"Ugandans must realise that the war in the north and north-east is part of the political strategy of NRM leaders monopolising political power in the country. "

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----- Original Message ----- 
From: Chris Opoka-Okumu 
To: [log in to unmask] 

Sent: Saturday, November 15, 2003 11:27 PM
Subject: Parties might be as bad as NRM


     


      Parties might be as bad as NRM
      Prof. Dani W. Nabudere
      Nov 16, 2003


            We are reading a lot these days about National Political Commissar, Dr Crispus Kiyonga, drawing up the "road map" for the "transition" from the NRM one-party rule to democracy. 

            In this gimmick the political parties are being invited to take part in "dialogues," "consultations" and "talks" of kinds aimed at giving credence to the lie. Yet as this is going on, the NRM-O has moved the goal posts ahead of the parties to make any such consultations and "transitions" meaningless. 

            The political parties in a recent letter to the NRM political commissar reiterated that they would not participate in such talks separately but as a block. Their block however comprises those political groupings that are considered by them to be "genuine democratic organisations" and not "copy cats" that the NRM keeps manufacturing to create more confusion in the old parties. Yet, this is also problematic!

            From the announcement made recently by the NRM Secretariat, Uganda's "political road map" is already taking shape with the government's promise to fund the talks. What is interesting is that this funding will be so generous that it will cover all the political groupings-forty five in all-that "picked up" the registration forms from the Registrar! ("Govt to fund Movement talks with parties", The New Vision, November 11, 2003). 

            Internal Affairs Minister Ruhakana Rugunda, in his usual "all-inclusive" manner is quoted in the paper as having said: "We are being very genuine with this process. We want to reach out to as many political forces and Ugandans as possible. 

            We want to generate as much consensus as possible. We want the people of Uganda to make informed decisions." 

            There is no quarrel with this, except that the statement does not have much meaning behind it.

            The problem is that there is no clarity as to how a "Movement" that is a shell of its original self (having deshelled itself of those "band elements" in the famous "tubaleke bagende" Rwakitura declaration") can claim to organise others in a road map that can generate consensus among Ugandans. 

            It is incumbent on the NRM to realise that it no longer enjoys the "broadness" it once claimed to enjoy, when as it stands now it does not even have the coherence of the inner circle it once enjoyed. 

            Its centre has given way to new "Turks" of the "Foxes and Odoxes" type who are too removed from the political mainstream of Ugandan politics to be of much use to a serious movement. 

            A national dialogue to consider the political road map can never produce any meaningful
            political results unless it brings aboard as many political actors as possible. 

            It must go beyond the groups that "pick up" registration forms with no intention of ever registering and encompass the real Uganda. It cannot involve individuals, but organised parties, organisations, and the broader (organised) civil society. 

            It must include traditional and religious institutions that represent millions of Ugandans in their different constituencies. 

            In short, the dialogue or conference must be truly national in character. And to be national, the dialogue must be organised by an organising committee that is drawn from a representation from these constituencies.

            The political parties must desist from being wooed and boxed into corners and processes, which are flawed from the beginning. 

            They must be serious and principled if they are to make any meaningful difference to the kind of stalemate Ugandans find themselves in. 

            The stalemate includes the fact that Uganda is caught up in a never ending conflict in the country where over 1.5 million Ugandans find themselves lingering in internally displaced camps in the districts of Gulu, Kitgum, Pader, Lira, Apac, Soroti and Katakwi. 

            In these circumstances any "talk" about a dialogue that does not represent these hundreds of thousands of Ugandans who are encamped and subjected to constant harassment by the rebels as well as government troops cannot be serious. 

            Furthermore, the national dialogue must foremost address the conflict and how it is to be ended. 

            Thus a process that is supposed to lead to the dialogue must first problematise the war and place it at the centre of the discussion. The war must be placed at the top of the agenda of national dialogue. It must be one of the major entries at the top of the "road map." 

            The northern war can no longer be brushed aside as something "up there." It is national conflict arising out of the crisis of governance in the whole country. The political parties should therefore be serious with themselves on this issue. 

            In their consultation seminar on the National Conference held at St Augustine Hall on August 13, they pointed out that the war in the north had to be addressed as part of the process leading to the national conference. In their letter to the NRM Secretariat no such demand seems to have been made.

            Ugandans must realise that the war in the north and north-east is part of the political strategy of NRM leaders monopolising political power in the country. 

            The recently released research report done on behalf of the Human Rights and Peace Centre, Makerere University and the Liu Institute for the Study of Global Issues of British Columbia, Canada on the war in the north entitled: The Hidden War: The Forgotten People, revealed the linkage between the ethnic rationalisation of the war in the north and the monopolisation of political power by the NRM. 

            Therefore, so long as this war persists and Ugandans choose to close their eyes to the suffering of fellow Ugandans, they can never claim to have a genuine concern for democracy for themselves. 

            How can they ever think that they can enjoy democratic rights when thousands of their own compatriots are rotting in the IDP camps without any rights, including those of displaced persons? 

            A national dialogue or conference must start from the proposition that all Ugandans must be free with full civil rights. 

            Ending the northern war must therefore be the first demand for such a dialogue and the political parties must desist from being co-opted to the NRM monopolistic programmes. 

            They must stop from being used to give credence to schemes aimed at perpetuating the NRM in power under all kinds of guises. 

            Unless they do so, they too are a problem for Ugandans. They will be seen to be conspiring with the NRM behind the backs of Ugandans just because they too want to hold power in a state that is undemocratic.
           


      © 2003 The Monitor Publications
     

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