peace between the Ivorian government and armed opposition groups in its own former West African colony. Again, Taylor is said to back armed opposition groups in western Ivory Coast adjacent to Liberia. The British-based human rights campaign group Global Witness accused the Liberian government of arming the two main armed Ivorian opposition groups based in the southwestern part of the country -- the Ivorian Popular Movement of the Great West (MPIGO) and Justice and Peace Movement (MJP). The Liberian government is actively involved in the illegal arms trade, and is the driving force behind the training, arming and deployment of MPIGO and MJP, with Liberian President Charles Taylor calling the shots from Monrovia, claimed Global Witness campaigner Alice Blondel. The group also claims that Liberian assets worth $3.8 billion are deposited in Swiss bank accounts and that blood diamonds, logging and arms trafficking are the main sources of these funds, a charge Taylor hotly denies. The Liberian president maintains there is a vicious Western campaign to discredit him and his government. Such claims, he warns, are made to justify the ruinous UN-imposed sanctions on Liberia. These are all lies. Big lies to discredit me. My detractors have no concrete evidence whatsoever, the Liberian president told
ugnet_: RE: ugnet_: SV: uTomato Plant in Luwero Nostalgic! Nadduli Luwero need educated planning
International perspective The area planted to and production of tomatoes in the world stayed fairly constant over the past five years, with the exception of a mild decrease in 1997. South Africa is not a major exporter of tomatoes. China is the largest producer of tomatoes in the world, followed by the USA, Italy and Turkey. These four countries represent 44% of world production. The tomato producing countries with the highest yields per hectare are the United Kingdom, Netherlands, Belgium and Sweden. Opportunities and threats Opportunities for increasing fresh tomato exports are limited owing to the fact that tomatoes tend to compare unfavourably in terms of value to mass. Sun-dried tomatoes are very popular on foreign markets and it appears that demand is increasing in South Africa. There is currently a large shortage of tomato paste in South Africa. It is expected that the demand for this product will also increase in future. ..and Uganda might not be an exception in demand for tomato puree, ketchup and even fresh tomatoes when Museveni transforms the largely agricultural economy into an industrial one, right? -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of dbbwanika db Sent: Wednesday, June 25, 2003 11:30 AM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]; [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: ugnet_: SV: uTomato Plant in Luwero Nostalgic! Nadduli Luwero need educated planning JUSTICE PARTY http://www.dfwa-u.tk I have read stories about Luwero tomato plant with some amount of scepticism. Now, this is not a negative view but rather a deeper concern rooted into (a). Ugandan tastes for tomatoes (b). Environmental endowment into which tomatoes grow (c). Ugandans social organisation and (d). Indeed tomato production economics. There is more to this. And therefore I will straight away advice LC V Hon. Hajji Abdul Nadduli to get on a first track basic most wanted educated planning for Luwero. Less of that is mirage. In 1970s as a small in Matabi, my uncle had a large high breed plot of tomatoes. In the evening he could put a relative small plastic can on my back plus a hand pump and he did the same with even a larger one. In a valley with cotton soil we headed and used effective pesticides to kill off tomato bugs to which in return he usually earned a sizable harvest every afternoon he packed on a pick-up and destined for Luwero then I think a sizable market to consume the whole lot. He never went beyond Luwero. Another family member, who had been disarmed as a police constable at Nakaseke police station, was also in tomato growing as early as 2000 on a relative small plot but really deep in the bush, and far away from any sizeable market. I pitied him- Nakaseke is so far and indeed Luwero is even far away. By that I mean to imply, I could not see any sizeable population consuming canned tomatoes i.e. in competition with fresh tomatoes sold in small quantities in almost every small town in Uganda! You can fail to get water but you will get tomatoes anywhere in Uganda! The larger question then is who will buy Luwero tomatoes? Europe, Africa or Ugandans? Tomatoes are the easiest, most probably the most researched plant that can be grown anywhere into the world, at the lowest cost ever. One can grow tomatoes in huge amount at low cost in temperate countries. Tomatoes can be grown on a balcony as flowers in a city centre. In other words tomatoes are very cheap and cant make an productive agro-industry in a country like Uganda. How will a tomatoes plant fair in Luwero and later alone in Uganda with such productive soil and enterprising people that tomatoes are rotting in Kampala markets an urban centre with high consumers? Now consider the other factor that packed tomatoes require such an environment with extensive electrification that once a tomato can is opened will require special attention i.e. quick refrigeration so that they do not go bad in a day! Ugandans have got not money to spend on packed tomatoes that is a very simple observational matter. What is the structure for consumption of packed tomatoes in Uganda? LC V Nadduli must think again. Most people in Luwero have come up with very good proposal that the honourable LC V Hajji Abdul Nadduli himself has scornfully discarded: I hear because of their intrigues with Luwero catholic vs Moslems, educated, non-educated LC and MPs and their ego-present aptitudes. Luwero and the region surrounding it from; Ngoma, Nakasongola, Nabisera, Hoima, Lwampanga the other side of Bugerere have got considerable amount of resources namely; cattle (cheese, milk, hides and skins) , abundant fruits like mangoes and pineapples and more varieties can be planted here with the most ease. Indeed Luwero district soils are good for groundnuts, peas and beans, cashew nuts and bananas. Fish can be grown in valleys and indeed water dams can be created. These resources combined into an industry will generate what cannot
