Poll strife concerns in Uganda
2001-03-09 17:43
Kampala - Just days ahead of Monday's presidential poll, concern was mounting in Uganda over campaign violence and the deployment of the army in a country where memories still linger of the killing of half-a-million citizens by the soldiers of Idi Amin and Milton Obote.
Last week it was announced that the Ugandan People's Defence Forces, which are usually confined to barracks, would work with police and other state agencies in a joint task force led by Army Commander Major General Jeje Odongo.
While it is generally recognised that President Yoweri Museveni has made considerable progress in reforming the security forces since coming to power in 1986, this decision, officially made on the grounds that Uganda's 15 000 policemen lacked adequate training and resources, has been widely criticised and has even contributed to a threat by one presidential candidate to quit the race.
"It would be futile to participate in an exercise which is already flawed. I for one would consider pulling out" if the army was not removed from the task force, Aggrey Awori told AFP.
'Intimidation Should Stop'
A spokesperson for Kizza Besigye, Museveni's main challenger, also denounced the use of the army.
"We have demanded that intimidation should stop. We don't want the military to come into the electoral process," said Joseph Tumushabe.
According to opposition Democratic Party President Paul Ssemogerere, who has thrown his weight behind Besigye, "the military-led authority in charge of internal security is tantamount to putting the country under military rule."
In a letter to Museveni complaining of violence and intimidation by state agents, Ssemogerere, who stood for president in 1996, warned that "if the prevailing state of affairs persists to election day, Ugandans will once again be denied the right to freely elect their government and, instead, have a government imposed on them through violence and fraud."
The veteran politician claimed that there has been "widespread harassment and violence" directed at Besigye and his team and that the use of the military was unconstitutional.
For Margaret Sekaggya, the head of Uganda's human rights commission, "only the issue of security is going to mar a process that otherwise has been really good".
'Deploying Army Creates Nervousness'
"The issue of deploying the army at times creates a bit of nervousness, because we always think the army comes in as a last resort in a situation where there is a big crisis," she said.
"Already I've heard of people who cannot move at night. They are scared because the soldiers have already been deployed. Could they then exercise their right to vote in a free and fair manner if they are not trusting that the soldiers are there to guard them?"
"It's because of our history that people are suspicious (even) if the relationship with the army has increased so well" in recent years, she added, speaking of the days under Amin and Obote when security forces killed with impunity.
Reverend Canon Grace Kaiso, who heads the non-governmental organisation the Election Monitoring Group, also told reporters that "some army officers are not only campaigning but also intimidating and using violence".
"It reminds people of the bad days. People are wary of something that will throw the country back into chaos."
"The army is not trained (for this), only for situations of war," he said.
Problems 'Restraining Our Supporters'
Information Minister Basogo Nsadhu, who is also heading Museveni's publicity campaign, played down the reports of violence committed by security forces but conceded there "have been problems restraining our supporters from reacting" to provocation from those of the president's rivals.
"Should we just stand by as if we have no institutions to take care of law and order?" he asked.
But yes, he was concerned by the level of violence in the run-up to the poll, which, he said, just showed that the country still lacked the political maturity to justify an immediate return to multi-party democracy.
"We want to talk about each others' views without murdering them. That is the Uganda we want to build," he said.
Asked about the precise role of the army, Major General Odongo told AFP that "the question of security at polling stations is not the responsibility of the task force I am leading. That will be the job of police... The task force will patrol and look out for trouble-causers. If there is a riot that is where we will be involved". - Sapa-AFP
- SAPA