SATURDAY, CCTC8ER 9, 1S32-JKE CA8SUNA TIMIS-S
Uganda Looks Towards .National Unity
AN Three years after
dictator Ida Amin was
driven from office,
Uganda is still locked in
a three-pronged war of
survival. - And the east
African nation must win
this war in order to
rekindle the hopes that
accompanied "''-'':) in
dependence '20 years ago
this week.
internationally-'
supervised "" elections
returned ? Obote to
power. ;
V Economic recovery
was on the top of the
new v administration's
agenda. One - far
reaching economic pro
gram was outlined by
President Obote to the
National Assembly some
First. there is the war three months ago. It in-
against anti-government " eludes measures to in-
guerrillas r ; f;f whom
authorities in the iapital
of Kampala dismiss
simply as "bandits",
then there is the new
"economic war",
through which Obote is,
, seeking to rehabilitate an
economy shattered by
Amin's eight years in
power and now. left at
the. mercy of world
markets and overseas
donors. And, finally,,
there is an urgent need to
improve the
government's image,
following claims by
Amnesty International
that Uganda has evidenc
ed a "pattern of severe
violations of - basic
human rights."
The current crisis in
largely the legacy of
Amin'4 reign, which
seriously eroded Ugan
da's economic base. The
country lost most of its
professional and skilled
. manpower. The balance
.'of payments deteriorated
as Amin increased im
ports of military equip
ment at the expense of
the rest of the economy.
And government
revenues took a nosedive
while . expenditure
skyrocketed.
Finally, in 1979, exiled
aroups formed the Ugan
da National Liberation
Front, with the single ob
;ective of overthrowing
Amin; With the help of'
Tanzania, - whom Amin
had provoked by an in
vasion, the UNLF forces
ousted the hated "Field
Marshal". But as soon
as Amin was put, the dif
ferences ; among the
various groups surfaced,
Amid rising ; tensions, ,
Yusufu ' Lule.' lost the
crease farm, production,
reduce smuggling and
speculation, remove
price controls, and.
reduce U inflation by
stimulating - investment
and ; industrial produc
tion; -
Th rough discussions
with ; overseas donors,,
the government has
secured nearly half of the
Financing ' required for
140 projects. This finan
cing is a shot in the arm
for many of the in
dustries which were
operating in 1970 before
Amin took power and
which either closed down
or had to reduce opera
tions to as little as 20
of their capacity.
Special efforts will be
made to revive coffee
production, which in
less-troubled times ac
counted for 97 of
Uganda's total foreig ex
change earnings.
One major economic
move has been to invite
the former Asian in
dustrialists ' and
managers back. These
Asian would be among
the 80,000 whom Amin
expelled in 1972 after ex
propriating their proper
ty .in his own 'economic
war'!
Earlier this month, the
Ugandan parliament
passed a new law to
return this property to its
former owners. The law,
however, poses the con
dition that the Asians re
main in Uganda and run
the businesses for at least
five yars, having won
them back. .
President Obote says
he expects Ugandans
now running the
businesses to file rival
presidency to, Godfrey claims fprjpwnershjp
I3muuhcaaJ
the leadership to? Paulo ri. cofnerence that present
Muwanea. ? In -1980. occupants may claim
ownership "on the sim
ple basis that the par
ticular building is not
empty and that - the
premises are being utiliz
ed productively.""
r the ;v Ministry of
Finance will process all
claims taking; into ac
count the interests of the
present occupants, he
said.
.'. The law has been
strongly criticized by the
opposition Democratic
Party ; and by ,; some
members vof the business
community who saw it as
a move to de-Africanize
the economy.
r Some -observers in
Kampala expect stiff
competition for the af
fected businesses, while
others say that, few
Asians will return to
claim their property. A
number of, the
businessmen who were
expelled in 1972 are now
too old to want to start
afresh, they say, and
most of the' younger
Asians have found
employment in thier new
homelands,
Security Problems
The effort to
rehabilitate the economy
has been greatly
hampered by the ac
tivities of dissident guer
rillas who have been
operating in and around
Kampala. In one well
publicized incident ' in
February of this year, in
surgents attacked a
military barracks in the
capital. The two
organizations that claim
ed responsibility have as
their declared goal the
ouster of Obote.
There were reports
that the guerrillas' were
armed by Libya through
neighboring Rwanda, or
through Kenya, via the
Libyan embassy in
Nairobi. Both the Rwan
da government and the
guerrillas have denied
the claim.
Kenya, which has
given refuge to many
Ugandan exiles, has
warned that it will not
allow its land to be used
by them to attack a
neighboring country.
June1979 as .Amin's
soldiers . fled to Sudan
and Zaire. .
When ; the Tanzanian
. troops left Uganda in
. 1981, Amin's soldiers in- -vaded
the area, Ugandan
soldiers, bolstered by '
j Tanzanian .,,. officers?,
retook the district later. .
When the Ugandan r
forces went on strike 'n:
June last year, Amin's
forces returned to, the. ,
area, only to be defeated
again in May. v ::" . -Obote's
enemies have
also been active abroad.
Early this year former
presidents Lule and
Binaisa met with guer-.
rilla leaders of the UFM
in Europe to plan
strategy for a comeback.
And last month Binaisa
revealed that he had,
plotted with a leading
British mercenary ,
recruiter, Raymond In
gram, to topple , the
Obote government.
Binaisa was to have
paid $4 million for, the
alleged invasion, which
would have taken place
earlier this month. The
Ugandan failed to raise
the money, however, and
the plot fizzled.