ugnet_: Re: Response to Colin Powell's attack on Zimbabwe in NY Times
Dear Omowale Clay [EMAIL PROTECTED] , If Colin Powell had any self-respect or an iota of conscience he would instead have addressed the holocaust now going on in Congo. Anglo-American imperialism condones, promotes and abates Ugandan Lt. General Yoweri Museveni's and Rwandan General Paul Kagame's nonsesical argument that they have to deploy their mercenary armies deep inside Congo to protect their national borders from infiltration by Ugandan and Rwandese armed dissidents. And yet there is only one medicine against any dissidents; organise democratic, free and fair elections. Indeed the argument of Rwanda's and Uganda's security concerns won thin long long ago. Minerals which are strategic to the so-called 'Western Civilization' - i.e. the industrial catalysts Nobium, Vanadium, Tantalum etc... are leaving Congo in daily plane-loads; destined to the Pentagon. Rwandan and Ugandan warlords together with white mercenaries who retired from both the British SAS and the apartheid Defence Forces share the loot of gold, Diamonds, tropical hard-wood timber, etc... Indeed conflict resulting from the sharing of this loot has so far resulted in three wars between the Rwandese and Ugandan Armies; wars that have been fought not in the jungle but right in the Congolese city of Kisangani. i.e. Kisangani I, Kisangani II and Kisangani III. The world knows all this. These wars have only stopped by admonishment from British pay-mistresses Baroness Lynda Chalker and Clare Short. Oil prospecting on the Uganda-Congolese border has already started. The company doing this, HERITAGE OIL was not long ago registered in Toronto, Canada. It is owned by Baroness Lynda Chalker and white mercenaries who retired from both the British and the apartheid South Africa militaries. Yoweri Museveni recruited child soldiers, used them as canon fodder, grabbed power and has been suffocating Ugandans now for 17 years. Gen Paul Kagame - straight out of Officers College Fort Livenworth Kansas USA shot down a presidential plane of the late President of Rwanda, (the trigger to the Rwandese genocide) and was installed in power by imperialism using the Uganda mercenary army. These two have ever since, thrived on a bogey of armed dissidents, which 'dissidents' are their own creations. Their fighters go around an anthill and emerge as govt soldiers; then they go around the same anthill again and emerge as armed rebels. Indeed fighting 'dissidents' has become not only a very lucrative industry but a scare-crow for the maintainance of their grip on power. It is the African people that are paying so dearly in this sick circus. These thugs have now exported their mayhem to Democratic Republic of the Congo - DRC - and so far over 4 million in DRC have perished since 1996. How can Colin Powell look himself in the mirror in light of all this? Not since WW2 has the world seen so much death. Except this time it is black lives and nobody seems to care. On the other hand, all along, Britain and Washington have constantly funded Yoweri Museveni's and General Paul Kagame's black mercenary armies of death and genocide. Indeed see New York Times of June 23, 2003. i.e. Innocence of Youth Is Victim of Congo War http://www.nytimes.com/2003/06/23/international/africa/23CONG.html?ex=1057418541ei=1en=deb99a1158e92bf8 It is laid out in this article that the bulk of the armed combatants in DRC are child soldiers. They are abducted from DRC, trained in Uganda, and sent back to kill and be killed. Surely these are massive crimes against humanity. Colin Powell must have had this New York Times issue of June 23, 2003 on his desk when he was penning his of June 24, 2003 against President Robert Mugabe. Colin Powell should reflect on what happened to him at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg where his limousine was nearly overturned and his four-person marine detail were beaten and thrown into the fense by an irate population. Even at the World conference on Development in Pretoria, all delegates walked out on him when he started on this nonsense of Mugabe bashing. Africans have showed him time and time again that they dont want him trashing Robert Mugabe. When is he going to learn? Mitayo Potosi cc [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], _ Help STOP SPAM with the new MSN 8 and get 2 months FREE* http://join.msn.com/?page=features/junkmail ---BeginMessage--- Letter to the Editor: New York Times To the Editor: Response to Freeing a Nation From a Tyrants Grip (Op-Ed article by Colin L. Powell, Secretary of State) Secretary Powell has not taken to heart the historical insight that Mr. Harry Belafonte attempted to give him in likening Powells political actions and commentary to that of a house Negro, who
RE: ugnet_: Makerere Expels 500
