ugnet_: DNA PROFILES LINK DOPE TO ITS SOURCE
DNA profiles link dope to its source 19:0009July03 . Forensic scientists in the US are applying DNA fingerprinting methods to the cannabis plant. They say the technique, which is being used to create a database of DNA profiles of different marijuana plants, will help them to trace the source of any sample. "It links everybody together: the user, the distributor, the grower," says the database's creator, Heather Miller Coyle of the Connecticut State Forensic Science Laboratory in Meriden. "That's the real intent of it, to show it's not just one guy with a little bag of marijuana, but it's a group of people." A method for spotting the tiniest traces of marijuana, based on detecting DNA unique to cannabis chloroplasts, has already been developed in the UK (New Scientist print edition, 7 August 1999). But the profiling method, based on the same principles as DNA fingerprinting of people, can distinguish between closely related cannabis plants (Croatian Medical Journal, vol 44, p 315). In a case awaiting trial in Connecticut, prosecutors plan to use cannabis DNA profiles to show that two apparently separate cannabis growing operations were actually linked. The two operations, in different parts of the state appeared separate until analysis of the plants revealed that some had identical DNA fingerprints, showing that the growers were sharing material. "From the investigative point of view that was phenomenal," says Timothy Palmbach, director of scientific services at the laboratory. Potent plants The big difference between human and plant DNA fingerprinting is that in people, each fingerprint is almost certainly unique to one person. So if a crime scene sample matches a person's profile, there is little doubt that it came from that individual. In plants, by contrast, identical clones are easily created by taking cuttings, a method growers often use to perpetuate potent strains of dope. So showing two samples have matching DNA profiles does not by itself prove they come from the same grower, let alone the same plant. But Palmbach says that growers tend not to give away cuttings of their best plants, so linking samples in this way is an important lead for investigators and will still be useful in tracing samples. "What growers have done to get more potent plants has played right into our hands," says Palmbach. And if several matching profiles are found in separate samples, the chances are high that they are somehow linked. Terrorist ties Coyle is establishing a database of DNA profiles from hundreds of marijuana samples seized in Connecticut. "We want to track how many varieties are out there, what the trends in distribution are, the probability that a plant can be related to another," says Palmbach. The database is being extended to include samples from all over the US and the rest of the world. "We invite anyone to send us samples," says Coyle. Exactly how law enforcement agencies will apply the method remains to be seen. If a link can be established between a user and a grower or dealer, casual users might find themselves in deeper trouble than they bargained for. "If you're buying marijuana from somebody with terrorist ties, it could be traced back to that person," warns Gary Shutler of the Washington State Patrol's crime laboratory division. On the other hand, he says, where medical uses of marijuana are legal, the technology could help characterise strains with the desired medicinal properties. Several US states have voted to legalise the medical use of cannabis, though these efforts are being fought by federal authorities. The technology will not help police investigating the production or sale of highly processed or synthetic drugs such as cocaine and ecstasy. Nor does the team think it would work with hashish, which is made from resin exuded by cannabis plants, as not enough cellular material can be recovered. If the cannabis profiling technique does prove to be an effective tool in investigations and in the courtroom, dealers may switch to selling hashish. Sylvia Pagán Westphal 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_: Bush visit: Is it for real or its tourism?
No-Holds-Barred By Peter G. Mwesige Bush visit: Is it for real or its tourism?July 10, 2003 BLOOMINGTON, INDIANAIts hot and humid out here. Very hot and humid! Dubya could not have chosen a better time to get out and enjoy some nice tropical weather. Since I got back here last week, all the headlines have been on President George W. Bushs visit to Africa. Any American president visiting Africa is understandably big news, but Bush visiting the continent is even bigger news. You will recall that this is the man who said in his 2000 presidential campaign that while Africa may be important, it does not fit into the national strategic interests, as far as I can see them. And of course back then he did not even know that Africa was a whole continent. He once called it a country! Recall also that this is a conservative president who won only one out of every 10 black votes in the controversial 2000 election, and has put his foot down to limit social welfare spending in the United States. So what has changed to bring Africa onto this Republican presidents agenda? Here is what the newspapers here are saying. His trip comes at a time when Africa is looming larger in calculations of American interests, the influential New York Times wrote on July 6. In the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks, the United States is eager to keep poor nations with shaky governments from becoming breeding grounds and safe harbours for terrorists. It sees Africa as the worlds last largely untapped market. It holds out hope that Africas substantial oil reserves could play a larger role in fueling the American economy and perhaps serving as a counterweight to the influence of OPEC. The paper also quoted administration officials as saying the president was determined to show another face of his foreign policy at a time when Mr Bush is widely viewed, at home and abroad, as focused primarily on projecting American power and defending its interests by military means. The mass circulating USA Today also cited the September 11 terrorist attacks as the primary reason for Bushs change of approach to Africa, but added that both Democratic and Republican strategists believe support for Africa and anti-poverty programmes in general is good politics. According to the Boston Globe, the Bush tour is designed to show another side to his administrations foreign policy: that of a caring America ready to help the neediest continent, while the Atlanta Journal-Constitution said the trip is partly aimed at softening [Bushs] warrior image at home and abroad. So, should Africans dance and jump for joy? According to the American newspapers, there is still significant skepticism both here and in Africa about the depth of Bushs commitment to the continent. Is this for real or is this tourism? USA Today quoted Chester Crocker, a former assistant secretary of state for African Affairs, as saying. According to the New York Times, There is concern among some Africa hands that Bushs interest will wane after he makes the point to the world that he is more than the unilateralist gunslinger he is often, fairly or unfairly, made out to be. With presidential politics increasingly coming to the fore at the White House, there is also grumbling among advocacy groups that the trip is little more than a way for Bush to flesh out his compassionate conservative platform for his re-election race. For its part, the Baltimore Sun said, Many Africa specialists remain cynical about Bushs trip, dismissing it as a week of photo opportunities to publicise the administrations compassion and generosity on issues such as AIDS and economic development after a year marked by displays of American military might in Iraq. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution for its part quoted, among others, Salih Booker, executive director of the Washington think tank, Africa Action, who took shots at the Bush administration for not taking Africa on its own terms. He called the Bush Africa policy, incomplete, and inadequate. But the newspapers have also quoted others who are hailing Bushs visit, particularly for bringing the policy discussion of the AIDS epidemic into the multi-billion dollar range that experts say is needed to counter a plague that has decimated sub-Saharan and the rest of the developing world, killing an estimated 20 million people worldwide. He is rapidly moving his agenda out of Washington, DC, to where the problem is, the San Francisco Chronicle quoted Dr Eric Goosby, the president of the Pangaea Global AIDS Foundation. The Africa trip is a very visible gesture to show the importance the administration is placing on this problem. For the Ugandan opposition, and those who care for the complete picture (read truth), it should be disheartening that the American media have painted Uganda as a success story in Africa (at least as far as combating the spread of AIDS is concerned), and they have remained largely silent about
ugnet_: FW: AI appeal to President Bush
Subject: AI appeal to President Bush AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL PRESS RELEASE AI Index: AFR 62/023/2003(Public) News Service No: 166 10 July 2003 Uganda: President Bush, while in Africa consider the DRC As US President George W. Bush starts his inaugural visit to Uganda on Friday, Amnesty International is urging him to back calls for a truly robust international military force capable of protecting civilians in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). President Bush should also insist that Uganda cease all forms of support to armed groups in eastern DRC known to have committed human rights abuses. The conflict in DRC - a conflict that has been, in part, waged at Uganda's instigation - has so far cost the lives of more than three million Congolese, particularly in eastern areas of the country. Four years ago almost to this day, the protagonists of the conflict in the DRC agreed a cease-fire in Lusaka, Zambia. One month later, a UN military mission, MONUC, was deployed to monitor the implementation of the agreement. The commitments made by the belligerents at Lusaka in July 1999 to protect human rights and to cease all acts of violence against civilians have since been comprehensively reneged on. The intervening years have brought nothing but sorrow to the civilian population of the DRC, especially in the east of the country. Civilians in this region have suffered a succession of atrocities, including mass killings, torture and rape. With only a restricted mandate, and without the personnel or resources needed to stop the killings, MONUC has largely been relegated to a mere observer to this cruelty. MONUC's mandate is currently under review by the UN Security Council. On 7 July, the US Ambassador to the UN, Richard S Williamson, told the Security Council that the international community has been too slow and too timid to respond to [the] grievous crimes committed in the course of the conflict. Amnesty International is calling on the US Government to use its influence as a Permanent Member of the Security Council to: Confer a clear obligation on MONUC troops to protect civilians, and give MONUC the increased number of troops and the resources and equipment it needs to fulfil its mandate, particularly with regard to the protection of civilians. Expand MONUC's deployment geographically so that it can play an effective role in protecting civilians throughout eastern DRC. Establish a team of MONUC human rights investigators to document and publicly report on violations of international human rights and humanitarian law in the DRC, with a view to the future prosecution of the perpetrators. Amnesty International also calls on President Bush, in his discussions with Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, to press the Ugandan Government to end all military and related support to armed groups in eastern DRC, to cooperate fully with any international investigations into human rights violations committed in the course of the conflict, and to bring to justice Ugandan army personnel or other individuals on Ugandan territory suspected of committing human rights violations in DRC. Background The Lusaka cease-fire agreement was signed on 10 July 1999. To date, both Uganda and Rwanda, another major protagonist of the conflict, have benefited from a generally lenient US attitude towards their involvement in DRC, which has included mass human rights violations by their own forces as well as by armed political groups they have created and armed. Ugandan and Rwandese government forces have largely withdrawn from the DRC, although both countries continue to stoke the conflict in the east through their direction of and support to a host of armed political groups. In May 2003, following a series of ethnically-motivated killings in the Ituri region of north-eastern DRC, some of which took place under the eyes of MONUC troops, the UN Security Council authorized the dispatch of an Interim Emergency Multinational Force, under French command, to Bunia, the major town in Ituri. The IEMF will be withdrawn on 1 September, after which an enlarged MONUC force is expected to take on the role of providing security in the region. Public Document For more information please call Amnesty International's press office in London, UK, on +44 20 7413 5566 Amnesty International, 1 Easton St., London WC1X 0DW. web: http://www.amnesty.org For latest human rights news view http://news.amnesty.org
ugnet_: Government in Talks with United States on 2006 Transition
Government in Talks with United States on 2006 Transition New Vision (Kampala) July 9, 2003 Posted to the web July 9, 2003 Nathan Etengu Kampala THE United States government is holding talks with the Government of Uganda to ensure a democratic transition in 2006, peaceful presidential elections and an immediate end to the conflict in northern Uganda. A conflict consultant at the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Randolph Harris, recently said the democratic transition and the north conflict were the major challenges facing the Uganda. "Uganda has made remarkable achievements in economic growth, international trade and the fight against HIV/AIDS. However, it still faces on the challenges of democratic transition as enshrined in the Constitution, the conflicts in the northern parts of the country and the insecurity in the Karamoja," Randolph said. He was inaugurating a $16m HIV/AIDS programme of the International Relief Committee, at Nakapiripirit district headquarters. He said US assistance of $65m was being channelled towards economic growth, health, education HIV/AIDS, conflict resolution and human development. He said USAID had also channelled $60m in form of humanitarian food aid to Uganda.
