(Press Release of the 15th April 2011 delivered at 9: 30am)
Brothers and Sisters from the Press, We are both taken aback and pained by the brutal determination and commitment that the Gen Museveni Government -through its fearful security apparati, is recklessly showcasing in its quest of curtailing the civil liberties of Ugandans.
We are concerned also and equally puzzled about the ‘bomb- the- mosquito’ approach that the Uganda Police- an entity whose founding fathers envisioned would protect, guard and guide both public order and the rights of the citizenry, has favored in its latest engagements with unarmed freedom- calling civilians. Adorning themselves in sad war- gear and carrying with them sophisticated war implements, we squarely reject and spit upon the disgraceful manner in which our leaders have been arrested, charged and shot at.
It was German Cleric Pr. Martin Niemoller who penned these historical lines in his First They Came Poem: First they came for the communists/and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a communist./Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a trade unionist. /Then they came for the Jews,/ and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a Jew./Then they came for me
and there was no one left to speak out for me. It is in such a spirit that we’ve taken it upon ourselves to speak aloud for those that fear their voices would be brutally muzzled if they dare spoke. We know the risks involved.
The recent actions by the Mr. Museveni Administration starkly run counter to Uganda’s obligations under the various international covenants like; The Universal Declaration of Human Rights and The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights not to gesture towards Chapter IV of the 1995 Constitution of this good Republic that guarantee everyone the right to peaceful assembly and demonstrations. We therefore call upon the government to reclaim its humanity and respect these inherent and fundamental rights of all its citizens.
We call also upon Gen Museveni to immediately order his security outfits to stop using unjustified lethal force against protesters. He should in the alternative work to restore public confidence in the security services and to ensure that the security force’s responses are strictly proportionate to the threats they face in any given situation.
Finally, we wish Dr. Kizza- Besigye and those that were hurt in this face- off quickest recovery. Sympathies also, to the bereaved that may have lost dear ones in the scuffle.
We have been so much hesitant and patient in joining the ensuing debacle. But, we warn that we are going to call thousands of students to the streets if the situation remains as alarming as it is.
For God and My Country.
Kyomuhendo- A. Ateenyi
Chairman Forum for Democratic Change FDC/ IPC – Makerere University.
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