Lisa Toro I think you might be right when those paid to educate these kids fail to execute their duties and rely only on the laid down procedure as what to do when students fail to raise certain grades. Have these tutors been teaching these kids who might need special attention as the rest of the bright bunch? What is the policy in Makerere when it comes to kids who require extra attention in lecture rooms? These kids had dreams and they did not choose to drop out of school, but the Institute shattered their future. The Solution Create special counseling centers for the neediest kids Everyone has different needs and different strength, intern lecturers should be recruited to work with these students before expelling them, they need the education more than anyone. The government must invest in vocational colleges for students with extra needs; mainstream universities might not be the only route. Those with extra needs in school should be registered as people with disabilities and should benefit from the act. How about the (UCPD) University Centre for People with Disabilities? This is a tip for investors, register a charitable organization, solicit for funding from non profitable organizations and well wishers, use the plight of the expelled 500 students to underscore your case, Mwendha as a patron, and you are good to go. Can help to locate charitable organizations that might help if the UCPD is registered in USA as a non profitable organization. In the meantime, the 500 students need scholarship -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Lisa Toro Sent: Wednesday, June 25, 2003 12:41 AM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED]; [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: ugnet_: Makerere Expels 500 Their professors and tutors should follow too. Fundermental change indeed. - Original Message - From: J Ssemakula To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ; [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Tuesday, June 24, 2003 9:11 PM Subject: ugnet_: Makerere Expels 500 Makerere Expels 500 By Fortunate Ahimbisibwe MAKERERE University's Nakawa based Business School (MUBS) has expelled over 500 students who have been pursuing a Bachelor of Commerce (External) degree. University officials said the students repeatedly failed examinations while others failed to raise a Cumulative Grade Point Average of two for two consecutive semesters. The students have been discontinued because they failed to raise the required passmark. The decision was taken by the Faculty Board of the MUBS, spokesperson Hellen Kawesa said yesterday. The list of the discontinued students was displayed at the Institute of Adult and Continuing Education, which runs the department of B.Com External degree. Most of the affected students failed the end of last semester examinations in February. The faculty board sat in Nakawa early this month. They have been discontinued after a series of warnings, Kawesa said. She said the university regulations empower the faculty board to discontinue students who fail examinations repeatedly. Sources said the number of students had grown and unserious students would not be tolerated. Ends Published on: Tuesday, 24th June, 2003 Tired of spam? Get advanced junk mail protection with MSN 8. --- Incoming mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.490 / Virus Database: 289 - Release Date: 6/16/2003 --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.490 / Virus Database: 289 - Release Date: 6/16/2003
ugnet_: Fwd: NYTimes.com Article: Could Thomas Be Right?
Could Thomas Be Right? June 25, 2003 By MAUREEN DOWD Clarence Thomas's dissent in the decision preserving affirmative action in university admissions amounts to a clinical study of a man who has been driven mad by beneficial treatment. http://www.nytimes.com/2003/06/25/opinion/25DOWD.html?ex=1057569515ei=1en=b4753ed0db5257fd ps: 1. what is 'minstrel show'? 2.Who areBugandahave 'Clarance Thomases'? Help STOP SPAM with the new MSN 8 and get 2 months FREE*
Re: [Ugandacom] Re: ugnet_: Rebels abduct 100 Lwala schoolgirls
UGANDA: Army revises number of schoolgirls abducted by rebelsKAMPALA, 25 June (IRIN) - The Ugandan army has denied that 100 schoolgirls were abducted by Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) rebels in the Kaberamaido district of northern Uganda.According to Ugandan radio, army spokesman Major Shaban Bantariza said 29 girls had been kidnapped when rebels attacked Rwara school near the town of Soroti on Tuesday."Students ran away from the school in disarray, making it difficult to ascertain the number affected," he stated.The Ugandan army's northeastern division commander, Col Andrew Guti, confirmed to IRIN on Wednesday that rebels had attacked the school and ambushed a passenger bus in the same district, but the number of casualties was not yet known. Earlier reports said an estimated 100 students were abducted from the school, while three people were reportedly killed when the bus was attacked. Observers note that the LRA appears to be expanding its sphere of attack. It has also recently carried out attacks in Adjumani, Katakwi and Soroti districts - the latter two being hundreds of kilometres southeast of Gulu, the principal town in the north and hitherto a main target of LRA raids. The government insists that the recent surge in LRA attacks does not signify any victory by the rebels. President Yoweri Museveni has publicly stated it is because the rebels are under so much pressure in their traditional areas of occupation that they are spreading southwards."Now is a matter of mere survival for those rebels," he told the state-owned daily 'New Vision'. "They are just roaming bandits...they can't sustain it." 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: NOC´LADUMAS GEORGES To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ; [EMAIL PROTECTED] ; [EMAIL PROTECTED] ; [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Wednesday, June 25, 2003 7:58 AM Subject: [Ugandacom] Re: ugnet_: Rebels abduct 100 Lwala schoolgirls Gook,Now this is serious, hey!100 (!!!) poor school girls!In those days of hell, Lakwena´s Stone-grenade soldiers rushed through the corridor like wild fire.Now the LRA raids instensify through Northern and Eastern Uganda in similar monster, is history recurrence on the making for the fate of the LRA (rd. UPDFs strategic opening) or has the LRA finally gutted up for State House?!The figures of abductees calls for cautious apprehensions.RGDSnoc´lFrom: "gook makanga" [EMAIL PROTECTED]Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]Subject: ugnet_: Rebels abduct 100 Lwala schoolgirlsDate: Wed, 25 Jun 2003 09:44:48 +_STOP MORE SPAM with the new MSN 8 and get 2 months FREE* http://join.msn.com/?page=features/junkmail Yahoo! Groups Sponsor To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:[EMAIL PROTECTED]Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.
