Amnesty launches ‘human rights manifesto’

The human rights organisation Amnesty International and a group of 12 Ugandan NGOs on Tuesday launched a ‘Human Rights Manifesto for Uganda’, in which they demanded that all candidates - the incumbent, President Yoweri Museveni, is facing five rival candidates - for the mid-March presidential poll “publicly commit themselves to taking concrete steps to safeguard human rights, should they win the presidency.” Torture and ill-treatment of citizens, infringement of the rights to freedom of expression and association, together with gross human rights violations - mainly by armed opposition elements - all impinged on Ugandans’ “right to live in a society where basic rights are respected in law and practice,” an Amnesty press release stated. The death penalty was the ultimate violation of the right to life in a society where at least 11 people were sentenced to death last year, and 29 people were executed in 1999, it added. There has been a series of reports of violent incidents since campaigning for the presidential election officially began in mid-December, Amnesty reported. “In a number of cases, police have dispersed rallies held by supporters of opposition candidates,” it said. Democratic Party president, Dr Paul Ssemogerere, on Monday condemned “increasing violence and intimidation in the presidential campaigns”, the semi-official Uganda ‘New Vision’ newspaper reported. He also expressed concern at what he called the unfolding evidence of schemes for election fraud. Ssemogerere said cases of violence and intimidation of people who did not support Museveni were on the increase. Parliamentary elections are scheduled for June 2001, after the presidential polls in mid-March. For Amnesty statement, go to: http://www.web.amnesty.org/web/news.nsf/thisweek?openview