Amin deserves credit - Besigye

ONE UGANDA: Dr Besigye addresses supporters in Arua on Saturday. PHOTO BY TABU BUTAGIRA


By Tabu Butagira (email the author)

Posted Monday, January 31 2011 at 00:00



Arua

Dr Kizza Besigye has said former President Idi Amin might have been illiterate but must be commended for setting up infrastructure that has stood the test of time.

Addressing a well-attended rally in Arua on Saturday, the IPC presidential flag-bearer said Amin developed West Nile—something President Museveni has failed to do.

“Many people have been saying that Amin was not educated, but what Amin built can still be seen,” said Dr Besigye. “We have Muni National Teachers College, which is one of the biggest in the country. Where is Museveni’s college in West Nile?”

Amin, who ruled Uganda from 1971 to 1979, was born in West Nile and never completed primary school education. He died in August 2003 and was buried in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, where he had fled into exile. Speaking to a charged crowd, Dr Besigye said had it not been for President Museveni’s inflexibility,
Amin’s remains would have been returned to Uganda.


The IPC candidate promised to upgrade Arua airfield to an international airport, pay thousands of ex-servicemen in the country their due arrears and build silos in each region to stabilise prices of farm commodities during surplus and offer food supplies in the event of scarcity.

There was drama prior to the rally when supporters of the ruling NRM party, reportedly rallied by Arua Resident District Commissioner, retired Maj. Ibrahim Abiriga, slaughtered a number of cows at Kamure Park for people to feast on so they would not turn up for the opposition gathering.

That did not happen. At about 4pm when word spread of Dr Besigye’s arrival, people poured on the streets clogging the Rhino Camp-Avenue Road junction and shopkeepers hurriedly locked their wares and joined in the trudge to Arua Hill grounds. The crowd chanted, “Anya emi eza oyee”, a Lugbara equivalent of “We have eaten your meat for nothing”, apparently referring to meat pieces distributed by Mr Abiriga.

Earlier in the day, a single-cabin pick up vehicle, carrying about a dozen people who appeared intoxicated with alcohol, circled the town streets with the passengers clad in yellow T-shirts shouting “No change, Museveni pakalast”.
The tension provoked a heavy police deployment amid fears of likely clash between the rival supporters. Law enforcers recalled all their patrol pick-up vehicles in the region’s eight districts and anti-riot police in full body armour and brandishing other crowd control gear, made rounds at high speed in the town – charged to nip in the bud any trouble. But all ended peacefully, although Mr Abiriga who drove briefly to the Pakwach highway round-about next to the rally ground, had to dash away in the face of a sea of opposition people.


“I was a political commissar of the NRM when Maj. Abiriga was still in Arua Park (in downtown Kampala),” Dr Besigye said of the man made an RDC three years ago. “I was Museveni’s doctor in the bush and I know him both inside and the outside. No one knows him more than I do.” He added: “No one should intimidate you, be firm and change is definitely coming. Anyone who stands in the way of change will be rolled over.”

‘Marginalisation’
Dr Besigye juggled his words between empathy for West Nile people, who he said the government had deliberately marginalised by denying them good jobs, bitumen roads and electricity, and promises of better education, quality healthcare and irrigation for all year-round productive, mechanised agriculture.

Dr Besigye had a headache after the crowd’s disapproval forced him to introduce incumbent Arua Municipality MP, Akbar Godi, who appeared more popular than FDC’s official flag bearer, Ms Amina Atako.


Former Buganda Katikkiro, Mulwanyamuli Ssemwogerere was at hand at the Arua rally to drum up support for Dr Besigye by promising Arua people that the Baganda will this time round vote against President Museveni whom he said had deprived the kingdom and impoverished Ugandans “so he would bribe them for votes when he becomes unpopular”.

Candidate Besigye, who is ending his one-week tour of West Nile, is expected to address marathon rallies in Nebbi and Zombo districts today and tomorrow.

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The Palestine papers: 'There is no longer unconditional support for Israel'-The (Guardian,UK).

Museveni opposes UN on Ivory Coast polls

By Tabu Butagira (email the author)

Posted Monday, January 24 2011 at 21:01

President Museveni has described as “simplistic” the UN’s recognition of Alassane Outtara as winner of Ivory Coast’s disputed presidential ballot and instead called for an independent investigation.