ugnet_: MISSING CARGO PROMPTS AFRICA SEARCH
Missing Cargo Jet Prompts Africa Search Tue Jun 24, 5:53 AM ET By DINA KRAFT, Associated Press Writer JOHANNESBURG, South Africa - In a brazen act, two men climbed aboard an idle Boeing 727 cargo jet in Angola last month and flew off into the African sky without a trace. The disappearance touched off searches across the continent and, in the post-Sept. 11 era, prompted worries about why the plane was taken. U.S. investigators and civil aviation officials in Africa said the plane most likely was taken for a criminal endeavor such as drug or weapons smuggling, but they have not ruled out the possibility it was stolen for use in a terrorist attack. "There is no particular information suggesting that the disappearance of the aircraft is linked to terrorists or terrorism, but it's still something that obviously we would like to get to the bottom of," said a State Department spokesman, Philip T. Reeker. U.S. officials speaking on condition of anonymity said a variety of investigative and intelligence-gathering methods were being used to search for the plane across Africa. They declined to provide details. But experts said that even in the age of satellites and other high-tech search methods, just a new coat of paint and a stolen registration number would make tracking the plane nearly impossible. "Let's assume (the pilot) did arrive in some place like Nigeria ... a couple of thousand dollars changed hands and the aircraft is put in a hanger. The chances it is seen before satellites get a chance are zip," Chris Yates, editor of Jane's Aviation and Security, said in a phone interview from London. "It's happened before in African aviation," he said. The plane, with tail number N844AA, left Luanda airport May 25. The transponder was turned off, so the plane's position could not be monitored by air traffic control, U.S. officials said. Keeping track of aircraft over Africa's vast and often desolate terrain is problematic at best anyway. Richard Cornwell, a senior researcher at the Institute for Security Studies in Pretoria, said radar coverage of African skies is virtually nonexistent. "Pilots talk about flying the gauntlet between South Africa and North Africa. There is no (air) control, even on commercial levels," he said. After the Sept. 11 assault on the United States, fears of airborne attacks remain high. Last month U.S. authorities said they had uncovered an al-Qaida plot to crash an explosives-laden small aircraft into the American consulate in Karachi, Pakistan. The U.S. Homeland Security Department issued an advisory saying al-Qaida had a "fixation" on using aircraft in attacks. The fact that the missing 727 had been converted into a fuel tanker has added to the worries. "If you fill that up with however many gallons of jet air fuel and stick a couple of suicide pilots on, it doesn't take Einstein to figure out you could fly into an American or British embassy or another target they want to strike against it could be a huge bomb," said Yates, the Jane's editor. U.S. analysts, however, believe the plane was stolen for a criminal gang or perhaps taken in a business or insurance dispute. There also is the possibility of a crash. According to media reports, the plane's last radio contact was to ask for landing permission in the Seychelle islands in the Indian Ocean east of Africa, but it never arrived. U.S. Federal Aviation Association records show the aircraft was most recently owned by Aerospace Sales and Leasing Company Inc. of Miami. The company's listed phone number in Miami has been disconnected. Helder Preza, director of Angola's civil aviation authority, told The Associated Press that the 727 was leased by Air Angola and had been grounded for about a year because it lacked proper documentation for its conversion to a tanker. Preza said an American named Ben Padilla approached authorities a month before the plane disappeared, saying the owner wanted to take the plane out of Angola. "We said no problem," Preza said as long as Padilla first paid $50,000 in fees for the year the aircraft sat in Angola and provided proof Air Angola approved. Padilla asked airport authorities to do maintenance on the plane in the meantime, Preza said, and it was during maintenance work that Padilla and another man were seen boarding the plane just before it took off. According to Padilla's family in Florida, he was hired to repossess the jet after Air Angola failed to make lease payments. His sister, Benita Padilla-Kirkland, told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel she feared the plane had crashed or Padilla, 51, was being held against his will. Air Angola, an airline reportedly owned by army officers, has been in financial distress since a peace accord last year ended 25 years of civil war and brought an end to lucrative military transportation contracts. Phone calls to
ugnet_: Is Unaaboston.com down?
