Uganda: Time For Museveni To Go
14 April, 2011 | Black Star News Editorial
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
leader Dr. Kizza Besigye in Kampala, today.
Other protests around the country have reportedly been violently
stamped down by the army with reports of running battles in the
town of Gulu where soldiers are said to have arrested an opposition
leader Nobert Mao and indiscriminately fired into protest marchers.
After stealing Uganda's Feb. 18 presidential election, and receiving
quick endorsement of the fraud by the United States, Uganda's
dictator, general Yoweri K. Museveni now faces an Egypt style
uprising.
Ever paranoid --and justifiably so-- Gen. Museveni had barred local
carriers from relaying any text messages sent within Uganda that
contained words such as "Tunisia," "Egypt," and "Tahrir Square."
Using creative spelling --perhaps Ee-jeep for Egypt-- Ugandans
have clearly been able to get the message out. In any event,
Ugandans don't need prompting from Egypt to excercise their most
basic humanrights--the freedom of expression, and opposition to
tyranny.
Why does the United States back dictator Museveni?
Uganda is the only African country that's provided a sizable army,of
8,000 troops, to prop the discredited and unpopular government in
Somalia, on behalf of the United States, which fears that war-torn
country could become a haven for Al-Qaeda.
For that reason, the U.S. has handed a blank check to Gen.
Museveni for years.
In 2005, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) found Uganda liable
of war crimes against Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) --
massacres, mass targeted rapes of women and men, mutiliations,
burning of people alive in their homes, and thefts of mineral and
natural resource wealth.
The court ordered $10 billion in compensation to the Congo. The
International Criminal Court (ICC) also launched its own criminal
investigation but Gen. Museveni may have cut a deal with the
Court's compromised prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo. Gen.
Museveni and other top Uganda military commanders involved in
the Congo atrocities have never been indicted. (Ironically, Ocampo,
ever the publicity hound, has been quick to announce an
investigation of Libya's Muammar al-Quathafi; meanwhile, he's
ignored the atrocities by Museveni's army--5 million Congolese died
as a result of Museveni's invasion of the DRC).
In the runup to the Uganda's elections, Secretary of State Clinton
issued two Congressionally-mandated reports, instead of the four
she was required to prepare. Still, Clinton's report condemned the
Gen. Museveni government for abuses against opposition party
members, including a reported assassination attempt against
presidential candidate Olara Otunnu, beating of presidential
candidate Dr. Besigye, attacks against opposition party members,
barring of the opposition from media and disrupting their campaigns,
and the hand selection of the Election "commission" by Gen.
Museveni with no input from the opposition or civil society groups.
Clinton said the credibility of the elections, given the partisan pro-
Museveni commission, would be compromised. She was supposed
to issue two more reports, including one on March 18, 30 days after
the vote. In an apparent political deal with the dictator, no report has
been issued thus far.
Clinton's predictions in her two reports however were realized on
Feb. 18. Museveni had "won" 69% of the vote in disputed elections
10 years ago; he "won" 59% in 2006; many observers saw him
winning less than 50% this time around, which would have forced
the vote into a runoff. Since the opposition parties were to have then
rallied behind one candidate, it was critical for Museveni to award
himself more than 50% of the vote.
One day before the vote count of the Feb. 18 election, The Black
Star News published the rigged results, provided through a
government insider, which claimed Gen. Museveni would win by
67.2%. After the vote "count" the official margin provided to Gen.
Museveni was 68% of the vote.
The Commonwealth Observer group derided the election results as
did the EU. Yet the United States was quick to endorse the Uganda
farce. Many Ugandans believe Dr. Besigye was the actual winner.
Now U.S. credibility is again on the line as it preaches "democracy"
elsewhere in Africa, including in Libya, while sustaining a violent
despot in east Africa. This is the time for the United States to make
it clear it no longer supports Gen. Museveni as he turns his U.S.
supplied weapons against his own people.
"Speaking Truth To Empower."
