Price protesters are terrorists, says government

Kampala

Hours after a second round of protests against the rising cost of living was launched, the government on Wednesday reportedly labelled sections of the opposition as terrorists.

And yesterday, the country’s leadership promised to take stern action against anyone breaking the law under the guise of exercising the right to demonstrate over the current economic crisis. But Opposition leaders quickly responded and denied that they are plotting mass insurrection as alleged by the government, and said they will not be intimidated.

Grand plan?
They also promised to continue their protests until the authorities address the problems facing Ugandans. Security Minister Muruli Mukasa told reporters during a mid-morning briefing in Kampala that the opposition is pursuing a grand plan of inciting the public to rise against the ruling NRM government, a claim Opposition lawmakers who talked to Daily Monitor described as “empty talk”. “Nobody is going to intimidate us. What the government needs to do is to address the problems facing our economy and stop the blame game,” Shadow Attorney General Abdul Katuntu said.

“There is nobody preparing Ugandans for an uprising, but if [current] conditions prevail the people will stand up. It’s up to the government to make sure that such conditions don’t prevail. Those people in government must address the problems in the country, ensure that there is democracy, stop mismanagement of public funds and promote good governance,” he said.

The security minister’s warning came 24 hours after a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday reportedly resolved that “government associates Besigye, his people and their actions as terrorists”, according to sources who attended the meeting.

Cabinet also reportedly agreed to launch a nationwide campaign to sensitise the masses about what is going on with the economy to counter what they called the “lies” being spread by opposition leader Kizza Besigye. “We also agreed that all people involved in such actions be arrested and jailed,” Daily Monitor sources said of the Wednesday meeting.

Mr Mukasa said the opposition is portraying the government as illegitimate, claiming the NRM rigged the February 18 general elections, and as such is opportunistically pressing for power-sharing. “The opposition is hoodwinking the public to believe that [their] agitation is in public interest and that the government is insensitive to the public concerns.

They are doing this by mobilising demonstrations around genuine issues of public concern such as increased fuel and commodity prices, demand for salary increments, power blackouts and high tariffs etc,” Mr Mukasa said.

Psychological preparation
Without providing specific evidence, the minister said the opposition, using social media networks like twitter, facebook and YouTube is psychologically preparing the masses, especially the youth, for armed insurrection.

This claim, however, flies in the face of Dr Besigye’s repetition of his earlier rejection of taking up arms against the government when he addressed a rally in Masaka on the same day Cabinet met to discuss the resumption of protests against the rising cost of living.

The minister also suggested that, through its political actions, the opposition is disrupting the economy by paralysing trade and tourism, scaring away investors, discouraging remittances by Ugandans working abroad, paralysing social service delivery and threatening the oil and gas industry. The government has also accused the opposition of provoking security agencies and portraying the government as brutal in its action against demonstrations by citizens.

In reference to the Light-a-Candle Campaign initiated by the opposition to commemorate the death of 10 Ugandans shot and killed by the police and other security personnel during the April walk-to-work protests, Mr Mukasa said: “Current intelligence reports show that those opportunistic elements have launched phase II of their disruptive activities starting with Masaka and later spreading to other areas, including Kampala, Jinja, Mbale and Kasese.” “Government will not hesitate to take stern action against anyone who breaks law under the guise of the right to demonstrate.”

Shadow Internal Affairs Minister Hussein Kyanjo asked his counterpart to go slow and reiterated that the opposition will not be threatened by government statements. “We have a duty to represent the views of our people. We cannot sit back when the rest of Ugandans are sleeping on empty stomachs.

When those in government disagreed with those who were government of the time, they chose to go to the bush [in 1980], our option is the streets. The public discontent means there is a problem. The problem is the economy but those in government think the problem is the opposition which is wrong.”

Right to demonstrate
While the government has vowed to crackdown on demonstrators, Articles 29 and 43 of the Constitution explicitly grant citizens the right to demonstrate among other freedoms also enshrined under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

To solve the double digit inflation currently standing at 18.7 per cent and the depreciation of the shilling, the opposition has proposed a raft of solutions to government including a call to reduce taxes on fuel but without any success, hence the call for renewed public protest. The main opposition party, the FDC, has also unsuccessfully urged the government to consider entering into dialogue with all political parties and other key social actors to find a solution to the economic crisis.

Responding to the government statement, Mr Mathias Mpuuga, the coordinator of Walk-to-Work campaign, dismissed the government response to the current crisis as a “blatant violation of human rights”. “Let them talk, but for us, we shall continue with our campaign to remind the government that we shall not be part of a country where impunity and gunship reigns. Ours is a legitimate cause and we shall only stop if government addresses the needs of the people,” Mr Mpuuga said.

Candle lighting
“We shall go for a number of vigils under lighting-the-candle campaign in memory of innocent Ugandans who were killed by security forces. We shall not relent in ensuring that the rule of law prevails in this country. We have consistently asked the government to act but they are arrogant and uncaring as Ugandans suffer.”

Yesterday, Information Minister Karooro Okurut refused to say why government has not considered the offer for bi-partisan dialogue, and instead pointed the finger at opposition leaders. ““The government has never refused dialogue with the opposition. In fact under the inter-party organisation for dialogue [framework], government talks have been going on. One of the hallmarks of President Museveni and the NRM has been dialogue and he has walked the talk. But in spite of the ongoing talks the opposition called for phase two of the demonstrations,” Ms Karooro said.