Anyone here who has accessed the URL for unaaboston in the past few days? I tried this a href http://www.unaaboston.com but to luck --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.490 / Virus Database: 289 - Release Date: 6/16/2003 image001.gif
ugnet_: New Genie of Uganda: The Man With the Gun
Opinion-EastAfrican-Nairobi-Kenya Monday, June 23, 2003 CHARLES ONYANGO-OBBO New Genie of Uganda: The Man With the GunThe rebel Lords Resistance Army have brought untold suffering and appalling deprivation to northern Uganda. They were supposed to have been defeated, according to the hundredth and last ultimatum, by last Christmas. Army commander Maj-Gen James Kazini had indeed promised that if he couldnt deliver LRA leader Joseph Konys head by December, he would quit. When, even with the Uganda army deployed in southern Sudan where the LRA is believed to have important sanctuaries, it became clear that Kazini wouldnt have his scalp any day soon, he amended the ultimatum. He said he wouldnt quit, because to fail was human. Kony replied that he would survive Kazini, as he had survived previous army commanders. And he did. In May, President Yoweri Museveni dropped Kazini in a reshuffle of the army leadership. And, sensibly, Minister of State for Defence Ruth Nankabirwa banned security officers from giving ultimatums for ending the 16-year-old rebellion in northern Uganda because it only brought embarrassment for the government. The LRA, meanwhile, has stepped up both its attacks and atrocities. In the past two weeks, it has attacked targets in the remote northeastern district of Katakwi, far from its traditional killing grounds. The LRA is also abducting more recruits, and has threatened to kill religious leaders who are trying to broker a peace settlement. Recently, it cut off the ears, nose, mouth, and hands of a government soldier. It posted a warning letter to the authorities with the ears of a boy enclosed. One would imagine that the LRA would have been defeated by the wave of national revulsion at its actions. It hasnt. To compound matters, intelligence sources say the attacks in Katakwi could be the work of a new rebel group. If one kept a directory of the Ugandan rebel groups that have risen up, been defeated, withered away or gone into exile in the past 15 years, it would be at least as fat as the Yellow Pages. And that, ultimately, might be the real reason the LRA has not been defeated. Uganda has grown to be a country where the fact of being an armed man or group ensures you longevity either as a president with a partisan army, or a rebel leader. Thus Uganda and the world has had its eye on Kony as a factor (call it serious threat) for 15 years running, while dismissing an opposition politician like Dr Paul Ssemogerere who walks around with a constitution tucked in his back pocket as an anachronism. Some say it all began in 1966 when Prime Minister Milton Obote sent Gen Idi Amin to chase Ugandas titular president Kabaka Edward Mutesa out of his palace. Others pinpoint it to when Amin overthrew Obote in a coup in January 1971. Many armies came and went after that, and Museveni and his guerrillas elevated guncraft to an art form, and have been rewarded for it by being in power twice as long as any previous government. We spend a lot of time chronicling the toll that the marriage between the gun and politics has taken on the country. So we grieve over the number of civilians butchered because thats what we see and understand. We dont comprehend the culture of the men at arms because the majority of us dont keep the company of rebels or soldiers regularly enough to enter their minds. The fighting in the north, and the eruption of rebellions, are Ugandas political equivalent of the genie in childrens fairy tales. Once the genie escapes, it takes a miracle to put it back in the bottle. Not surprisingly, the one man who uttered the ultimate truth about the war in the north is former Army commander, now member of the East African Legislative Assembly, the mild and reflective Maj-Gen Mugisha Muntu. He said the Museveni government cant end the northern rebellion. The best it can do is to contain it. Charles Onyango-Obbo is managing editor in charge of media convergence at the Nation Media Group. E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Comments\Views about this article Do you Yahoo!? SBC Yahoo! DSL - Now only $29.95 per month!
ugnet_: Why Won't Museveni, Kony Give Peace a Chance?
Business Opinion - East African - Nairobi - Kenya. Monday, June 23, 2003 DAVID KAIZA Why Won't M-7, Kony Give Peace a Chance?When the Lord's Resistance Army wanted to send a message to the Acholi not to support President Museveni's government, they cut off the ears of 17-year-old Godfrey Obita and put them in his shirt pocket together with a letter to be delivered to Acholi elders. When the Catholic Church stepped up criticism, the LRA attacked a seminary and abducted 41 seminarians. In that same week, the peace team assembled by President Yoweri Museveni abandoned their Gulu offices and retreated to Kampala, only to be promised more support and sent back to begin another circle of a slow dance that has been going on for a decade now. The first peace process agreed to by both Museveni and the rebels has already run aground because of what members of the president's peace team term his "lack of seriousness." Gulu Municipality Member of Parliament Nobert Mao says the initiative is turning into window dressing for Museveni, who is pushing war and peace concurrently. Neither is working. Corruption in the army is said to have caused the failure of Operation Iron Fist, which began in March 2002, at a time when the military solution had a chance of working. Since Iron Fist, the number of people living in displaced peoples camps has grown from 480,000 to 800,000, extending displacement to Pader, which had not been affected before. Today, all the major roads in the north of the country are inaccessible. "Some of us in the team are not sure that Museveni is serious about the peace process," says Mao. Reagan Okumu, MP for Aswa county, another team member, claims that Museveni's actions right from the start show that he never intended to support the process. There was reluctance in