Ugandan police beats demonstrators unconscious

While leaders from Britain and her former colonies discussed how to uphold democracy, human rights and the rule of law yesterday, violence erupted at a demonstration by up to 100 anti-government protesters questioning whether Uganda was a fit host, and whether Britain was a model. To curb the protests, more than 100 Ugandan police used batons and sticks. The demonstrators threw bottles and stones at the police. (24-NOV-07)

Based on the dispatches from Reuters and Associated Press, all received from a Ugandan HR defender, this article has been prepared for publication here by HRH F / Niels Jacob Harbitz.

As the clash came to an end, demonstrators were carried away with head wounds, their clothes splashed with blood. At least three people were seriously injured.

-This is nothing new
-We express disappointment with the queen and the Commonwealth. The queen is not there for the poor people in the Commonwealth, said Kizza Besigye, the main opposition candidate for both the 2001 and 2006 Presidential elections. Other speakers at the protest said the Commonwealth has outlived its usefulness, and that Britain´s Queen Elizabeth II, who had opened the summit as ceremonial head of the Commonwealth, should not associate with leaders of some of the countries in the group. As the demonstrators scattered, Besigye added: -This is nothing new. This is what we have been living through all this time. This is a police force that does not respect the rights of citizens at all. Above, Besigye speaking to riot police at a rally in Kampala in April this year, at which also water cannons, teargas and live rounds were used to silence the demonstrators. Photo: james Akena, Reuters.
 
Museveni suppresses opposition, say Western diplomats
-This incident was a continuation of Ugandan authorities´ policy to threaten and intimidate the opposition, Beti Kamya, an opposition HR law maker, told Associated Press. Police spokesman Edward Ochom said protesters started the violence by throwing stones as police tried to keep them away from the summit meetings. He did not have any details about anyone injured or arrested. Witnesses said one police officer also suffered a head injuries yesterday when the demonstrators threw stones after the march was halted. Police said they were acting within the law and the protesters had known they were not permitted to march out of a suburb where the demonstration was authorised. The protesters said the Commonwealth, which began its three-day 53-nation bi-annual summit on Friday, had ignored human rights abuses by the government of President Yoweri Museveni, which Western diplomats say ruthlessly suppresses opposition in Uganda.

–Queen you are the head of our problems
Elizabeth Evenson, of U.S.-based Human Rights Watch, condemned the police action: -Using force to keep opposition supporters out of sight of the Commonwealth summit reflects continuing limitations on political freedoms. Commonwealth leaders should take President Museveni to task,” she said. “Queen you are the head of our problems!” read one banner waved by the protestors, some also carrying pictures of tortured opposition activists and tear-gassed marches.The demonstrators earlier waved banners criticising Queen Elizabeth, who opened the summit. The Commonwealth espouses upholding democracy, human rights, the rule of law, free trade, racial equality and world peace. Asked about the criticism of Museveni on Friday, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown told reporters in Kampala that “the internal politics of the country and the debates about that are questions for Uganda”.

-Britain you are the genesis of thugs
In a pre-summit meeting Thursday, a committee of Commonwealth foreign ministers suspended Pakistan, after that country´s military ruler, Pervez Musharraf, failed to meet a deadline to lift a three-week-old state of emergency and step down as army chief. Pakistan on Friday condemned the banishment from the Commonwealth as «unreasonable and unjustified» and said: «The pace of progress towards normalcy will be determined by ground realities and legal requirements in Pakistan rather than unrealistic demands from outside,» a ministry statement said. Pakistan was last kicked out of the Commonwealth in 1999 after Musharraf seized power in a coup. It took the country five years to be reinstated. Some of the Ugandan protesters Friday carried placards that read: “Britain you are the genesis of thugs and Museveni equals Musharraf of Pakistan”.