"Mr Pulkol is the former Director General of the External Security Organisation. He said government should also investigate and punish the culprits. 

"It is totally illegal to empower thugs to disrupt a lawful gathering." 


"Let them (government) not apologise but institute measures," Pulkol said.
He said that if government officials were involved in the Jinja chaos, it amounts to "a coup" because they hijacked power to subvert the constitution."


Punish Jinja youth, Pulkol tells govt 
By Mercy Nalugo 
March 10, 2004



KAMPALA - Former ESO chief, David Pulkol says it is not enough for government to apologise for the pro-Movement youths who violently dispersed a Pafo workshop in Jinja last Friday.

Mr Pulkol is the former Director General of the External Security Organisation. He said government should also investigate and punish the culprits. "It is totally illegal to empower thugs to disrupt a lawful gathering. 

If the state cannot provide security to its MPs, then it's terrible," Pulkol told The Monitor at Parliament yesterday.

The Parliamentary Advocacy Forum (Pafo) is made up of mainly Members of Parliament opposed to amending the constitution to allow a president stand for election as many times as he/she wishes.

Pro-government youths in Jinja beat up Pafo members who had gathered for the workshop at Crested Crane Hotel in Jinja. The workshop was to debate the transition from President Yoweri Museveni to another president in 2006. 

"Let them (government) not apologise but institute measures," Pulkol said.
He said that if government officials were involved in the Jinja chaos, it amounts to "a coup" because they hijacked power to subvert the constitution.

"The constitution allows people to discuss freely. Who is this one disorganising the country and under what law is he doing this?" he asked. Pulkol was relieved of his job as ESO chief last year. 

He said government should allow a successful transition and asked Ugandans to resist such violent incidents, which infringe on their rights.

He said that security forces like the police, intelligence and the army should be non-partisan because they are custodians of the law.

"Such organisations should become available to all Ugandans. Let's make such institutions ready for the transition," Pulkol urged. 






© 2004 The Monitor Publications

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