putting up the team, named on August 23, last year, but issued letters in October. It was inaugurated towards the end of November. Following months of courtship, the team won an April 6 appointment with the rebels, working through the parish priest of Pajule. But before the meeting could happen, the army flooded the place. All along, the team was operating without logistical support. The confusion was compounded when the chairman of the team, Eriya Kategaya, first deputy prime minister and minister for internal affairs, was sacked from the Cabinet. Although he remains its chairman, he no longer has the clout he had as minister. Peace initiatives in the past have ended in a similar manner. The first attempt, made in 1994 through Betty Bigombe (former minister of state in charge of Northern Uganda) was cut short by an ultimatum Museveni issued to the rebels to come out of the bush within two weeks. It ended with the government turning on the man who arranged contacts with the rebels Yusuf Adek who has been charged with treason. To the fury of Bigombe, the documentation of the meetings with the rebels has been used as evidence against Adek. The bishop of the Gulu Catholic diocese, Bishop John Baptist Odama, says peace attempts have failed due to lack of trust. Much as rebels kill civilians, the rough manner in which government troops treat civilians sends a message back to them. The Adek experience means that getting civilians to come forward as contacts with rebels is almost impossible now. In October 2001, a contact by the name of Oyike managed to arrange a meeting, which led to a month of correspondence between the rebels and the Local Council V chairman for Gulu, Walter Ochora. After the talks floundered, Oyike was arrested and charged with treason. In all, 26 people are in jail in connection with the war. One of them is a 16-year-old boy by the name of Okema who managed to escape from the bush but has been thrown into prison, charged with treason. Their imprisonment, and the president's bellicose tone, do not rhyme with the peace team's mandate. Says Mao: "I do believe that the rebels observe carefully how the people who have not taken arms are being treated and ask themselves how they, who are fighting the government, will be treated. It is simple logic." Among the worst offenders against civilians is the paramilitary group, Kalangala Action Plan, which was influential in Museveni's 2001 presidential campaign, who go marauding through Acholi, making arbitrary arrests and parading their victims. Some are even said to have demanded money at gunpoint from NGO officials, including those of the UN. Another reason the war has dragged is that it has created opportunities for enrichment. Civilians in the area collude with rebels, with stolen property showing up in town shops. Similarly, President Museveni himself has said that corruption within the UPDF is an impediment. Operation Iron Fist is said to have been turned into a moneymaking venture by UPDF officers. Because accountability standards during war are much lower, some of the 23 per cent budget cut across ministries to support the war effort is said to have
ugnet_: Uganda Parties Demand Equal Funding From State
Regional- East African - Nairobi - KenyaMonday, June 23, 2003 Uganda Parties Demand EqualFunding From StateBy DAVID KAIZA THE EASTAFRICAN UGANDA'S CASH strapped political parties say they will fight for state funding when the 2003/4 budget goes before parliament for debate. Multipartyists also want the Movement Secretariat to reimburse all monies it has received since 1997 from public coffers under the Movement Act. The fight will be over a Ush6.41 billion ($3.2 million) allocation made by the Ministry of Finance in the 2003/4 budget. The money is meant for Mass Mobilisation under the Public Administration vote, but is actually given to the Movement Secretariat. After the constitutional court declared the Movement a political party, multipartyists say that they too want a share of that money. Member of Parliament for Makindye East Michael Mabbike, who is also secretary general of the Uganda Young Democrats of the Democratic Party, says that his organisation needs Ush800 million ($0.4 million) a year to run its affairs. The Conservative Party says that it needs Ush 500 million ($250,000) to pay for its upkeep, pay salaries and run party activities. The chairman of the Presidential Policy Commission of the Uganda People's Congress, Dr James Rwanyarare, said that his party was working on an annual budget of Ush1.5 billion ($750,000). Opposition politicians have long argued that the Movement Secretariat should not have access to state funding, because it is not a state organisation. But Movementists contend that the secretariat represents a state system and therefore has a right to state funding. With the March 20 ruling by the Constitutional Court that struck out sections of the Political Organisations Act, multipartyists say that the Movement had been turned into an organisation rather than a system. Mr Mabbike said: "With the court ruling, the Movement is now a party and there is definitely a constitutional crisis. It is illegal, unlawful and unjust that only the Movement Secretariat continues to get its money from the state." The opposition leaders said that when they became operational, the salary scales for their employees would be pegged to those of government officials, with the top party functionaries earning the same salary as Cabinet ministers, and the rest paid on civil servants' scales. The parties are said that their secretaries for various affairs, who are referred to as bureau secretaries in UPC, would be on the same salary scale as government permanent secretaries. This category, according to the 2003 public service scales, would earn a monthly salary of Ush1.79 million ($897.37) to Ush22.53 million ($11,265) per annum. Assistant secretaries would earn Ush900,000 ($450) a month or Ush11 million ($5,550) a year, the same as undersecretaries. Other levels in the party structures include principle secretaries and technical and support staff. The multipartyists said that the party president would not earn a salary because the post was a voluntary one. They also said that if the government refuses