From: hrcoord@igc.apc.org (Human Rights Coordinator)
Newsgroups: soc.rights.human
Subject: HUMAN RIGHTS: Ugandan army and rebe
Date: 11 Sep 92 18:33:00 GMT
Nf-ID: #N:cdp:1476700442:000:4163
Nf-From: cdp.UUCP!hrcoord    Sep 11 11:33:00 1992


From: Human Rights Coordinator <hrcoord>
Subject: HUMAN RIGHTS: Ugandan army and rebe

/* Written 12:12 am  Sep 11, 1992 by newsdesk in
cdp:ips.englibrary */ Copyright Inter Press Service 1992, all
rights reserved.  Permission to re- print within 7 days of
original date only with permission from 'newsdesk'.

Title: HUMAN RIGHTS: Ugandan army and rebel atrocities
/EMBARGOED/


london, sep 9 (ips/moyiga nduru) -- ''the human rights situation
in uganda is hugely serious,'' says brian dooley of the campaign
group amnesty international.

''we receive reports of the army committing atrocities against the
civilian populations,'' he said. ''the army acts as if it is above
the law''.

dooley was commenting on an amnesty report, published wednesday,
which expressed concern about human rights violations by the
government forces of the ugandan national resistance army (nra),
led by incumbent president yoweri museveni.

museveni, who fought against the democratically elected civilian
government of milton obote and later the military administration
of general tito okello, has publicly pledged to improve uganda's
appalling human rights record.

an estimated 500,000 people died in uganda during idi amin's eight
years of dictatorial rule. most of them were soldiers who were
massacred soon after amin came to power in 1971.

a similar number also vanished during obote's and okello's reigns
(1980-86) when the two embarked in a concerted campaign to curb
the nra's activities around the capital, kampala.

most of the victims were civilians who were accused of being
sympathetic to the nra rebels, who finally took power in january
1986 after five years of guerrilla war.

recalling the early days of the museveni government, vincent
magombe of the london-based african literature forum said: ''when
the nra entered kampala it portrayed an image of a disciplined
organisation. this is not so now. the nra is now virtually an
unruly army.''

magombe, a ugandan activist, attribute the nra's behaviour to the
deteriorating economic situation in the country. ''the economy is
in a bad shape. civil servants cannot even survive on their
salary. as a result, the army has been forced to loot in order to
survive.''

peter otai, former defence minister in obote's government (1980-
85) who now heads the rebel uganda national army (una) fighting
the nra in the east also described the army as ''unruly.''
(more/ips)

human rights: ugandan army and rebel atrocities /embargoed/(2-e)

human rights: ugandan army (2)

in an attempt to restore order and reduce army atrocities, western
aid donors have urged the government to cut down the size of the
nra, which independent estimates put at around 100,000 and which
swallows 30 percent of the whole ugandan national budget.

in the same report, amnesty also accused the rebels fighting in
the north and the east for committing atrocities against the
civilians. amnesty says troops of the uganda national democratic
christian army (undca) in the north have punished civilians
suspected of cooperating with the authorities by mutilating them.

one victim, nekolina latigi, told amnesty that the rebels ''told
us that since we have decided to use our ears for listening to
museveni and our mouths for telling the nra where they (the
rebels) operate from, it was necessary that both be cut off.''

the undca group believed that the villagers had informed the nra
about their presence in the area, leading to their being
attacked.

on feb. 10, una rebels in the east picked out three elderly men
from a church congregation at malera in kumi district, took them
outside the church and shot them, say amnesty. the rebels were
said to have suspected them of passing information to the nra.

museveni's government is trying to bring discipline to the nra, by
executing serious offenders in its ranks; steps not supported by
amnesty.

''execution by itself is a human rights violation. amnesty is
against it,'' dooley said. ''moreover, execution will not stop
other soldiers from committing atrocities. what we are proposing
is that the government should evolve a system of controlling the
army,'' he added. (end/ips/hr/mn/rj/92)