SV: ugnet_: Bwanika what is going on?
Mw. Mulindwa That might be a server problem - soon will be rectified. keep trying sending - my side has not recieved any notification of any detected problem so far. Therefore everything might be well. Netter sign on find the address below. bwanika. > From: "Mail Delivery System" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Sent: Thursday, July 10, 2003 5:42 AM > Subject: Warning: message 19a0DX-00062C-6L delayed 36 hours > > > > This message was created automatically by mail delivery software. > > A message that you sent has not yet been delivered to one or more of > its > > recipients after more than 36 hours on the queue on keymaster.look.ca. > > > > The message identifier is: 19a0DX-00062C-6L > > The subject of the message is: Re: Very kindly get me off the list > > The date of the message is:Tue, 8 Jul 2003 17:27:32 -0400 > > The subject of the message is: Re: Very kindly get me off the list > > > > The address to which the message has not yet been delivered is: > > > > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > Delay reason: host lookup did not complete > > > > No action is required on your part. Delivery attempts will continue > for > > some time, and this warning may be repeated at intervals if the > message > > remains undelivered. Eventually the mail delivery software will give > up, > > and when that happens, the message will be returned to you. > > > > > > > __ 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_: Fwd: Re: Subject: Corporate Maths
Thought to share this as I found it hilarious, the mind is a wonderful mechanism especially the one that figured this maths out!! Enjoy Grace Subject: Corporate Maths From a strictly mathematical viewpoint it goes like this: What Makes 100%? What does it mean to give MORE than 100%? Ever wonder about those people who say they are giving more than 100%? We have all been to those meetings where someone wants you to give over 100%. How about achieving 103%? Here's a little mathematical formula that might help you answer these questions:What makes up 100% in life? -- If: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z is represented as: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26. Then: H-A-R-D-W-O-R-K 8+1+18+4+23+15+18+11 = 98% and K-N-O-W-L-E-D-G-E 11+14+15+23+12+5+4+7+5 = 96% But, A-T-T-I-T-U-D-E 1+20+20+9+20+21+4 5 = 100% And, B-U-L-L-S-H-I-T 21+12+12+19+8+9+20 = 103% AND, look how far ass kissing will take you. A-S-S-K-I-S-S-I-N-G 1+19+19+11+9+19+19+9+14+7 = 118% So, one can then conclude with mathematical certainty that: While Hard work and knowledge will get you close,And, Attitude will get you there, Bullshit and Ass kissing will put you over the top! Want to chat instantly with your online friends? Get the FREE Yahoo! Messenger
RE: ugnet_: Binaisa's 3-point solution to Kony war
To the best of my knowledge,Binaisa has been a joker all his life. I thought all of us were agreed on that point especially with the experience we had of his during his stint as President of Uganda and how after falling out of favour with Mu7 in the early days of the NRM rule,exiled himself first to London,then later to the US and went back full circle to state on his latest return to Uganda that he was still the substantive President of Uganda. What more do we need to qualify and certify him not only as a joker but the epitome of Joke itself?. Just wondering. Kipenji. ===[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Is this a joke or what? I did not see the third point. Anyway it does not matter. But was this a joke?Bwambuga."Mitayo Potosi" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>wrote: Binaisa's 3-point solution to Kony war By GODFREY LUKONGWA BINAISA July 7, 2003 The time to act is now and not to continue apportioning blame, but to save our country form disintegration. Unless we swim together now, we shall sink separately. Unless our government comes up with a solution now, the war in the north may become an African version of the 30 years war that ravaged Europe from 1618 to 1648 when it was ended by the Treaty of Westphalia. The nations that were involved ran out funds, there was a terrible loss of life and destruction of property. This is what is happening now in the north. The time to act is now and not to continue apportioning blame, but to save our country form disintegration. Unless we swim together now, we shall sink separately. A three point programme is suggested: The president should send a high powered delegation to Britain, to plead with the British government and convince that government, that for its role in Uganda before independence when it practised the old Roman adage of divide et impera a-k-a divide and rule and filled its Uganda army, the King's African Riffles, with soldiers from the north, who Britain claimed were great warriors. The first British appointed Ugandans were ignored, officers such as Capt. Ashe Mukanga, a Muganda who served in World War 1, Capt. Daudi Chwa II, the Kabaka of Buganda, Lt. Prince Yusuf Suna, Lt. Prince George William Mawanda both from Buganda, Lt. George Rukidi, the Omukama of Toro were all left in limbo. At that time the northerners who were preferred were given one roomed grass huts, three blankets for a mattress, and the third with which to cover their bodies, they were made to sign on for nine years, at the end of which they received neither gratuity or pension, but were only exempted from paying a head tax of Shs 15 per year. The northerners who did not join the army, joined the police and prison services. The rest worked in the sugar estates of Lugazi and Kakira. After independence, their firm grip on the security forces was used by them to stage two coups in 1971 and 1985. President Yoweri Museveni ended their grip on the army in 1986. Leadership of the army reverted to the southerners. It is this loss of leadership of the armed forces, which had hitherto been used by the northerners to grab political power and unleash reigns of terror, that is responsible for the war. This loss of the big jobs made the likes of LRA leader Joseph Kony to resort to war. Unless Ugandans clearly understand the reason Kony is fighting, they will not be able to win the war soon. The northerners want their jobs as leaders of the armed forces back right now before they can be persuaded to stop the carnage. I believe that the leadership of the armed forces shall continue to be based on merit only. Secondly, the British government should be requested to pay for what I call a mini Marshal plan similar to the American plan after World War II for western Europe. It could be called the Tony Blair Plan, if you prefer. The reason for such a plan is firstly that Uganda stands on high moral ground in making the request. It is a well known maxim of equity that equity imputes an intent to fulfil an obligation. The purpose of this request would be to compensate Uganda for the wrong the British government committed more than 40 years ago when they left their weapons of mass destruction in the hands of people who had no experience to handle such weapons, besides wantonly using them to gain power and riches. Uganda does not have the money in its budget to pay for what it will cost to rehabilitate more than 60 years of misrule and mismanagement of the British army in Uganda before independence. It is further suggested that Uganda government may permit the
ugnet_: PPC Vice Chairman, Mayerga on political space
9th July, 2003 The Hon. Minister Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs Kampala RE: OPENING OF THE POLITICAL SPACE Lt. Gen. Yoweri Museveni has publicly declared his intention to open the political space. The Uganda Peoples Congress, in its earlier Press Statements publicly challenged the government of President Museveni to come out with a White Paper detailing the roadmap towards the realisation of the opening of the political space. To date, the people of Uganda have yet to receive this roadmap. The purpose of this letter is to demand that immediate action is taken on this matter to enable all stakeholders to participate in the process of opening the political space. Yours faithfully, Henry Mayega Vice Chairman Presidential Policy Commission Cc: President General, DP Cc: The Chairman The Free Movement Cc: The President Conservative Party Cc: The President JEEMA Cc: The Chairman National Democratic Forum
ugnet_: Will this remove the last vestiges of Stigmatisation associated with HIV/AIDS?.
Perspectives Perspectives Insights Insights Lifestyle Lifestyle WeekinReview WeekinReview SocietyandPolitics SocietyandPolitics WomenandMen WomenandMen MoneyMonitor MoneyMonitor Sports Extra Sports Extra WeekendMagazine WeekendMagazine SundaySpecials SundaySpecials Kampala - Thursday, 10 July 2003 06:28 pm All results 5 results 10 results 20 results 30 results 50 results Free drugs for public workers with HIV/Aids By Carolyne NakazibweJuly 10, 2003 Policy on treatment here soonPublic workers with HIV/Aids may soon benefit from free treatment if a new policy is approved. Information available to The Monitor indicates that the government is fine-tuning a policy to treat all its employees living with HIV/Aids. Mr Orone Atibo, the under secretary in the Ministry of Finance, yesterday said that the government had planned for anti-retroviral drugs for its workers in the 2003/4 Budget. Atibo announced the good news yesterday during an HIV/Aids sensitisation workshop for government employees at the Kampala Regency Hotel. Potential beneficiaries would have to test for HIV/Aids to confirm their sero status. Ms Hope Mwesiga from the Ministry of Public Service said that a survey conducted last December indicates that at least 3 percent of public servants died of Aids-related causes between 1995 and 1999. She said that Aids is a threat to both the private and public sectors. Mwesiga said that a national policy on HIV/Aids at the workplace would be out soon as part of the human resource policy review. Employers should provide Aids drugs for staff, she said. In addition workers should not be discriminated against because of their HIV status. Mwesiga said that the new national policy would address challenges such as potential employees being subjected to mandatory HIV testing and the likely absenteeism by workers living with HIV/Aids. The aim of the workshop, attended by about 50 public servants, was to integrate HIV/Aids in the daily workings of the Ministry of Finance. © 2003 The Monitor Publications East African | Daily Nation | About Us | Feedback | Site Map | License | Monitor MailWant to chat instantly with your online friends? Get the FREE Yahoo! Messenger
ugnet_: Bush's Visit and the MPs' reactions to it.