to give them part of the Mass Mobilisation fund, the Movement Secretariat too should get none of the money. But the demand for state funding for parties has come from the Movement itself. Nevertheless, the demand for funds still very much depends on the outcome of the appeal against the March 20 ruling, lodged by the state in the Supreme Court. The demand for money may also be a political move to score political goals against the Movement. In the recent past, presidential candidates have received funding from the state only during elections. Only the Uganda People's Congress, which used to be the dominant party, accumulated assets under the Milton Obote Foundation, which pays for its upkeep from locally generated funds. The Milton Obote Foundation has a number of assets, among them Uganda House Investments Ltd and the Press Trust. Dr Rwanyarare says that, when his party operates at full capacity, its operational costs will swell to about $15 million. He said the party will ask for $5 million and raise the other $10 million from other sources. Even with Ush1.5 billion ($750,000), Dr Rwanyarare says that after 17 years in limbo, running a political party is a struggle. "It has been crippling," he said. "If we did not have people volunteers, we would have shut down completely. We have people working at party headquarters but we don't pay them adequately." Mr Mabbike said pegging party worker's salaries to those of civil servants was an international practice. On the criteria of allotting money to parties, Dr Rwanyarare said that a party should not have access to state funding just because it existed, but that it should qualify by getting a certain number of seats in parliament first. He said that once parties qualified for funding, they should all receive an equal share of the allotment. "This still remains public money carrying out public activities and we would be accountable to
ugnet_: Winnie Byanyima is back - Monitor 26/6/2003
Byanyima backBy Alex B. Atuhaire June 26, 2003 - Monitor Mbarara Municipality MP, Winnie Byanyima, surprised even her own relatives when she suddenly landed at Entebbe Airport last evening. Byanyima arrived aboard a Kenya Airways flight at about 6.45 p.m. and was picked up by a family driver and her lawyer Erias Lukwago. She returned with her son, Anselm. She did not go to her own home in Kololo. She was instead driven to an undisclosed location, where for dinner with her close relatives. Byanyima's return surprised both her own relatives and close friends who had expected her only later this week. "I am pleasantly surprised but shocked that she is already in town. I knew she was coming, but that was supposed to be on Saturday or Sunday," one of the MP's in-laws told The Monitor last night. Her sister, Edith Byanyima, confirmed that the MP was indeed finally in town."Yes, she is back and we are having dinner together in a few moments," Edith told The Monitor at 9 p.m. She gave no further details. Winnie e-mailed The Monitor three days ago to dismiss rumours that she had applied for political asylum in Denmark. "No. I have not applied for political asylum in Denmark or anywhere else. I am definitely coming home in Uganda very 'soon'," she said on Monday. She did not say how soon was 'soon'. Winnie's return after several months in South Africa ends speculation about her fate and status. Her opponents previously said that she had joined her husband, former presidential candidate Dr Kizza Besigye, in exile. A local newspaper paper on Sunday reported that she would lose her seat in Parliament after 3 July if she failed to return or did not seek an extension of her leave from the Speaker. The MP has since 2001 been arrested and charged with various offences, but she has always won. More recently there has been speculation that she would be arrested again and charged with "treason" as soon as she returned. When she asked the Speaker of Parliament to extend her leave, her opponents spread rumours that she would never return to face arrest. Byanyima responded and said she was not scared of arrest. She said that she would return as soon as she finished the work that she was doing abroad -- which she did last night. A security operative at Entebbe Airport told The Monitor that she had taken them by completely surprise. © 2003 The Monitor Publications Do you Yahoo!? SBC Yahoo! DSL - Now only $29.95 per month!
ugnet_: Sudanese Army Now Assisting Kony - Uganda
Regional- East African - Nairobi - KenyaMonday, June 23, 2003 Sudanese Army NowAssisting Kony - UgandaBy VINCENT MAYANJA SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT UGANDAN OFFICIALS accuse Islamic fundamentalist forces in the Sudan government of trying to scuttle an agreement Khartoum and Kampala signed three years ago and a protocol that improved relations between the two countries. Ugandan Defence Minister Amama Mbabazi said that the country was seeking clarification from Sudan about reports that elements in the Sudanese army, possibly those allied to Bashir's political opponents, had resumed arms supplies to rebels of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) fighting the Ugandan government in the north of the country. He said that a technical committee would be set up to discuss these new allegations. "Our team will go to Khartoum soon, because this is what we agreed upon when Sudan was extending the UPDF stay in their country," Mr Mbabazi said. Ugandan officials say that, apart from elements in the army, they don't believe Sudan has resumed support for the LRA. Ugandan officials, including President Yoweri Museveni, raised concern last week over what they called renewed arming of the LRA, with the Ugandan leader warning that this could fundamentally alter relations between the two countries. A Ugandan official said, "Their intentions are not known, but this raises questions as to who is in charge in Khartoum. We have heard that these may be individual renegade soldiers, but who is behind their acts?" Sources in Kampala pinpoint two influential figures in Khartoum, former Speaker of parliament Hassan el-Tourabi and Vice President Ali Othman Taha, as being responsible for reversing trend in relations between the two countries, which have recently exchanged