State House called this newspaper yesterday (Jan. 24) to say Mr Museveni prefers the African Union sets up an ad hoc committee to find out how the conduct and results of the vote have generated a difference of opinion.

“There is need for a serious approach that involves investigating the (electoral) process, including registration of voters and who voted,” presidential Spokesman Tamale Mirundi said, quoting Mr Museveni.

“There should be investigations, not just declaring who has won. No, no, no!”

The West African country held a presidential re-run vote on November 28 in which the international community says Mr Outtara defeated incumbent Laurent Gbagbo.

They have since asked Mr Gbagbo, who controls much of the government, to hand power over to his bitter rival while the UN and other western nations have accredited diplomats appointed by Mr Outtara.


“Uganda differs with the UN and international community on Ivory Coast,” Mr Tamale said, “If elections are contested, you just don’t declare one candidate a winner. You must investigate thoroughly what went wrong.”

Separately, West Africa’s economic bloc, ECOWAS, is considering military action to depose adamant Gbagbo.

It has also emerged that Mr Museveni and his host, Mr Jacob Juma, during a meeting in South Africa last Friday, agreed to push for an independent continental inquiry into the Ivory Coast elections.

“The two leaders condemned what they termed as a simplistic approach by the international community to address the Ivory Coast problem,” an official privy to the discussions in South Africa, said.

As it turns out, former South African President Thabo Mbeki was shoved aside as a mediator and replaced with Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga because he favoured independent investigation much to the chagrin on the international community.

Political executives of the African Union will during their sitting on January 31 to February 1, due in Addis Ababa, seek to harmonise the disparate positions to extricate the conflict-prone Ivory Coast from the present quagmire.


Yesterday, Spokesman Tamale said Mr Museveni and Mr Zuma prefer an alternative approach because “each country has a Constitution and framework within which to solve internal problems”.

“So it is not up to the UN or international community to recognise this or that winner; the matter must be investigated,” he said.

In just under a month, Ugandans will go to the polls to choose a new president, Members of Parliament and other local government leaders and Mr Museveni, winner of two disputed previous elections, is a candidate.

His key opponent and Inter-Party Cooperation (IPC) flag bearer, Dr Kizza Besigye, has made clear he is setting his own vote tally centre and will announce the results after the February 18 vote.

President Museveni has warned Dr Besigye will be taking a “short cut” to Luriza prison if he dared to announce the results. Mr Tamale yesterday said the opposition leader’s insistence could create an impasse akin to the one prevailing in Ivory Coast, explaining why efforts are being made to stop him in his tracks.

Head of Besigye’s security held

Lira/Kampala


The Police yesterday arrested IPC presidential candidate Kizza Besigye’s head of security in connection with Wednesday’s fracas between NRM and opposition supporters in Aloi Sub-county, Alebtong District.

Inspector of Police Charles Tumuramye, who intervened and saved the situation from turning bloody when the clash took place, was picked from Erute North Constituency where he was overseeing Dr Besigye’s security and taken to Lira Police Station for interrogation.

Arrest

Mr Tumuramye was arrested by a police team led by the Regional Police Commander for Central North, Mr Raymond Otim. Police spokesperson Judith Nabakooba said yesterday that Mr Tumuramye, who was still under police detention by press time yesterday, will be charged with assault because he led “a group of IPC supporters to beat their NRM counterparts.”

“He was not supposed to do that,” Ms Nabakooba said, adding, “he has been arrested and many other police officers on Dr Besigye’s campaign trail will also be arrested after investigations are complete. He is the one who led the group.” But other sources yesterday credited Mr Tumuramye with acting
professionally since he stopped the two groups who were baying for each other’s blood from causing further injury to themselves.


On Wednesday, as supporters of Dr Besigye in Lira were preparing to receive their candidate, they were tipped-off that NRM officials from Kampala were in Aloi Sub-county allegedly dishing out cash to residents, asking them not to attend Dr Besigye’s rallies.

The gentleman who tipped-off the opposition supporters first offered to take journalists on the IPC campaign trail to the Aloi Sub-county where each resident who agreed not to attend Dr Besigye’s rallies was allegedly, given Shs10,000.

It was during this process that the anxious NRM officials attacked the journalists. Matters quickly got out of hand when Dr Besigye’s supporters joined the fray.