Perspectives Perspectives Insights Insights Lifestyle Lifestyle WeekinReview WeekinReview SocietyandPolitics SocietyandPolitics WomenandMen WomenandMen MoneyMonitor MoneyMonitor Sports Extra Sports Extra WeekendMagazine WeekendMagazine SundaySpecials SundaySpecials Kampala - Thursday, 10 July 2003 06:33 pm All results 5 results 10 results 20 results 30 results 50 results MPs not happy over Bush visitBy Ssemujju Ibrahim Nganda Elizabeth Agiro July 10, 2003 Members of Parliament yesterday criticised the government for denying them an opportunity to meet with US President George W. Bush. The American leader arrives at Entebbe tomorrow. The MPs are also angry that the official statement explaining the visit was delivered to Parliament only at the eleventh hour (yesterday). "It is a reflection of how the State is being run," said Bugabula South MP, Ms Salaamu Musumba. She said that the visit has been "personalised" by the presidency. She said that when former US President Bill Clinton visited Uganda, MPs were "baked" in the sun at Kisowera in Mukono as Clinton visited a local primary school. The Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Maj. Tom Butime, however, explained that visits by heads of state are handled by the presidency. Mr Ken Lukyamuzi (Lubaga South) moved a motion compelling the government to let MPs at least shake hands with Bush. Mr Ogenga Latigo (Agago) was not impressed. He said that MPs should not ridicule themselves by begging to meet Bush. He said that Lukyamuzi's desperate attempts were borne out of ignorance.The motion was defeated. Oyam South MP, Mr Okullo Epak, said that the American leader was more likely to benefit from the visit than Uganda. He said that America's invasion of Iraq against the wishes of global public opinion had tainted Bush's image. He said that Bush was now trying to get a human face. MPs Nandala Mafabi (Budadiri West), Peter Mutuluza (Mawokota North) and Kalule Sengo (Gomba) criticised the government for closing the Ugandan airspace to commercial flights during Bush's visit. The MPs warned that businesses would demand compensation. Manjiya MP, Mr John Wakikona, caused laughter when he said that because of Bush's visit a lot of money was being spent to clean up Entebbe. MP Mike Sebalu said that even Kampala City Council had drawn Shs 10 million to prepare for the visit (yet Bush won't come anywhere near Kampala). © 2003 The Monitor Publications East African | Daily Nation | About Us | Feedback | Site Map | License | Monitor MailWant to chat instantly with your online friends? Get the FREE Yahoo! Messenger
ugnet_: Ag. Chairman Mayega on UPC demonstration
7th July, 2003 The Inspector General Uganda Police Dear Sir, RE: DEMONSTRATION BY THE UPC Yours of 1st July 2003 reference No. UPS 175/210/01 refers. The UPC wrote to you requesting for Police protection during the above demonstration. At no single point did we request for permission to hold the said demonstration as implied in your response to ours. Secondly it cannot be true that when we conduct a demonstration against the dictatorship, we consequently compromise national security and cause diplomatic embarrassment to Uganda. UPC is not a party of outlaws whose aim is to create insecurity and cause diplomatic embarrassment. Thirdly, you quote the POA as a requirement for parties to register before operating. I want to let you know that there is constitutional court injunction against registration and since we were saved by the 1995 constitution as an existing party, the Police has no duty to stop us from enjoying our God given and inalienable right. In your last paragraph of the same response to ours you imply that the UPC is not a peace loving party. A few questions for you: (i) Who started the 1980-1985 war that robbed his country of peace? (ii) Who caused the mayhem in Teso, Acholi, Kasese etc? Was it not the NRA and others in the theatre? UPC was never there. (iii) Who invaded Rwanda, Sudan, Kenya and the DRC? The UPC has never picked guns to fight anybody. The UPC is not a fighting group like the NRA. We are law-abiding people who have been enslaved by the Ugandan dictatorship for 17 yeas. We are therefore not going to accept blackmail. We will do our job and operate within the confines of the law. Yours is to provide security. Yours faithfully, 4 Henry Mayega Ag. Chairman Presidential Policy Commission Cc: The Hon. Minister, Ministry of Internal Affairs The Regional Police Commander, Kampala The Ambassador, United States of America, Kampala
RE: ugnet_: Binaisa's 3-point solution to Kony war
Honestly I was shocked and saddened by this trash from H.E. Godfrey L Binaisa, QC. May be indeed it is 'swine' that have been ruling us all along afterall. Mitayo Potosi From: Owor Kipenji [EMAIL PROTECTED] Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: RE: ugnet_: Binaisa's 3-point solution to Kony war Date: Thu, 10 Jul 2003 16:07:01 +0100 (BST) To the best of my knowledge,Binaisa has been a joker all his life. I thought all of us were agreed on that point especially with the experience we had of his during his stint as President of Uganda and how after falling out of favour with Mu7 in the early days of the NRM rule,exiled himself first to London,then later to the US and went back full circle to state on his latest return to Uganda that he was still the substantive President of Uganda. What more do we need to qualify and certify him not only as a joker but the epitome of Joke itself?. Just wondering. Kipenji. === [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Is this a joke or what? I did not see the third point. Anyway it does not matter. But was this a joke? Bwambuga. Mitayo Potosi wrote: Binaisa's 3-point solution to Kony war By GODFREY LUKONGWA BINAISA July 7, 2003 The time to act is now and not to continue apportioning blame, but to save our country form disintegration. Unless we swim together now, we shall sink separately. Unless our government comes up with a solution now, the war in the north may become an African version of the 30 years war that ravaged Europe from 1618 to 1648 when it was ended by the Treaty of Westphalia. The nations that were involved ran out funds, there was a terrible loss of life and destruction of property. This is what is happening now in the north. The time to act is now and not to continue apportioning blame, but to save our country form disintegration. Unless we swim together now, we shall sink separately. A three point programme is suggested: The president should send a high powered delegation to Britain, to plead with the British government and convince that government, that for its role in Uganda before independence when it practised the old Roman adage of divide et impera a-k-a divide and rule and filled its Uganda army, the King's African Riffles, with soldiers from the north, who Britain claimed were great warriors. The first British appointed Ugandans were ignored, officers such as Capt. Ashe Mukanga, a Muganda who served in World War 1, Capt. Daudi Chwa II, the Kabaka of Buganda, Lt. Prince Yusuf Suna, Lt. Prince George William Mawanda both from Buganda, Lt. George Rukidi, the Omukama of Toro were all left in limbo. At that time the northerners who were preferred were given one roomed grass huts, three blankets for a mattress, and the third with which to cover their bodies, they were made to sign on for nine years, at the end of which they received neither gratuity or pension, but were only exempted from paying a head tax of Shs 15 per year. The northerners who did not join the army, joined the police and prison services. The rest worked in the sugar estates of Lugazi and Kakira. After independence, their firm grip on the security forces was used by them to stage two coups in 1971 and 1985. President Yoweri Museveni ended their grip on the army in 1986. Leadership of the army reverted to the southerners. It is this loss of leadership of the armed forces, which had hitherto been used by the northerners to grab political power and unleash reigns of terror, that is responsible for the war. This loss of the big jobs made the likes of LRA leader Joseph Kony to resort to war. Unless Ugandans clearly understand the reason Kony is fighting, they will not be able to win the war soon. The northerners want their jobs as leaders of the armed forces back right now before they can be persuaded to stop the carnage. I believe that the leadership of the armed forces shall continue to be based on merit only. Secondly, the British government should be requested to pay for what I call a mini Marshal plan similar to the American plan after World War II for western Europe. It could be called the Tony Blair Plan, if you prefer.
ugnet_: GOREE ISLAND, Senegal (CNN) --President Bush's visit
DEMAND REPARATIONS NOW! National Reparations Rally Saturday, September 13, 2003 United Nations * New York City Bush: Voice of hope and conscience will not be silenced GOREE ISLAND, Senegal (CNN) --President Bush visited an infamous former slave-trading outpost Tuesday on an island off the West African nation of Senegal, the first stop on his five-nation tour of Africa. The following is a transcript of Bush's remarks during a ceremony on Goree Island: BUSH: Mr. President and Madam first lady, distinguished guests, and residents of Goree Island, citizens of Senegal, I'm honored to begin my visit to Africa in your beautiful country. For hundreds of years on this island, peoples of different continents met in fear and cruelty. Today, we gather in respect and friendship, mindful of past wrongs and dedicated to the advance of human liberty. At this place, liberty and life were stolen and sold. Human beings were delivered and sorted and weighed and branded with the marks of commercial enterprises and loaded as cargo on a voyage without return. One of the largest migrations of history was also one of the greatest crimes of history. Below the decks, the middle passage was a hot, narrow, sunless nightmare; weeks and months of confinement and abuse and confusion on a strange and lonely sea. Some refused to eat, preferring death to any future their captors might prefer for them. Some who were sick were thrown over the side. Some rose up in violent rebellion, delivering the closest thing to justice on a slave ship. Many acts of defiance and bravery are recorded. Countless others we will never know. Those who lived to see land again were displayed, examined and sold at auctions across nations in the Western Hemisphere. They entered society indifferent to their anguish and made prosperous by their unpaid labor. There was a time in my country's history where one in every seven human beings was the property of another. In law, they were regarded only as articles of commerce, having no right to travel or to marry or to own possessions. Because families were often separated, many were denied even the comfort of suffering together. For 250 years the captives endured an assault on their culture and their dignity. The spirit of Africans in America did not break. Yet the spirit of their captors was corrupted. Small men took on the powers and airs of tyrants and masters. Years of unpunished brutality and bullying and rape produced a dullness and hardness of conscience. Christian men and women became blind to the clearest commands of their faith and added hypocrisy to injustice. A republic founded on equality for all became a prison for millions. And yet in the words of the African proverb, no fist is big enough to hide the sky. All of the generations oppressed under the laws of man could not crush the hope of freedom and defeat the purposes of God. In America, enslaved Africans learned the story of the exodus from Egypt and set their own hearts on a promised land of freedom. Enslaved Africans discovered a suffering savior and found he was more like themselves than their masters. Enslaved Africans heard the ringing promises of the Declaration of Independence and asked the self-evident question, Then why not me? In the era of America's founding, a man named Olaudah Equiano was taken in bondage to the New World. He witnessed all of slavery's cruelties, the ruthless and the petty. He also saw beyond the slave-holding piety of a time to a higher standard of humanity. God tells us, wrote Equiano, that the oppressor and the oppressed are both in his hands. And if these are not the poor, the broken-hearted, the blind, the captive, the bruised which our Savior speaks of, who are they? Down through the years, African-Americans have upheld the ideals of America by exposing laws and habits contradicting those ideals. The rights of African-Americans were not the gift of those in authority. Those rights were granted by the author of life and regained by the persistence and courage of African-Americans themselves. Among those Americans was Phillis Wheatley, who was dragged from her home here in West Africa in 1761 at the age of 7. In my country she became a poet and the first noted black author in our nation's history. Phillis Wheatley said, In every human breast God has implanted a principle which we call love of freedom. It is impatient of oppression and pants for deliverance. That deliverance was demanded by escaped slaves named Frederick Douglass and Sojourner Truth, educators named Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. DeBois and ministers of the Gospel named Leon Sullivan and Martin Luther King Jr. At every turn, the struggle for equality was resisted by many of the powerful. And some have said we should not judge their failures by the standards of a later time, yet in every time there were