Obote has not taken
these threats . lightly.
Government forces have
been let loose to rid
Kampala of guerrillas,
and the operation has
spilled over to nearby
areas, especially the
Buganda district. In
many cases, civilians
have fled their homes
rather than face the
government forces, as
soldiers have been accus
ed of looting, raping and
killing innocent people.
Human Rights Record
Questioned
Obote's administra
tion has dismissed
soldiers for indiscipline
on a number of occa
sions, but the measures
taken so far have not
placated those critics
who charge the govern
ment with human rights
violations. Amnesty In
ternational, for example,
last month released a
report alleging abuses in
cluding "extensive illegal
sions, : however, : the
volatile security situation
has taken' its toll on con
ventional politics in
Uganda, whose ' two
party parliamentary
system is unique in east
Africa.
O p p o s i t i.o n
Democratic Party leader
Paul Ssemogerere recent
ly claimed that more
Ugandans were killed
during the past year than
during any single year of
the Amin regime. He
also accused Obote's
Uganda People's Party
(UPC) of provoking
violence through the ac
tivities of the security
forces. ,-
l' Obote has responded
by saying that anyone
who. thought Uganda
was more lawless today
than it was under Amin
should see a psychiatrist.
But the president agreed
that the nation needed
more effective ;, training
for the army.
Internal Affairs
Minister John Luwuliza
Kirunda later accused
the opposition party of
"fomenting instability".
He charged that the DP
leadership supported
acts of banditry.
According to Kampala
radio, Ssemogerere has
, since disavowed any con
' nection between his par'
ty and the guerrillas. He
also disowned a former
personal assistant who
was recently arrested on
charges of banditry.
,; . Any party member
who 'joined a terrorist
band, . Ssemogerere
.. warned, automatically
. lost his DP membership.
Obote supporters are
heartened by the recent
defection to the ruling
party- of six DP
legislators, a develop
ment that boosts the
-president's' majority in
the National Assembly
to a margin of 81 to 45.
But the government's
campaign against guer
rilla v insurgents is far
from over, and officials
feet there can be little
economic headway until
the armed opposition has
been quashed.
Meanwhile, both the
threat from dissident
groups and the in
discipline of the army
complicate the - govern
ment s efforts to at t ract
the foreign capital that
they believe Uganda
needs so badly.
SuhsvrilH' To
The Caritliiui Times
& ' f nn
WII.KF.S-BARRK, l A.-(;eorj:t' Ranks the
suspect in an early morning shooting spree, thirteen
persons including seven children died in (he spree.
Banks is surrendering to police utter barricading
himself in a house near the shooting scene. I 'l'l lhi
meni onensive recenuy.
f t : wvjtf
Durham Coca-Cola Bottling Co.
more than 100 guerrillas
operating around Kam
pala surrendered to
government forces. Most
of the guerrillas claimed
they were members of
the Uganda Freedom
Movement (UFM) under
former interior minister
Andrew Kyere.
Beside these "hit-and-run"
guerrillas, there is a
threat of invasion from
neighboring Sudan or
Zaire where some troops
loyal to Amin still hide.
During the first four
monthhs of this year, the
Ugandan army battled
against a 10,000-strong
force of Amin soldiers
who controlled Koboko,
the home town of the'
former dictator in the
West Nile area. This
district was ' the last
stronghold ' of Amin's
forces in the 1979 libera
tion war, but it was
taken without a fight by
Tanzanian-led forces in
traiudicial executions' of-
civilians, disappearances
andfdeaths in detention,
and harsh conditions of
imprisonment."
Many civilians killed
were suspected of being
anti-government guer
rillas or guerrilla sup
porters, Amnesty Inter
national said, but
"unarmed men, women,
and children jiving in
areas of armed conflict
have also died."
Responding to the
charges, the government
has published a list of
237 people being held
without trial under a law
authorizing- ' indefinite
detention for , security
reasons. More than
2,000 prisoners, mostly
Amin's soldiers, have
been freed during the
past month. Another
batch of 1,000 may be
freed during Uganda's
independence anniver
sary on October 9.
Despite the conces-
TW T 5TQ1
Right now, savers can get more flexibility on rates and
terms withNCNB Certificates than ever before.
Still, that may not be enough to get you to do all your
business with us. So we're offering you a very special gift
. " when you sign up now for a new
Pidf&vanknm. NCNl3Certificate.
toucan also get agjft when
you open or transfer an fivAto us,
and whenyou sicnuo for tax-free
interest with an NGNBTax
Saver Certificate.
For all the details, a look at
the fiifts, and any help you might
heed on just how to make the
most of your money, come see us.
Do it soonWith these rates
and terms, .
6-Mrh. S10.000
2'41feK...... S 1,000
3'iytar..;...r. ...... J 1.000
IHar'toxSaver, ... ..... 1 1,000
PickMwirPrize.
DEPOSITSSlOOOORMORE:
7D7ESt Weekend Dulfk Bag
'18ri4KTGokl Chain
Farbo FUU-SaeThermal Blanket
FariboUbol Throw Blanket v
DEPOSIT SI, 000 OR MORE;
; Baldwin Brass Candlestick
'Adjustable Beam Flashlight
'"BeamearfBearbyDaktn v
' TOTES FbklingUmbrdla
OfferendsNovemberM 1982.
thegitts r(rSUUc
: last long in your neighborhood. uQVjuuEzJ
the gifts
wont
i Substantial Penalty for Early Withdrawal AH depositors insured to $100,000 by FDIC
-:V. ..-:- - -