Mr Francis Owino, the NRM chairman for Aloi Sub-county, and Michael Kamurizi, a Red Pepper journalist, were among those who sustained serious injuries in the ensuing melee. The spokesperson of President Museveni’s campaign team, Mr Ofwono Opondo, admitted on Wednesday that NRM members were distributing money but said it was meant to facilitate their mobilisation work.
Ms Nabakooba said yesterday that the police will not investigate the source of the money because its primary target is to get those who got involved in the chaos. “We understand that money was meant to facilitate NRM mobilisers and we are not interested in that.” Ms Nabakooba said.


It is illegal under Section 62 of the Presidential Elections Act for candidates and their agents to provide money, gifts or other considerations to a voter with the intention of inducing that person into voting for a particular candidate.

Obama's Bullseye

By Philip Klein on 1.13.11 @ 6:10AM




Last night, for his first time in office, Barack Obama sounded like the president of all Americans.

Obama famously burst onto the national scene in 2004 with an address to the Democratic Convention in which he declared, “there is not a liberal America and a conservative America -- there is the United States of America.” During his own run for the presidency four years later, he would echo this post-partisan theme.

But the first two years of Obama’s presidency have been contentions ones. While he may not have introduced polarization to American politics, he certainly didn’t help matters. Just days after being sworn in, he admonished Congressional Republicans with whom he was negotiating an economic package, boasting: “I won.”


When he encountered political resistance as he set about remaking America, he either directly or through surrogates portrayed political opposition as not just wrong, but illegitimate. Americans expressing their views in town hall meetings became “angry mobs” and “Astroturf.”

As political defeat loomed in last fall’s midterm elections, Obama urged Hispanic Americans to vote for Democrats as a way to “punish our enemies.” Just last month, in announcing a tax deal he had struck with GOP leaders, he blasted Republicans as “hostage takers” and said he was “itching for a fight" with them.

On Saturday, the nation was shaken when news broke of an assassination attempt against Rep. Gabrielle Giffords which killed six and injured a dozen others. Unfortunately, our noxious political atmosphere was on full display as liberals immediately seized on the tragedy and attempted to blame Sarah Palin, tea parties, and the right-wing media for the attack even before anything was known about the assailant.

Subsequent evidence has produced no known links with the alleged gunman, Jared Loughner, who appears to be a mentally disturbed individual without any discernible political ideology or partisan leanings.

“They need to deftly pin this on the tea partiers,” one Democrat had anonymously advised the White House via the Politico. “Just like the Clinton White House deftly pinned the Oklahoma City bombing on the militia and anti-government people.”

In what was billed as a defining moment in his presidency, Obama took the stage at the University of Arizona last night with a clear choice. Was he going to use this occasion to score political points, or was he going to finally live up to the promise of his candidacy and attempt to bring the country together?

Fortunately for the victims of this tragedy, and for America, he chose the latter route.

While the campaign rally feel of the event (complete with cheering and whistling from college students in the audience) seemed jarring at first for a memorial service, Obama struck just the right tone in his remarks. He paid moving tribute to the victims and emphatically stated several times that harsh political rhetoric was not the cause of this attack.

“(A)t a time when our discourse has become so sharply polarized -- at a time when we are far too eager to lay the blame for all that ails the world at the feet of those who think differently than we do -- it’s important for us to pause for a moment and make sure that we are talking with each other in a way that heals, not a way that wounds,” Obama said. “Bad things happen, and we must guard against simple explanations in the aftermath.”

He continued, “For the truth is that none of us can know exactly what triggered this vicious attack. None of us can know with any certainty what might have stopped those shots from being fired, or what thoughts lurked in the inner recesses of a violent man’s mind.”

Obama went on to say that those who lost their lives should inspire Americans to be better. “And if, as has been discussed in recent days, their deaths help usher in more civility in our public discourse,” he said, “let’s remember that it is not because a simple lack of civility caused this tragedy -- it did not --but rather because only a more civil and honest public discourse can help us face up to our challenges as a nation, in a way that would make them proud.”

The phrase “it did not” was not in Obama’s prepared remarks, and it’s to his credit that he felt the need to inject those words to make it abundantly clear that political rhetoric was not a factor in the shooting.