ugnet_: The alliance is mutually beneficial
Uganda Is Dependable Ally for Bush, U.S. By MATTHEW ROSENBERG .c The Associated Press KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) - Compared to the other countries President Bush is visiting in Africa, Uganda is a political and economic lightweight with few democratic credentials. Bush, however, has other reasons for making a four-hour stop Friday in the Oregon-sized country in East Africa. When it comes to security and trade, the policies of the two nations may as well be tailored for each other. And with Bush highlighting the fight against HIV on his tour of Africa, Uganda has waged one of the world's most successful battles against the disease. The country is seen by American officials as a dependable ally in a region fraught with uncertainty - terrorism, civil wars and failed states. The November al-Qaeda attack on a Kenyan hotel that killed 15 people, including three Israelis, and a recent string of U.S. and British terrorism warnings for eastern Africa, mainly centered on neighboring Kenya, have kept terrorism at the top of the U.S. agenda in the region. But U.S. officials worry that Kenya's security apparatus is prone to leaks that make capturing suspects difficult, said a U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Similar concerns surround other regional allies, the official said. Ugandan security, on the other hand, is considered relatively leak-free, making it an attractive country to operate from, said the official, who would not elaborate. Uganda also was one of four African countries that openly supported the U.S. invasion of Iraq. And America is providing unspecified military assistance to the Ugandans in their fight against Lord's Resistance Army rebels, who have ravaged northern Uganda for 17 years and are on the U.S. terrorism list, the official said. Uganda's role in neighboring Congo's civil war, however, has not pleased the United States. Uganda is accused of plundering Congo's vast resources and stirring up tribal rivalries that have killed thousands. Bush and Uganda President Yoweri Museveni, though, find common ground on free trade. After meeting with Bush in Washington last month, Museveni called for ``passionate trade'' between the United States and Africa as ``the best way to stimulate growth in Africa.'' Bush has touted the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act, or AGOA, an initiative that liberalized trading rules with the world's richest market, as the solution. Despite Museveni's relatively liberal economic polices and a 50 percent jump in African imports, excluding oil, to the United States since AGOA was enacted three years ago, Uganda has benefited little. The country has only two factories that make apparel, Africa's main AGOA export, and the high cost of shipping from the landlocked country keeps investment away, said Velupillai Kananathan, the owner of Apparels Tristar in Kampala. Bush will also get a firsthand glimpse of Uganda's efforts to stem the spread of HIV, a rare African success story. In the late 1980s, with the HIV infection rate spiraling out of control, the Ugandan government launched a massive public awareness campaign. The results have been dramatic. The HIV infection rate today hovers just over 5 percent. Condom use is widespread. The age of first sexual contact has gone from 14 to 16. The average number of sexual partners has dropped from more than three to around one. And the government is still pushing awareness. Its latest campaign touts the ``A,B,C, and D'' of HIV - Ugandans need to ``abstain,'' change their ``behavior,'' use ``condoms,'' or they will ``die,'' said Sam Okware, a health ministry official. Prevention is affordable but the drugs needed to treat those already infected are not. They cost about $26 a month. Uganda spends about $3.50 on health care for each citizen a year Of the 1 million Ugandans infected, about 10,000 are currently getting drugs, either by paying themselves or getting the support of international aid groups, like Doctors Without Borders. Joy Tumuheirwe is not one of them. If she met Bush, the 29-year-old said, ``I would tell him if he wanted to really help us, he should bring these drugs.'' Not having them ``is our main problem.'' 07/10/03 15:35 EDT Copyright 2003 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.
Re: [FedsNet] Re: ugnet_: Obote's Greed for Power Killed Uganda's Future
Dr. "Kapa", Your futile attempt to stuff words in my mouth is duly noted, and treated with the contempt it deserves. Ssemakulaps: let's keep our comments in public as I have no desire to communicate privately with you on matters arising in pulic fora. Original Message Follows From : [EMAIL PROTECTED] To : [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED] CC : [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject : Re: [FedsNet] Re: ugnet_: Obote's Greed for Power Killed Uganda's Future Date : Thu, 10 Jul 2003 14:58:56 -0400 (EDT) "that it was none other than your hero, Obote, who knowing and intentionally precipitated chaos in Uganda, and that he did so for purely selfish reasons, namely: greed for power at any cost. James" Oh yeah, James "...that it was none other than your hero, Museveni, who knowing and intentionally precipitated chaos in Uganda, and that he did so for purely selfish reasons, namely: greed for power at any cost.and ...what about Luwero, invassion of Rwanda, invassion of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, genocide in the Congo, Mayhem in Ituri, ethnic clensing and genocide in Northern Uganda.these and many others are in James' esteemed opinion, not purely selfish greed-for-power driven adventures..but peaceful spreading the word of the gospel according to ST. James and the word of the Lord M7. Kapa Mr. Opoka-Okumu: I'll address your tangential point with regards to Kiganda etiquette at another occassion. What I'd like from you is a response to the more substantive urgument advanced by Ibingira -- a former Secretary-Generalof the UPC and Cabinet Minister -- that it was none other than your hero, Obote, who knowing and intentionally precipitated chaos in Uganda, and that he did so for purely selfish reasons, namely: greed for power at any cost. James Original Message Follows From: "Chris Opoka-Okumu" Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: , CC: ,, Subject: [FedsNet] Re: ugnet_: Obote's Greed for Power Killed Uganda's Future Date: Tue, 8 Jul 2003 21:38:12 -0400 Mr. Semakula, When you dispute a posting offer a better account rather than than otesting too much and thus displaying baseless arrogance. You can educate yourself by reading part of Ian Hancock's article entitled Buganda Crisis 1964 which appears in the Journal of African Affairs Volume 69, Issue 275, April 1970 pages 109 to 123. The page below appears on page 117. As you can see from the last sentence of the second paragraph which begins with " The real objection to Semakula...".that the esteemed Katiikiro indeed prosrtated himself before an empty throne to prove his loyalty to the Kabaka as a result of a motion introduced by a Semakula. I wonder who the Semakula who sowed so much seed of discord in Ganda politics that brought much chaos and broughgt down a Buganda government down in 1964 is. Are you by chance related? Chris Opoka-Okumu - Original Message - From: J Ssemakula To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ; [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Tuesday, July 08, 2003 4:12 PM Subject: ugnet_: Obote's Greed for Power Killed Uganda's Future Folks, In the past few weeks we have witnessed an exchange, on Fedsnet between Obote's supporters as they have attempts to foist upon us their revisionist history and others who would have nothing to do with this nonsense. One of the ignorami had the temerity to pontificate about things he clearly has no idea about, e.g. "No amount of laying prostrate before the empty Nnamulongo could save Kintu." Kintu, you will recall, was Buganda's Katikkiro during the period of the Referendum on the so-called 'Lost Counties'. As Buganda's Kamalabyonna and therefore "Kabaka Ow'ebweru", he was one of handaful of Baganda who did may not prostrate, much less, kneel before the Kabaka - no matter what his transgression (if any), according to Kiganda etiquette, custom and tradition. Rather than boring you with my opinions, I thought it might be enlightening to see what had been written about the events by more informed and authoritative sources. I turned to a book: Grace Stuart Ibingira (GSI) 1980 African Upheavals Since Independence. Westview Press, Boulder, Colorado. GSI, a trained lawyer, was an insider who witnessed some of the events he writes about first hand -- having been MP, the UPC's Secretary General, cabinet Minister (Justice, State) before being detained and imprisoned, along with other UPC Ministers, for about 5 years by Obote. He later served in the Amin government as Ambassador to UN (resigning in Jan. 1974). His better-known book "The Forging of An African Nation" was written before his detention. These two books should be read by anyone who wants to understand the workings of the UPC, what happened, when why it happened, and just how ruthless power-drunk Obote is. In many ways this fairly well referenced
ugnet_: Leadership in the fight
THE GROUP CALLS itself the Post-Test cluba name that came about because many of them discovered through testing that they had contracted the virus. And though they are neither doctors nor scientists searching for a cure, they are nevertheless a vital element in Ugandas response to HIV/AIDS. Uganda, with 1.5 million HIV/AIDS victims8 percent of the populationhas decided to take on the scourge as a national challenge. And with government backing, foreign experts, including the U.S.-based Centers for Disease Control, think that a multi-pronged assault on the disease could reduce AIDS incidence here to at least half the current level. The Uganda approach requires AIDS testing of most of the population, counseling on how to change sexual practices, better access to relatively cheap medicine, preventive measures and public education. If we dont switch ourselves on [to tackle AIDS], we are finished, Dr. Francis Omaswa, the director-general of Ugandas government health service, told Powell and his party. But if we do, maybe other things could follow. AIDS, he said has provided us with an opportunity to rise to the challenge and to design new ways of doing things that can transform our lives for the better. The attitude of confronting the disease head-on, an approach chosen by president Yoweri Museveni himself, is itself a critical factor in the anti-AIDS campaign. Its been shown that having an open government, strong leadership, a president who supports providing information to the populace is an awfully good way to start, says Jonathan Mermin, director of the CDC office in Kampala. And in Uganda, there are thousands of community-based initiatives to educate the public on ways to reduce the risk of the spread of AIDS. Today in this east African country, as in much of the rest of the continent, HIV is transmitted mostly through heterosexual sex. Originally spread at least in part through Boda-Boda driversthe motorcyclists who travel from border to border and offer rides to young womensufferers now include married couples with a partner who either strays or contracted it in an earlier relationship. AIDS: A 20 Year Toll 1981 - 1984: The Search For A Cause 1985 - 1994: The Epidemic Spreads 1995 - present: An Era of Hope Newsweek On average, and depending on the frequency of sexual relations, infectious disease experts estimate a 9 percent chance per year that an AIDS-afflicted partner will transmit it to the other. According to Mermin, the mere testing of partners lessens the risk of transmission by leading to increased awareness and precautions. Health authorities also try to strike pre-emptively to keep AIDS patients alive longer. To reduce the chances of the infected partner contracting other diseases like tuberculosis, AIDS patients are encouraged to take Isoniazid, which costs $10 per year; to avert bacterial infections, affected patients are urged to take a daily pill of Cotrimoxazole, at a cost of $15 a year. To prevent diarrhea or other water-borne infections, CDC promotes the use of a plastic water vessel with a dilute chlorine solution at a cost of $15 a year. Ugandas second-most common form of transmission is from mother to infant, with some 30,000 to 40,000 infants born annually with HIV. One dose of the anti-retroviral nevirapine for the mother and another for the infant reduces the chances of transmission by 50 percent, according to CDCs Mermin. One of the biggest problems for Uganda is the death of a households male breadwinner, which can lead to the destruction of the livelihood and the break-up of the family. About one in five AIDS victims dies of cryptococcal meningitis, a fungal infection of the brain and spinal cord. While a Pfizer-produced drug called Fluconazole can treat this illness, few Ugandans can afford the $2,000 a yearabout five times the average citizens annual incomeneeded for the medication. Shortage of funds impacts other areas too. Mermin estimates that if $15 per citizen were spent for every year for the next five years, it could change the status of HIV/AIDS from a pandemic to just another disease. That amounts to roughly $150 million. For Ugandan health workers, the big question now is whether the U.S.which just committed $50 million to the countrywill do more to help them get the job done. "
