Mexico: Museveni named as talks flop
By Andrew M. Mwenda
September 16, 2003
Uganda's team flees Cancun in disgust
CANCUN, Mexico - President Yoweri Museveni and Uganda, in general, has been
accused of contributing to the collapse of talks between the rich and poor countries
here.
The fifth ministerial conference of the World Trade Organization (WTO), held in
this beautiful Mexican tourist resort island, collapsed after developed and
developing/poor countries failed to agree over what to or not to negotiate.
Delegates from different regional blocks came out of the conference with
contradictory explanations. The Brazilian trade minister called a press conference on
behalf of the G22 and said the negotiations collapsed over agricultural subsidies. He
was flanked by the trade ministers of Ecuador, South Africa, Argentina and Egypt.
However, the United States trade representative, Mr Robert Zoellick, accused the
developing countries of indulging in a lot of rhetoric instead of "serious willingness
to focus on work."
As the talks reached a stalemate here, civil society groups accused the US of
blackmailing heads of delegations from poor nations with threats of withdrawal of aid
or bilateral trade deals unless they support its proposals before the conference.
Uganda was variously named and President Museveni accused of trying to play
sucker to the Americans in dividing the poor countries.
President Museveni's now controversial letter to the Ugandan head of delegation,
trade and industry minister, Prof. Edward Rugumayo, asking him to support the US
against Asia and Latin American countries has dented Uganda's image among
developing/poor countries.
Madness in Mexico
The US and the European Union (EU) offered a deal to the Africa, Caribbean and
Pacific (ACP) countries to concede on trade facilitation in return for concessions on
agricultural subsidies. However, the ACP countries rejected the offer saying the US
and the EU did not give any substantive offer on agriculture.
The ACP group called a press briefing addressed by the trade ministers of
Bangladesh, Botswana and the Dominican Republic where they said there was anger at the
lack of progress over issues of concern to the third world. They said the stand of the
ACP was that priority issues be discussed first, and the rest later.
The Third World was united in resisting attempts by the EU and the US to
introduce "Singapore Issues" - agreed upon by Japan and the EU in 1998 - into the
agenda of discussion, yet it had earlier been agreed that the conference would discuss
agricultural subsidies and market access.
Although this conference was supposed to discuss market access and agriculture,
the Singapore meeting introduced new issues including trade facilitation, investment,
competition and transparency in government procurement, hence the name "Singapore
issues."
Salvage efforts fail
The poor/developing countries, in a move that drilled the last nail into the
coffin of the beleaguered conference, rejected a last minute deal from the EU head of
delegation, Mr Pascal Lamy, to remove all but one of the Singapore issues.
After much haggling and no compromise, delegations from the developing/poor
countries walked out of the talks.
The conference was characterized by a lot of haggling and acrimony, with various
activist groups staging angry demonstrations outside the conference centre and
fighting ugly street battles with the police denouncing the WTO as undemocratic.
A member of the Ugandan delegation to the fourth ministerial conference in Doha,
Qatar in 2001, last evening explained how a letter by a head of state indeed has the
potential to stall the talks. "Those against the WTO and free trade can easily seize
such a letter as a weapon and say, "see, we have been telling you all along that the
rich countries are arm twisting our presidents.
Therefore, this whole thing is not fair," Mr Henry Richard Kimera, of the
Consumer Education Trust said by telephone.
In Doha like in Cancun, a circulating email alleged that Zoellick had called
Museveni.
He reportedly wanted Museveni to recall Uganda's trade representative in Geneva
Ambassador Nathan Irumba. Irumba was reportedly a stumbling block to free trade talks,
according to the email.
Last evening, the President's press secretary, Ms Mary Karooro Okurut could not
confirm or deny if the president had written such a letter.
Museveni's alleged September 6 letter, circulating as an email in Cancun, was
reportedly not signed, according to the current issue of The East African.
Fleeing disgust
Our sources say that the collapse of the talks so disgusted members on the
Ugandan delegation that they cut short their stay and caught the first flight to
Uganda, The Monitor learnt last evening.
The minister of Tourism, Trade and Industry, Prof. Edward Rugumayo led Uganda's
delegation to the talks in Mexico.
The minister and his delegation were reported leaving the Mexican resort city on
Sunday immediately the talks collapsed, family sources said.
"He was disgusted with the whole thing. He left that place on Sunday evening," a
family member to one of the delegates said.
Members of Parliament on the delegation are not expected back until Wednesday,
added Mr Douglas Kivumbi, programme officer Southern and Eastern Africa Trade
Information Institute (SEATINI).
Nine Members of Parliament went to the talks. Government took two MPs; civil
society groups sponsored seven.
Additional reporting: by BADRU D. MULUMBA
© 2003 The Monitor Publications
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