Monday 2 May 2011

Museveni has crossed the Rubicon


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By Muniini K. Mulera

Posted  Monday, May 2 2011 at 00:00
Dear Tingasiga:
One seeks the right word, the right phrase to summarise what has happened in Uganda and one keeps coming back to ‘crossing the Rubicon.’ This is an idiom rooted in an ancient event that changed history. On January 10, 49 BC, Julius Caesar and his legions crossed the River Rubicon, which marked the political boundary between Gaul and Italy, thus declaring war on Rome and triggering the Great Civil War that would usher in a dictatorship hitherto unknown.

Caesar’s military conquests are well chronicled. Suffice to say that as Lord of the Mediterranean, riding a crest of military might, Caesar had his term limit removed in early 44 BC. He was declared Dictatore Perpetuo (perpetual dictator).
This action, figuratively speaking, was his second crossing of the Rubicon. He had now declared war against the state, and the senators of Rome decided to fight back.
On March 15, 44 BC, the Ides of March, Julius Caesar was stabbed multiple times by Marcus Brutus, Gaius Longinus and other Liberatores (liberators.)

Gen. Yoweri Museveni, having had his term limits lifted, and having anointed himself Uganda’s de facto Dictator Perpetuo, has crossed the Rubicon. What semblance of law there was has been swept aside, replaced by a lawless disregard for human life and dignity. Evil is the only word that can explain what Gen. Museveni’s government is dispensing to the citizens of the land. What we see is a government in a state of panic. The impulsive violent reaction to unarmed demonstrators is informed by fear of loss of what Gen. Museveni considers to be his by right.
What insanity drives men to treat a fellow human being with brutality? What hope I had held out for formal dialogue between the opposition leaders and Museveni, was suffocated by the tear gas and pepper spray and whatever other poisons that were sprayed on Dr Kizza Besigye.
To watch video images of Dr Besigye being thrown under a bench in the back of a Pick-up truck as though he was a dead dog or sack of charcoal, was to wonder what devil had possessed the rulers of the land. One tries to make sense of the Museveni regime in vain. But then one must not try to make sense of the deeds of military dictatorships. The Romans in Caesar’s time must have reached a point where they too gave up trying to understand the ways of their Dictatore Perpetuo.
What we must focus on is to try and understand the crisis that our country faces and how to resolve it. The regime is trying to frame the crisis as a contest between Besigye and the state. But this is not about Besigye or the opposition parties. It is about your freedom and rights of citizenship, Tingasiga, including our friends in the NRM who are hostage to militarism.
Museveni is now trying to distract Ugandans from the horrors that the world has watched unfold on television and the Internet. He is also attempting to buy time and to disorganise the opposition ranks by inviting the party leaders to talks under his chairmanship.
The opposition parties must reject Museveni’s invitation. It is a trick straight from Muammar Gaddafi’s handbook. Museveni, one of the craftiest politicians on the current scene, is not a genuine negotiator or someone you can trust. He has broken too many promises to be taken at his word. He will play for time, but he must always win.
His immediate agenda is to ensure that he is sworn in on May 12 without any disruption or embarrassment, hence the diversionary invitation to political parties to talk about oil and other non-urgent matters.

Do not fall for his tricks. I am eager to see talks aimed at solving the Uganda Crisis. The major issues that need to be addressed include: (1) legitimacy of the government; (2) genuine democratisation and building public trust in the political process; (3) decriminalisation of alternative opinions; (4) electoral reforms, including creation of a new and credible electoral commission; (5) separation of powers and building independent and accountable institutions of government; (6) creation of professional and independent security and armed organisations that serve and protect Ugandans, not the political rulers of the day; and (7) prevention and punishment of corruption.
These talks must not be by invitation from Gen. Museveni. They must be talks among serious stakeholders, with a very clear and mutually agreed agenda, under the auspices of a third party or preferably brokered by a neutral agent such as the United Nations.
However, there are minimum conditions that must be met before such talks can proceed. First, all political prisoners should be unconditionally released, and all charges against them dropped.

Second, the state must stop persecuting Dr Besigye and other political leaders. The right of citizens to demonstrate must be upheld and protected by the police. Of course the demonstrators must not violate the civil and human rights of other citizens.
The path of genuine freedom and democracy is the only insurance against chaos and state collapse. If Gen. Museveni continues on his path of militarism and Dictatore Perpetuo, he will push Uganda into an inferno.

We must try our best to bring sanity to all parties in this crisis before it is too late. Gen. Museveni’s colleagues must make a choice between loyalty to him or to Uganda. Uganda must not be built around an individual. We must create a country and dismantle the personal fiefdom that was symbolised by Museveni’s attack on Besigye.
Meanwhile, the members and supporters of the opposition parties must resist and overcome the desire for revenge. One understands the depth of anger across the land. But we must not misidentify the enemy.
The members and supporters of the NRM, the majority of whom are very good citizens, are not responsible for the criminal acts of the regime. Indeed, they too are victims of betrayal by those they have trusted. We must continue to love them and engage them with the spirit of brotherhood.
There is no DP or FDC or NRM or UPC in this crisis. We are all Ugandans, in it together.

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