ugnet_: The ever Increasing List of Mu7's sad term supporters
Perspectives Perspectives Insights Insights Lifestyle Lifestyle WeekinReview WeekinReview SocietyandPolitics SocietyandPolitics WomenandMen WomenandMen MoneyMonitor MoneyMonitor Sports Extra Sports Extra WeekendMagazine WeekendMagazine SundaySpecials SundaySpecials Kampala - Friday, 11 July 2003 02:29 am All results 5 results 10 results 20 results 30 results 50 results Ajeani smokes up a cloud in Arua People finder By Kefa AtibuniJuly 9 - 16, 2003 There were four empty bottles of beer on the floor beside him. A fifth was half full on the table. Dressed in a casual sky-blue shirt, his aura was more of an ordinary barman than of the proprietor of the place. VETERAN: Dr Ajeani Dr Yoram Ajeanis head is totally covered in grey hair now. And he is a busy man at his Paradise Lodge and bar in the heart of Arua Town. On a Monday afternoon, Ajeani was perched on a plastic chair at one corner of the bar. He was smoking. He has none of the airs of the legislator that he was until 2001. I am now eating from my political toilet. Yes, people have been saying that once politicians lose their seats, they are then sent to eat in their former toilets. That is exactly where I am, he says of his retirement. Ajeani was the representative of Arua Municipality in Parliament for five years until 2001. Before that he was a minister of animal industry and fisheries (1987/1988), a special assistant to the president (1989/1991) and he served on the presidential and foreign affairs committee of Parliament. Once upon a time, Ajeani was not just an influential West Nile politician; he made you aware of it. During his spotlight days, at a function in Arua, he assured the crowd that President Museveni makes appointments after consulting with him. I told him to appoint Ayume as Speaker and he appointed him, he said. It is believed that this statement angered Francis Ayume (now Attorney General) to the point that whenever Ajeani sought to speak in the house, the Speaker would deny him the opportunity. Ajeani would lament to colleagues in the corridors that the Speaker truly hated him. Ajeanis ministerial career had ended rather prematurely when he took the law into his hands on a sunny day on his way to Entebbe airport. He had spent hardly a year in office as minister in-charge of research, production and fisheries in the Ministry of Animal Industries and Fisheries when he resigned the post after ordering his guards to beat up a taxi driver whom he accused of careless driving. Ajeani was on his way to the airport to receive Julius Nyerere (RIP), former president of Tanzania, when the taxi driver provoked him. He says that the mans actions nearly caused them to have an accident. I stopped him at Namasuba and directed my bodyguard to give him 12 strokes of the cane. When he had been given six of the strokes I realised my mistake for having taken the law in my hands. I told my bodyguard to stop caning, says Ajeani as he looked away with a sigh. I felt ashamed. I thought the best thing for me to do was to relinquish public office, he adds. He had set the record as one of only a handful of President Musevenis ministers to have accepted responsibility for their actions and paid the price. But despite the apparent reproach he brought upon himself, hardly a year elapsed before Ajeani was re-appointed by President Museveni as Special Assistant a job he held until 1990 when he was sent to Kinshasa as Ugandas ambassador. Six years later, he was appointed to the mission in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, but he never took up the assignment opting instead to contest for the Arua Municipality seat in Parliament which he won. In 2001 he again contested for the seat but lost to Nasuru Okuti. And so Ajeani embarked on his retirement. Since then I am doing my private work like the piggery that I established in Wakiso District and this Project of Arua Paradise, he says. Ajeani has had quite an illustrious career. He taught in Namulonge Agricultural Research Station before he was called to lecture at Makerere University. He lectured in the faculties of Agriculture and Veterinary Science until 1987 he was appointed minister. Ajeani is full of praise for President Museveni; he even supported his mission in Congo and wants the president to have a third term if he wants one. I think President Museveni has done his best for this country. Giving him another term in office is the best way to appreciate this kind of sacrifice, he says. Ajeani says he has witnessed a lot of economic prosperity and infrastructure development under the present regime than ever before. Look at the Arua-Nebbi road, how many presidents failed to tarmac that road before Museveni did it? he queries. Ajeani says that he chose to stay in Arua during his retirement because he needed to identify with his people. He is a very affable
ugnet_: BUGANDA IN UGANDA (Uganda's political alites- Part one)
Yiyo too!! One of the most important arears in which the struggle between Baganda and non Baganda occurred was formed by what may be called the "Leading circles" of Uganda politics. This arena is difficult to define, and its composition has shifted from time to time, in at least one instance dramatically. But it was, and is, an important feature in a country whose structures are still very much in the process of formation. In the immediate post- independence period, three key figures stood out: from the Northern region, Dr. Apollo Milton Obote, then Prime Minister of Uganda and President of UPC; from Buganda, Sir Edward Fredrick Mutesa 11, Kabaka of Buganda, subsequently President of Uganda, and principle voice in KY; and from the Eastern region, Sir William Wilberforce Nadiope, Minister of Internal affairs in Obote's government untill becoming Vice president of Uganda in 1963, the semi-traditional ruler (Kyabazinga) of Busoga, and a prominent and powerful member of UPC executive. No one from the Western region quite approached these three in power at the time of independence, although Grace Ibingira, a Munyankore, Minister of Justice in Obote's first cabinet, and later Secretary-General of UPC, would come increasingly close. Each of the three had a sizeable impact on national policies, and several followers who were 'his' men will distribute among important decision-making groups (such as the UPC executive, the Cabinet, the officer corps of the army, the higher civil service, and so forth). The principle contender of the Presidency of Uganda in 1963 appeared for a while to be Nadiope, who was influential not only in nationalist circles but also among the traditional rulers (the Abakama) of the kingdoms of Ankole, Bunyoro and Toro. His election, however, while it would have satisfied many nationalist and traditional groups, would almost certainly have deepened the cleavage between baganda and non-Baganda. The hypersensitive baganda might well have inferred that national positions were closed to them unless, like the Baganda Ministers in the national government, they forsook their specifically Buganda allegiances, moreover, it would have violated the pre-independence agreement which called for Mutesa's election to the presidency with Obote's support. The implementation of that agreement, it now appears in retrospect, required that certain conditions be met. For the presidency, while mainly an honorific position, did have certain emergency powers in the event of a government crisis, and its occupant was ex-officio head of the armed forces. If by supporting Mutesa, Obote were not to increase materially the power as well as the prestige of his most formidable opponent for national leadership, it was necessary that UPC be firmly in control of the government, Obote himself be firmly in control of UPC, and inthe eventof a serious of a serious policy difference between his and the Kabaka's governments, that is, between Uganda and Buganda, that he be able both to resolve the issue in the national government's favour by constitutional means and to count on the support of the Army and Police, should the difference lead to an open dispute and a Baganda boycott or similar disturbance. As we have seen, most of these conditions were mate or were in the process of being mate. UPC was well on the way to gaining an absolute majority in the National assembly. Obote, working closely with Ibingira among others, was consolidating his power within UPC (mainly at the expense of various local-level leaders but to some extent at the expense of the party's left-wing at the national level as well). And as was explained above, owing to the regional composition of the Armed forces, the national government could count on the army and police in the event of a serious dispute with Buganda. There remained only the question of the powers of the presidency. The Uganda independence constitution had given the Queen's representative, the Governor General, absolute discretion to appoint the Prime Minister aftera general election, provided only that the person appointed appear to command a majority of the members of the National assembly. If these power were left unrevised and incorporated in the office of the president, Mutesa would be in a position to appoint a KY leader as a Prime Minister, even though the KY members constituted but a small proportion of the national assembly. Hence, prior to his election the constitution was amended to require the president as head of state to call upon the leader of the party, having the most membersin parliament to form a government and to prohibit him from calling upon anyone from a party with less than twenty members in the assembly. In addition, the independence constitution made no provision for occasions on which the Governor general's action was required but on which he infact did not act as he was advised to do by the
Re: ugnet_: UPC Oyee! Everywhere...UPC!Everybody...UPC!
Micheal Bwanbuga... Alias Hussein Mugume.. Netters! Let the facts be known : Hussien Mugume alias Ben Wacha was a member of Idi Amin's State Research. Idi sent the fello to LIBYA for supposingly Military Intelligence training for State Research. Ben Wacha( Hussein Mugume Alias Micheal Bwambuga) also served ( Under dictator Yoweri Museveni) at the Uganda EMbassy here in Washington DC. It is now this some fellow who wants to emasscrade as a member of the UPC and is intend on calling an illegal meeting.. I hear as Intrim Chgairman of UPC Washington Bureau.!! LO Bwambuga the people of Uganda have not forgotten what Idi Amin's State Research did to the People of Uganda. ..and now you want to decieve us that you are UPC Are you not changing you like a chamiilion! Fellow Citizens... stay tuned for further communication... Bejn watch is about to get the BOOT from the bereau for indispline!!..and insurbordination. Matek In a message dated 7/10/2003 3:10:54 PM Eastern Daylight Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: UPC vows to demonstrate By Alex B. Atuhaire July 10, 2003 The Uganda People's Congress still hopes to surprise the police and demonstrate while US President George W. Bush visits. UPC's acting Presidential Policy Commission chairman, Mr Henry Mayega, told journalists in Kampala yesterday that because the police have refused to provide them security, the party has no choice but to go ahead with the rally. "If police cannot provide the security, then the UPC will. We shall surprise them," Mayega told the UPC weekly media briefing at Uganda House. The UPC is planning a demonstration against the "dictatorship" in Uganda to coincide with Mr Bush's visit tomorrow. The party has been warned by the Inspector General of Police, Maj. Gen. Katumba Wamala. As Mayega's threat to surprise the police had journalists cracking ribs, a section of the party's youth league started a demonstration outside the Uganda House. The youth carried placards along Kampala Road, some of which read, "Bush we want democracy". UPC youth league chairman, Mr Kyeyune Senyonjo and Secretary General, Mr Jude Maginote, led the warm-up demo. The demonstration lasted about five minutes. © 2003 The Monitor Publications - He it is Who created for you all that is on earth...He is the All-knower of everything. Swaddaq Allahu Al-Adhim. Michael Bwambuga.