diplomats. Sources at the Foreign Ministry said that Kampala had already communicated to Khartoum over the new developments, but the Sudanese government was yet to respond. The LRA, led by Joseph Kony, was formed in 1988 after the defeat of a rebellion by the Holy Spirit Movement, which was led by Kony's cousin Alice Lakwena. Sudanese officials, however, deny the charges, saying the Sudanese military is one of the most disciplined on the continent. "The president put it clearly that if anybody is caught red-handed, he will be court-martialled, but this is something that needs proof," said Hassan Yousif Ngor, charge d'affaires at the Sudanese Embassy in Kampala. The LRA is notorious for atrocities against civilians and for the forced conscription of thousands of children into its forces. The LRA has no known political goals, its sole objective being to govern the country according to its interpretation of the biblical Ten Commandments. Other sources in Kampala said divisions in Khartoum were manifesting themselves in the Sudanese government's approach to regional and local political events. One such sign of divisions being cited is the fact that Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) rebels have had to sign a peace agreement with the government and others with separate northern parties, including that headed by Tourabi. The escalation of the Ugandan conflict has seen fighting spread towards the east of the country, where thousands of people have fled their homes. Though this development has been mainly blamed on renewed support from Sudan, the army has not been spared, with accusations that it has not done enough to stop the conflict. President Museveni has blamed laxity by the military for the problem. "Due to the laxity of some commanders, the bandits, on a few occasions, have found the local detachments unready in spite of prior information about the enemy's plans to attack those centres," Museveni said last week. He added that this was the case recently when the rebels attacked Abim and Anaka, among other incidents. Museveni said that, in these cases, the soldiers were either drunk or were indoors instead of being in trenches with scouts deployed around the encampment. Uganda and Sudan signed an agreement in 1999 in the Kenyan capital Nairobi that committed the two governments to cease hostilities against each other and not to harbour, sponsor or give military or logistical support to any rebel or hostile elements from each others' territories. This was followed in March 2002 with a protocol that allowed Ugandan troops to be deployed in southern Sudan to carry out search-and-destroy operations against LRA bases. Comments\Views about this article Do you Yahoo!? SBC Yahoo! DSL - Now only $29.95 per month!
ugnet_: Kabaka Stops Removal Of Mutesa Cars - New Vision 26/6/2003
Kabaka Stops Removal Of Mutesa Cars By Josephine Maseruka The Kabakas government has halted the excavation of a fleet of vintage cars used by Sir Edward Muteesa II, Kabaka Mutebis father. Mutebi said the kingdom is in advanced stages of putting up a Buganda museum in the former residence of the Buganda Treasurer in Kisenyi near the Lubiri palace. A reliable source at Mengo on Friday said excavation had been halted but declined to reveal where the unearthed metal of the three Rolls Royce and seven other cars were taken. In May, Mengo officials hired excavators from Katwe, a Kampala suburb, to remove all metallic objects in the Lubiri palace. The metal was to be sold to the Jinja-based Steel Works. Ends Published on: Thursday, 26th June, 2003 Email this article to a friend. Do you Yahoo!? SBC Yahoo! DSL - Now only $29.95 per month!
ugnet_: Girls escape from LRA captors-BBC
Last Updated:Wednesday, 25 June, 2003, 14:38 GMT 15:38 UK E-mail this to a friend Printable version Girls escape Ugandan rebels Rebels turn the children into fighters and wivesAt least 13 girls who went missing following a rebel raid on their secondary school in Uganda have escaped from their captors. The fleeing girls ran through the bush and travelled across a lake in dugout canoes to evade the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) fighters. It was initially feared that up to 100 girls had been abducted by the LRA near the eastern town of Soroti on Monday night. But the BBC's Nathan Etengu in Soroti says that only 29 were ever kidnapped. The United Nations says the rebel LRA has kidnapped more than 5,000 children in the past year alone, using them as soldiers, labourers and sex slaves. There is no force that can protect every school, every village, every home Shaban Bantariza,Ugandan army spokesman One 17-year-old student at Lwala Girls' School who witnessed the rebel attack but managed to flee described how a group of 20 LRA rebels commanded by a woman rounded up dozens of students and tied them together with rope. She told our correspondent that one of the students who was struggling to escape had her fingers and toes cut off by the rebels. 'Terrorists' Survivors of the attack say some of the rebels were as young as 12. Ugandan soldiers have intensified the search for the rest of the girls. Uganda's atrocious war Army spokesman Major Shaban Bantariza told the BBC's World Today programme that the raid on the Roman Catholic school near Soroti was a continuation of the rebels' 17-year brutal resistance movement. He denied that the army had been caught unawares but said attacks such as that on the Lwala Girls Secondary School, 50 kilometres (30 miles) from Soroti could not always be stopped. "If these terrorists are just sneaking into place to abduct schoolgirls I say definitely... there is no force that can protect every school, every village, every home where you have to deploy forces," he said. "You would need probably about two million soldiers in Uganda to do that." Correspondents say the LRA is intensifying its campaign against the government in northern Uganda. The conflict with the LRA is believed to have displaced 800,000 civilians across northern Uganda. The rebels have no clear political agenda but have said they want the country governed in accordance with the Christian Ten Commandments. E-mail this to a friend Printable version Do you Yahoo!? SBC Yahoo! DSL - Now only $29.95 per month!