Courtesy
14 April, 2011 | Black Star News Editorial
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- What started as a simple act
of protest by Ugandans --
walking to work as reaction
to soaring fuel and food
prices-- has mushroomed
into national country-wide
resistance after the regime
reacted with violence,
leader Dr. Kizza Besigye in Kampala, today.
Other protests around the country have reportedly been violently
stamped down by the army with reports of running battles in the
town of Gulu where soldiers are said to have arrested an opposition
leader Nobert Mao and indiscriminately fired into protest marchers.
After stealing Uganda's Feb. 18 presidential election, and receiving
quick endorsement of the fraud by the United States, Uganda's
dictator, general Yoweri K. Museveni now faces an Egypt style
uprising.
Ever paranoid --and justifiably so-- Gen. Museveni had barred local
carriers from relaying any text messages sent within Uganda that
contained words such as "Tunisia," "Egypt," and "Tahrir Square."
Using creative spelling --perhaps Ee-jeep for Egypt-- Ugandans
have clearly been able to get the message out. In any event,
Ugandans don't need prompting from Egypt to excercise their most
basic humanrights--the freedom of expression, and opposition to
tyranny.
Why does the United States back dictator Museveni?
Uganda is the only African country that's provided a sizable army,of
8,000 troops, to prop the discredited and unpopular government in
Somalia, on behalf of the United States, which fears that war-torn
country could become a haven for Al-Qaeda.
For that reason, the U.S. has handed a blank check to Gen.
Museveni for years.
In 2005, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) found Uganda liable
of war crimes against Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) --
massacres, mass targeted rapes of women and men, mutiliations,
burning of people alive in their homes, and thefts of mineral and
natural resource wealth.
The court ordered $10 billion in compensation to the Congo. The
International Criminal Court (ICC) also launched its own criminal
investigation but Gen. Museveni may have cut a deal with the
Court's compromised prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo. Gen.
Museveni and other top Uganda military commanders involved in
the Congo atrocities have never been indicted. (Ironically, Ocampo,
ever the publicity hound, has been quick to announce an
investigation of Libya's Muammar al-Quathafi; meanwhile, he's
ignored the atrocities by Museveni's army--5 million Congolese died
as a result of Museveni's invasion of the DRC).
In the runup to the Uganda's elections, Secretary of State Clinton
issued two Congressionally-mandated reports, instead of the four
she was required to prepare. Still, Clinton's report condemned the
Gen. Museveni government for abuses against opposition party
members, including a reported assassination attempt against
presidential candidate Olara Otunnu, beating of presidential
candidate Dr. Besigye, attacks against opposition party members,
barring of the opposition from media and disrupting their campaigns,
and the hand selection of the Election "commission" by Gen.
Museveni with no input from the opposition or civil society groups.
Clinton said the credibility of the elections, given the partisan pro-
Museveni commission, would be compromised. She was supposed
to issue two more reports, including one on March 18, 30 days after
the vote. In an apparent political deal with the dictator, no report has
been issued thus far.
Clinton's predictions in her two reports however were realized on
Feb. 18. Museveni had "won" 69% of the vote in disputed elections
10 years ago; he "won" 59% in 2006; many observers saw him
winning less than 50% this time around, which would have forced
the vote into a runoff. Since the opposition parties were to have then
rallied behind one candidate, it was critical for Museveni to award
himself more than 50% of the vote.
One day before the vote count of the Feb. 18 election, The Black
Star News published the rigged results, provided through a
government insider, which claimed Gen. Museveni would win by
67.2%. After the vote "count" the official margin provided to Gen.
Museveni was 68% of the vote.
The Commonwealth Observer group derided the election results as
did the EU. Yet the United States was quick to endorse the Uganda
farce. Many Ugandans believe Dr. Besigye was the actual winner.
Now U.S. credibility is again on the line as it preaches "democracy"
elsewhere in Africa, including in Libya, while sustaining a violent
despot in east Africa. This is the time for the United States to make
it clear it no longer supports Gen. Museveni as he turns his U.S.
supplied weapons against his own people.
"Speaking Truth To Empower."
Courtesy
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