ugnet_: Deadly Clashes Between Government, Rebel Forces Spread Deeper Into Capital
Deadly Clashes Between Government, Rebel Forces Spread Deeper Into Capital United Nations (New York) July 10, 2003 Posted to the web July 10, 2003 New York Mortar fire has rocked the Burundian capital, Bujumbura, as the fierce fighting between rebels and government forces that has left up to 20 civilians dead and displaced thousands more since Monday spreads into densely populated areas within the city, the United Nations reported today. According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), clashes between the Palipehutu-Forces Nationales de Libération (FNL- Rwasa) rebel faction and the Armed Forces of Burundi (FAB) erupted in southern neighbourhoods of Bujumbura on Monday morning. Mortar rounds that exploded in densely populated locations, including the main Market Place, the Central Bank of Burundi and Prince Louis Rwagasore Hospital, have killed at least two civilians, according to OCHA. While the fighting is believed to have killed up to 20 civilians, injured as many as 1,000 and displaced some 5,000 people from their homes, Sunil Saigal, the UN's Humanitarian Coordinator in Burundi, said no accurate figure existed for the total number of injuries or deaths. "As many as 200 people have been admitted to hospitals and clinics run by national authorities and international non-governmental organizations," Mr. Saigal said. OCHA said civilians in Bujumbura reported that both the rebels and military had actively encouraged civilians to flee the conflict areas. An estimated 2,000 displaced people, mostly women and children have been temporarily located in the grounds of the Burundi Life Museum (Musée Vivant). They have received high-protein biscuits from UNICEF, water from the International Committee for the Red Cross, and medical support from the NGO Médecins Sans Frontiers. The spread of fighting into Bujumbura punctuates a marked deterioration of security in Burundi. Now, 16 of Burundi's 17 provinces are subjected to sporadic fighting, looting and armed banditry. At this time last year, only six provinces were subject to frequent conflict, while the other 11 were open to and in need of rehabilitation and development. Almost one in six Burundians continues to live away from their homes.
ugnet_: Security Council Condemns Latest Wave of Rebel Violence in Burundi
Security Council Condemns Latest Wave of Rebel Violence in Burundi United Nations (New York) July 10, 2003 Posted to the web July 10, 2003 New York Strongly condemning a series of deadly rebel attacks in and around the Burundian capital of Bujumbura, the United Nations Security Council today expressed deep concern over the latest resumption of hostilities and the deterioration of the humanitarian situation in the troubled central African nation. In a statement to the press following a closed door briefing on the situation in Burundi, current Security Council President, Ambassador Inocencio F. Arias of Spain, said the 15-nation body strongly condemned the offensive launched on Bujumbura since 7 July by Palipehutu Forces Nationales de Libération (FNL-Rwasa) rebel faction and called upon the group to immediately and unconditionally end its attacks and enter into serious negotiations with the Transitional Government without further delay. The Council members also strongly condemned the attack on the Muyange cantonment site on 30 June and the abduction of four members of the Burundian parliament on 29 June 2003 by National Council for the Defence of Democracy-Forces for the Defence of Democracy (CNDD-FDD-Nkurunziza) rebel faction, he said. They called upon CNDD-FDD to stop resorting to violence and to refrain from any further action undermining the peace process. Reaffirming full support for the Arusha Peace Agreement of 2000 and for the subsequent cease-fire agreements signed in October and December 2002, the Council reiterated its call upon all the parties, especially the CNDD-FDD (Nkurunziza) and the FNL (Rwasa), and including the Transitional Government, "to engage in good faith in the search of a peaceful solution through dialogue on all outstanding issues, and urged them once more to abide by the agreements they have signed." "Members of the Security Council urged states in the region to exert their positive influence on the Burundian rebel groups so that they cease resorting to violence and join fully the Arusha agreement peace process," Ambassador Arias said, adding that they also welcomed the proposal to convene as soon as possible a summit of the Regional Initiative to help in the resolution of outstanding issues. The Council President also said the members reaffirmed their support for the African Mission in Burundi, and commended the progress it helped produce so far in the cantonment of rebel combatants and called on all concerned to provide, as a matter of urgency, adequate financial and logistical assistance to the Mission.
ugnet_: Clergy Tell Government to End Northern War
Clergy Tell Government to End Northern War The Monitor (Kampala) July 10, 2003 Posted to the web July 10, 2003 Elizabeth Agiro Kampala The Inter-Religious Council is appealing to the government to protect people in war-torn northern Uganda. "Many innocent people, including women and children, have endured untold suffering. Some have been killed, maimed, raped and displaced from their homes," reads a statement signed by the Church of Uganda Archbishop Mpalanyi Nkoyoyo; Emmanuel Cardinal Wamala of the Catholic Church; Orthodox Church Archbishop Jonah Lwanga and the Mufti of Uganda Sheikh Shaban Mubajje. The religious leaders noted that the fighting has recently spread from Acholi to Teso and Lango. They described the Lord's Resistance Army rebellion under Mr Joseph Kony as senseless and atrocious. "To what lengths will the perpetrators of these heinous crimes go before attaching value to human life and dignity?" The country's top clergy said that the LRA rebels are not only killing ordinary people but also attacking religious institutions and threatening the lives of religious leaders who have been the source of hope for the suffering population. "We appeal to government to scale up its vigilance in protecting the vulnerable people; and to support the efforts of the ARLPI [Acholi Religious Leaders Peace Initiative] to bring this war to the end," the statement said.
ugnet_: Acholi Clergy Appeal to Bush On Sudan
Acholi Clergy Appeal to Bush On Sudan New Vision (Kampala) July 10, 2003 Posted to the web July 10, 2003 Anne Mugisa Kampala ACHOLI religious leaders have appealed to US President George Bush to pressure the Sudan government to stop supplying arms to the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) rebels, "even by proxy." Bush, who is on a tour of several African countries, is expected in Uganda on Friday. The leaders also appealed to Bush to lobby the UN Security Council to include the northern Uganda conflict on its agenda, as a matter of urgency. In a letter addressed to Bush, Acholi Religious Leaders' Peace Initiative, accused the international community of remaining silent as children die in the thousands in the conflict and others live in terror and trauma. The leaders include the Archbishop of Gulu and chairman of the peace initiative, John Baptist Odama, vice-chairman and retired Bishop of Kitgum, Macleord Baker Ochola and the Bishop of northern Uganda, Nelson Onono-Onweng. Others are the Bishop of Kitgum, Benjamin Ojwang, Acholi Khadi, Sheikh Musa Khalil and Fr. Julius Orach of the Orthodox Church in Gulu. They said children as young as five years of age had been abducted and recruited into rebel ranks and others turned into sex slaves in the conflict. They said so far, 15,000 children had been abducted by the LRA rebels, causing untold suffering to them and their parents. "This unspeakable crime has been committed with the support of the Sudan government and has brought mayhem to communities," the letter said. It said 30,000 children sleep on the streets in Gulu or under verandas of hospitals for fear of abduction, adding that more lived under similar conditions in Kitgum.
ugnet_: Karooro, Have You Heard of Monkey Bottom?
Karooro, Have You Heard of Monkey Bottom? The Monitor (Kampala) EDITORIAL July 10, 2003 Posted to the web July 10, 2003 Emmanuel Mukanga Kampala Readers must have read the journalistic juxtaposition of the excerpts of an interview between US President George W. Bush and African print journalists at the White House on July 3 against Ms Mary Karooro Okurut's column "Bush Could Not Have 'Embarrased' His Guest". Mr Cobb, one of the journalists, asked Bush "What will you tell Mr Museveni, whom I know you admire in terms of his HIV/AIDS and his economic policy-with regard to the role of militias that he created and are responsible for much of the violence in eastern Congo?" Support the work of AllAfrica Contribute! Your tax-deductible donation to the AllAfrica Foundation, in any amount, supports our reporting on issues like sustainable development, peace building and HIV/Aids. Donate now Read why you should Bush said that he talked to Museveni about "ongoing democracy. We talked about transfer of power. We talked about the fact that he has been a remarkably good leader on many fronts, and that we would hope that he would adhere to the concept of having any democracy with a peaceful transfer of power at the appropriate time." His answer clearly vindicates Tororo County MP Geoffrey Ekanya and The Monitor and exposes Karooro's lies. Bush said that Museveni listened very carefully "to our admonition that we expect for people to honour agreements that are being forged". Recently, in one of her columns in The Monitor, Karooro, admonished Mzee F.D.R. Gureme, for what she called "insulting the president" in his column. The old man obliged and promised to take another look at what he had written and if found wanting, would apologise, which he did. The encounter between the two was outside All Saints Cathedral, and it is possible that their hearts were filled with the grace of the Holy Spirit and therefore willing to apologise and make amends. However, the bitter diatribe Karooro launched against The Monitor and Ekanya was not unprecedented but definitely out of character for someone of her literary reputation and standing in society. As Mr Julius Mucunguzi observed on Tuesday "I will never cease to be amazed at how some people in Uganda have chosen the path of selling their souls for political, and other forms of expediency. President Yoweri Museveni's Press Secretary, Ms Mary Karooro Okurut, joined this group last Saturday." In her story, Karooro raises issues of protocol and insinuates that The Monitor, due to not being acquainted with diplomatic etiquette and lack of professionalism, fabricated "the most incredible fables for public consumption". She also gives the impression that she is an authority on American protocol, public relations and news gathering. She presumes that as often happens, here, the Head of State can leave the country without the media being briefed about the purpose of the visit and expected outcomes. She should, therefore, not be surprised that Bush did not need Museveni's permission to talk about the content of their meeting to the American people and by extension to the people of Uganda. She presumes that the people at The Monitor neither check nor cross check their stories and sources. But more important, she does not realise that it could have been in the interest of the Americans to let the cat out of the bag. In tandem, with his president the American Ambassador, Mr Jimmy Kolker, during a Fourth of July speech, was quoted by the government owned The New Vision newspaper saying that, "Uganda also has the chance this year, to put in place the procedures and institutions that will ensure a vibrant political evolution, leading to something Uganda has never known before... a peaceful handover of power from one leader to another" Unwittingly, and as if by premonition, Karooro reminded her readers of '...that old and tired proverb that you do not ask the monkey to be the presiding judge in a case on whether or not the forest should be cut down or not". Karooro should be reminded of another monkey proverb. "'The higher a monkey climbs, the more it exposes its bottom". This may help her abandon the pedantic approach to media professionals, whom she thinks "ought to mature into serious and professional journalistic ranks by learning never to believe things at first sight or first hear". The implications of the Press Secretary to the president apologising to The Monitor and Ekanya, whom she ridiculed and insulted, could save her soul and improve the image of information from State House. If Karooro is of the view that, that is the type of stuff the reading public should be fed on, then it would be more appropriate to call her column either The Wrong View or better still, The Short-sighted View instead of The Long View. Mucunguzi in his article identified some training needs for Ms Okurut. Having read Mr Moses Byaruhanga's article in the Sunday
ugnet_: Zimbabwe says Blair is hunting Mugabe's head
Zimbabwe says Blair is hunting Mugabe's head By Cris Chinaka MAPUTO, July 10 (Reuters) - Zimbabwe's foreign minister said on Thursday Prime Minister Tony Blair asked U.S. President George W. Bush for Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe's "head" in exchange for British support in the Iraq war. "Salome Blair danced in Iraq and the king (Bush) asked him what he wanted...and Salome Blair asked for Robert Gabriel Mugabes head," Foreign Minister Stan Mudenge told journalists at the African Union summit, referring to the biblical story of Salome and John the Baptist. "The African Union understands that Zimbabwe is the victim of a racist campaign, and that the problems we are facing are driven by outsiders." Zimbabwe suffers chronic food shortages and 70 percent unemployment. Critics blame the crisis on Mugabe. Over the past three years, Zimbabwe has accused former colonial master Britain of being on a "racist" mission to destroy Mugabe over his controversial seizures of white-owned farms. Zimbabwe's deepening political and economic crisis is not on the agenda of the annual African summit which opened on Thursday with Mugabe in attendance. "That is in some senses a fatal mistake...for the African Union," analyst Ross Herbert said in Maputo. "(Zimbabwe) is something that Africa is going to have to deal with," Herbert, of the South African Institute for International Affairs, told Reuters. The country was on the agenda, however, when Bush visited South African President Thabo Mbeki and Botswana's President Festus Mogae on Thursday. In South Africa, Bush disappointed Zimbabwe's opposition by failing to take a tough anti-Mugabe stance. Instead, Bush warmly endorsed the mediation of Mbeki who has adopted "quiet diplomacy" on Zimbabwe, at least in public. In Botswana, Bush had stronger words when asked about Zimbabwe. "We expect there to be democracy in Zimbabwe in order for the people of that country to advance...The weakness in the economy is directly attributable to bad governance and therefore we will continue to speak out for democracy in Zimbabwe," he said. The European Union imposed travel and investment sanctions on Zimbabwe last year after Mugabe won an election condemned by the opposition and many Western powers as fraudulent. Mudenge said the AU had maintained its stance after Tuesday's closed-door session that the continental body would hold no meetings with the EU on development issues if it insisted on excluding Zimbabwe. Mugabe, 79, has been in power since independence in 1980. He maintains he was re-elected fairly and has refused calls for a poll re-rerun. 07/10/03 13:44 ET
ugnet_: Acholi Clergy Appeal to Bush On Sudan
Acholi Clergy Appeal to Bush On Sudan New Vision (Kampala) July 10, 2003 Posted to the web July 10, 2003 Anne Mugisa Kampala ACHOLI religious leaders have appealed to US President George Bush to pressure the Sudan government to stop supplying arms to the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) rebels, "even by proxy." Bush, who is on a tour of several African countries, is expected in Uganda on Friday. The leaders also appealed to Bush to lobby the UN Security Council to include the northern Uganda conflict on its agenda, as a matter of urgency. In a letter addressed to Bush, Acholi Religious Leaders' Peace Initiative, accused the international community of remaining silent as children die in the thousands in the conflict and others live in terror and trauma. The leaders include the Archbishop of Gulu and chairman of the peace initiative, John Baptist Odama, vice-chairman and retired Bishop of Kitgum, Macleord Baker Ochola and the Bishop of northern Uganda, Nelson Onono-Onweng. Others are the Bishop of Kitgum, Benjamin Ojwang, Acholi Khadi, Sheikh Musa Khalil and Fr. Julius Orach of the Orthodox Church in Gulu. They said children as young as five years of age had been abducted and recruited into rebel ranks and others turned into sex slaves in the conflict. They said so far, 15,000 children had been abducted by the LRA rebels, causing untold suffering to them and their parents. "This unspeakable crime has been committed with the support of the Sudan government and has brought mayhem to communities," the letter said. It said 30,000 children sleep on the streets in Gulu or under verandas of hospitals for fear of abduction, adding that more lived under similar conditions in Kitgum.
ugnet_: More Die in Kony Rebel Ambush in Lira
More Die in Kony Rebel Ambush in Lira New Vision (Kampala) July 10, 2003 Posted to the web July 10, 2003 Ali Mao in Lira Kampala THE death toll from the July 1 ambush on Lira-Kotido road in Orum sub-county, Otuke county has risen from eight to 11 people. Suspected rebels of the Lord's Resistance Army ambushed a truck from Kotido to Lira, killing eight people on the sport. A total of 17 people were admitted at Lira hospital. When The New Vision visited the hospital, medical staff who declined to be named, said three people died and others had serious injuries. Otuke county MP Daniel Omara Atubo, who visited the victim at Lira main hospital, said he had secured sh500,000 as humanitarian assistance to the victims. "I witnessed with shocking dismay how innocent civilians were being butchered and their legs and arms shattered with bullets. The Government is just sleeping over the problems," Atubo said. Atubo appealed to the Government to continue with the efforts to support the victims and find avenues to end the prolonged war that killed innocent civilians.
ugnet_: Musevenis Prime Minister says Uganda STILL HAS TROOPS IN DRC
Lt. Moses Ali Calls for Kony Rebels Audit "He said it is to maintain the peace in the region that the UPDF still has a few troops in the DRC." This is rather interesting is it NOT? Ugandans and members of the international community were of the believe that Museveni Militray dictatorship hadd withdrawn all Uganda troops from DRC is demanded by UN Security council, Human Rights Watch and other International bodies... and now we are being told by none other then Museveni's Prime Minister that Uganda has quote " a few troops in DRC Congo" What is the :prime Minister's definition of "A FEW TROOPS"...100..perhaps 200...300..400 ..1,000 or 5,000? ..and what exactly are those troops doing in DRC Congo? Isn't it correct to point out that they are most probably training the numerous CONGOLESE REBEL groups ..who in turn will continue with the gross violation of Human Rights of Congolese citizens even as we have seen of recent ( and documented by Human Rights Watch) Matek New Vision (Kampala) July 10, 2003 Posted to the web July 10, 2003 Emmy Olaki Kampala Lt. Gen. Moses Ali, the first deputy prime minister and minister for disaster preparedness, has asked the leadership in northern Uganda to carry out a study on the economic and social implications of the 17-year LRA war in the north. He said with the implications documented, the people of northern Uganda will be able to make stronger cases in their arguments. He was over the weekend officiating at the official launch of the dfcu Bank in Arua town. He said the opening is testimony that there is peace in West Nile. The bank comes to the district at a time when there was a loud outcry for more financial services in the district. "West Nile is a potential market, especially when there is peace in the Democratic Republic of Congo and southern Sudan. For you who have discovered it now, you will be better off than those who will come later," he told the dfcu Bank staff. "It is because of the peace in the region that this investment has been attracted. People of this region are only unsafe when they travel outside the region. That's where there are risks of ambushes," he said. He said it is to maintain the peace in the region that the UPDF still has a few troops in the DRC.
ugnet_: AFRICAN PROGRESSIVE'S LETTER TO BUSH
TAJUDEEN's THURSDAY POSTCARD 10-06-2003I was determined to avoid any discussion on this page of anythingabout President George Walker Bush's maiden safari to Africa.This is because I honestly do not see any positive benefits toAfrica or Africans in it. Even the more hysterical trip by thatmaster of political emotionalism, Mr Feel good himself, BillClinton, in 1998, neither made Americans wiser about Africa norAfricans less suspicious of Americans.I have been battling very hard not to abandon the African cultureof being ever so nice to visitors no matter how nasty they maybe! But Bush is hard work. He never misses an opportunity todisappoint. Just before he left home he announced 'punishment'for 35 countries including African ones (significantly SouthAfrica that is on his itinerary) for refusing to bow to his demandfor impunity (sorry, immunity) for Americans (soldiers and civiliansalike) for any alleged crimes under the international criminalcourt. With a visitor like that even people brought up on themotto of 'turning the other cheek' may find themselves temptedby the other motto, 'even stephen'.I had a temporary compromise in joining Madiba [Nelson Mandela]in saying 'this man is not welcome by me', even if our leadersare rolling out the red carpets for him and those he was notdirectly blessing with his visit are trooping on Executive safaristo meet him for photo opportunities in their best robes! It isso sad how our leaders carry on around western leaders like kidsseeking autographs of film stars!However, friends in the Civil Society groups prevailed upon methat we must seize the opportunity for some engagement. The Eastand Central African Development NGO, Mwengo, consulted widelyand came up with an open letter to President Bush. Below arehighlights from the letter. The full text is available at: www.Mwengo.org You are also invited to append your name to it andsupport the campaign to make the issues raised the basis of arelationship of honesty, respect, full disclosure and devoidof patronising compassion.Dear President Bush:As your plane touches down in Dakar, Senegal, we welcome theopportunity of your visit to examine the US Africa relationshipand to establish ties that are based on honesty, respect anda clear commitment to removing the structural obstacles thatimpede Africa's development. We would like to raise the followingissues for your consideration. They are not new ones, but thereis an opportunity, with your visit, to act decisively and changethe image and relationship of your Administration with Africa.The proposed visit to five African countries has been scheduledto clash with the Second Heads of Summit meeting in Maputo, Mozambique.It is unclear how the Administration could be so out of stepwith African continental institutions by not seeking to attendthis important meeting. As arranged, the trip will rather serveas a distraction to the African Union meeting.We notice that your planning team has omitted those countrieslike Tanzania and Kenya that have directly suffered from terroristattacks against US interests and citizens. This is odd giventhe tremendous cost that these countries have borne and continueto bear as a result of their relationship with the US. Furthermore,the highly selective programme excludes civil society and thebusiness communities who could have offered constructive andprepositional conversation around US foreign policy, aid andtrade. As constructed, the agenda appears to offer little elsethan a series of photo opportunities starting with Goree Islandand ending in a Ugandan AIDS clinic with shots of our Presidentsin between.This trip may boost the Republican campaign image among the African-Americancommunity before elections. However, it does very little to boostconfidence on the continent that this is a working visit thatwill afford time and space for Africans to share their aspirationsand engage the Administration on the need for the US to changeits policies and practices toward Africa.There is still time though should you choose to act on the substantiveissues we raise below.Delivery not spin on HIV/AIDS is needed While welcoming the publicpledge of US$15 billion to a unilateral US Global AIDS programmes,we note your Administration's request for 2004 is a miserly $450million. Mr. Bush, where is the $15 Billion that you have promisedto fight AIDS in Africa and the Caribbean? Show us the money!The demand for the right to import and manufacture generic drugsis a moral imperative. This trip would be an opportunity to expressyour support for Africans to access cheap generic drugs and topromote women's rights to control their own fertility.Decrease uni-lateral militarisation, facilitate regional peace-keepingIt can do this through cooperation and collaboration with existingefforts such as the ECOWAS-sponsored peace conference in Liberia,the South African-led peace efforts in Burundi and the UnitedNations
ugnet_: Fwd: Fw: [FedsNet] Besigye on US/Uganda Relations
Original Message Follows From: Anne Mugisha To: THEREFORMAGENDA Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ; UNAANET ; FedsNet Sent: Thursday, July 10, 2003 8:51 AM Subject: [FedsNet] Besigye on US/Uganda Relations THE US IS FUELING WAR AND INSTABILITY IN UGANDA. I am once again writing to express my deep concern regarding the human tragedy intensifying in Uganda. Over the last one and a half years, the security situation in Northern Uganda took a nose dive for the worse. This followed Government's renewed determination to "crush" the 17-year rebellion once and for all. The operation code-named "iron fist" was to rout the Lords Resistance Army (LRA) rebels from their bases in Southern Sudan and deal them a final blow. President Museveni convinced the Western capitals (especially the US and UK) that since Sudan had ceased support for the LRA and was actively cooperating with him, the operation would take a short time. He even declared that he was going to camp in Gulu, the centre of the rebellion, and direct the war personally until it is finished. Western countries were requested to assist in receiving and resettling the large number of abductees who were to be freed from the Sudan. They were also requested to show "understanding" towards the expected increase in Defense expenditure. The US Ambassador and some of his diplomats also pitched camp in Gulu to assist from close quarters. Among other things, they helped set up reception centres for the handling of the tens of thousands of abductees expected to be freed from Sudan. The Sudan Government was reported to have fully cooperated in the anti-LRA operations. Sudanese troops were also reported to have suffered significant casualties from the LRA in the process of fighting alongside the UPDF. Instead of the promised end of the rebellion and the attendant humanitarian crisis, the number of the internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Northern Uganda has more than doubled, the abduction of civilians including children increased greatly, the security situation worsened, with serious atrocities reportedly committed by both sides to the conflict. The rudimentary social services that had persisted in the area have been completely disrupted, thereby intensifying the humanitarian crisis. President Museveni who had gone to personally deal with the problem was reported to have, at one time, taken refuge in the Bank of Uganda strong room in Gulu town, running away from mortar shells in his camp. It appears that he has now quietly and progressively eased himself out of his command post. His response to the humiliating personal and government failure to deal with the LRA was quite predictable- find scapegoats and give a list of excuses, while distancing himself and his government's policies from any blame. Among the scapegoats and excuses, we heard that the problem was James Opoka, my former political assistant in the presidential campaign who was allegedly supported by the Rwanda Government; the UPDF forces were not enough because the donors had insisted on reducing the size of the army; the defense budget was insufficient because of donor conditionalities; the rains had come and grass was tall hiding the rebels; lack of roads for quick movement of troops in operational area; and some of the UPDF commanders were not serious. The focus of attention was then gradually shifted to Rwanda as the problem. The dissident Colonels and illusory Peoples' Redemption Army (PRA) were said to be preparing to launch an attack on the country (supported by Rwandan forces) from the Ituri region of the DRC. The UPDF was deployed into Ituri to capture all airfields, crush the dominant militia group- the UPC that was supposed to have shifted alliances from Uganda to Rwanda, destroy all PRA bases, and occupy Bunia and other towns. As a result of this intervention, the long-standing ethnic conflicts in Ituri assumed unprecedented proportions. The UPDF has in the past created and supported various militia groups on both sides of the main conflict in Ituri. This time, it supported the Lendu militia whom it had previously fought; and simultaneously supported two Hema groups - the PUSIC and a breakaway faction of UPC led by one Commander Jerome Bakonde. The carnage that engulfed the region is well known. Thousands of refugees poured into neighboring districts of Uganda. Following reports from the Human Rights Watch and other humanitarian bodies, the international media was attracted to Ituri and brought horrifying images on TV screens. It was only at this stage that the international community firmly exerted pressure on Uganda to get out of the DRC, leaving behind the burning flames it had lit. The Western countries then awkwardly proceeded to deploy a French-led force currently in Bunia, and operating out of Entebbe Airport. However, the UN force, together with the South African military which was agreed upon under the DRC peace accords years ago have
ugnet_: Germany Warns Uganda, Rwanda Over Congo Rebels.
Germany Warns Uganda, Rwanda Over Congo Rebels The Monitor (Kampala) NEWSJuly 10, 2003 Posted to the web July 10, 2003 By Kennedy LuleKampala Germany has asked Uganda and Rwanda to stop all support for Congolese rebels. Dr Friedbert Pflulger, an MP and foreign policy spokesman of the German Parliament, told the Speaker of Parliament, Mr Edward Ssekandi, that Uganda and Rwanda are (still) supporting Congolese militia in the volatile Ituri region. Mr Ruck Christian, another member of the German MP, and the acting Germany ambassador, Mr Holger Seurbert, accompanied Pflulger. But Ssekandi, who met the Germans at Parliament yesterday, denied that Uganda is still offering support to Congolese rebels and militia. quot;Government is committed to having peace in Congo. Our troops were withdrawn from Congo. May be it is some individuals but not the government,quot; Ssekandi said. Pflulger, who begun his speech by thanking President Yoweri Museveni for liberalising the economy and bringing stability, insisted that they had received intelligence and reports from diplomats and journalists that Uganda supports Congolese militia. Our voters are asking why Germany for the first time has sent its soldiers to keep peace in Africa by assisting the French in Congo yet Uganda and Rwanda are undermining those efforts Pflulger said. On Tuesday the Germans met Rwandan President Paul Kagame and asked him to stop supporting the rebels. We were in Bukavu on Monday and we are going to meet the new government in Kinshasa to discuss peace he added. Uganda is linked to the MLC rebels of Pierre Bemba and PUSIC of Chief Kawa, a Hema tribal militia leader. Pflulger asked Ssekandi about the strength of Mr Joseph Kony's Lord's Resistance Army, but the Speaker declined to comment because he is not a military expert. He said that the German parliament had discussed Kony and would support efforts to bring the war to an end. Like you want peace in the north, eastern Congo demands the same from youPflulger told Ssekandi. He said that Uganda would not have stability and peace or attract tourists and investment if the DR Congo remained unstable.
ugnet_: UPC USA Meeting
Fellow Citizens: The chairman Uganda Peoples Congress Washington, DC Bureau is not aware..repeat NOT AWARE of the so called meeting being called by MR Ben Wacha ALIAS Micheal Bwambuga. Mr. Ben Wacha's actvity ( and his group of fifth columist) is Pretty much illegal at this point. In any case , I though it is only the chairman of the bureau who is charged with calling any meeting with regard to bureau activities. Uganda Peoples Congress Washington DC Bureau wishes to advise the UPC National secretariat in Kampala and citizens of Uganda to disregard Ben wacha alias Hussan Bwambuga as nothing other the activities of an individual conducting activities similar to that of Imat Cecilia Ogwal. Stand by for further commmunication in due coarse. Matek PPC Members and Chairman UPC Washington Bureau Subj: UPC USA Meeting Date: 7/10/2003 4:48:12 PM Eastern Daylight Time From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] CC: [EMAIL PROTECTED] File: MinutesoftheUPCAdHocGroupMeeting[1].doc (37376 bytes) DL Time (54666 bps): 1 minute Sent from the Internet (Details) The Chairman, UPC Washington Bureau. Please find attached is a copy of the recent meeting of UPC Washington Bureau adhoc steering committee which was held in Washington DC. As the minutes states, the steering committee will be holding another meeting soon. You will be adviced of the date and venue. You may send your comments to the Acting Chairman or the Public Relations Officer of the Washington Bureau who is coordinating the arrangements for the meetings. The concerns of the party members are as follows: 1- Party activists are inquiring about registration into the party membership. 2- The need to call for a UPC general conference/workshop. Mr. Chairman, your presence in the next meeting is vital as you can see the matters raised by our party activists. Thank You, Hassan Magomu Wacha Acting Chairman Adhoc steering committee Uganda Peoples Congress Publicity Affairs Section Washington DC Bureau USA http://upcparty.net
ugnet_: Re: Clergy Tell Government to End Northern War
Behold netters: Cardinal Wamala has not surfaced from obscurity!!!.. He is also adding his one cent! many citizens of northern Uganda died becuase of Yoweri Museveni's wars... and the likes of Cardinal Wamala couldn't say anything. They were pretty much bought with PEGEROS. Matek In a message dated 7/10/2003 10:34:52 PM Eastern Daylight Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: Clergy Tell Government to End Northern War The Monitor (Kampala) July 10, 2003 Posted to the web July 10, 2003 Elizabeth Agiro Kampala The Inter-Religious Council is appealing to the government to protect people in war-torn northern Uganda. "Many innocent people, including women and children, have endured untold suffering. Some have been killed, maimed, raped and displaced from their homes," reads a statement signed by the Church of Uganda Archbishop Mpalanyi Nkoyoyo; Emmanuel Cardinal Wamala of the Catholic Church; Orthodox Church Archbishop Jonah Lwanga and the Mufti of Uganda Sheikh Shaban Mubajje. The religious leaders noted that the fighting has recently spread from Acholi to Teso and Lango. They described the Lord's Resistance Army rebellion under Mr Joseph Kony as senseless and atrocious. "To what lengths will the perpetrators of these heinous crimes go before attaching value to human life and dignity?" The country's top clergy said that the LRA rebels are not only killing ordinary people but also attacking religious institutions and threatening the lives of religious leaders who have been the source of hope for the suffering population. "We appeal to government to scale up its vigilance in protecting the vulnerable people; and to support the efforts of the ARLPI [Acholi Religious Leaders Peace Initiative] to bring this war to the end," the statement said.
