Govt handling demos clumsily
May 17, 2011
IF it was a student, the Government of Uganda would get a big fat F for its handling of the walk-to-work demonstrations. The first big failure which set off additional failures stemmed from the Government’s inability to recognise that Uganda has been operating under the premise of democracy for ov
Dr Opiyo Oloya
IF it was a student, the Government of Uganda would get a big fat F for its handling of the walk-to-work demonstrations. The first big failure which set off additional failures stemmed from the Government’s inability to recognise that Uganda has been operating under the premise of democracy for over two decades now.
In every democracy, the government of the day must be prepared to accept that there will be those who vociferously disagree with its policies. Many leaders of democracies, including President Obama, create political space for disagreement especially for those who dislike their policies.
It was, therefore, sad that the Government of Uganda failed to distinguish between those legitimately expressing their dissatisfactions with escalating cost of fuel and food and the few eager to cause chaos. It lumped together everyone as trouble-makers with labels such as 'rioters', 'looters', 'opposition', 'unpatriotic', and so forth. That made it easy for the authorities to crack down on just about anybody who attempted to express dissatisfaction. Even the media became part of the plot to destabilise the Government, with photographers beaten up, their cameras smashed to the ground!
The Government’s second failure was in dealing with politicians who saw opportunity to rebrand themselves as leaders of the suffering masses. Dr Kizza Besigye, for example, whether one likes his politics or hates it, understood the anger that was bubbling just below the surface, and worked hard to capture it, bottle it, and dub it the walk-to-work demonstration. It is part of being an astute politician to see emerging trends and run with it. Some would label that opportunism, but Besigye was as shrewd as the Government was not.
This set up, for example, the now famous incident in which the Government lost a big chunk of its credibility in a scant 10 minutes of a four-hour long stand-off. This is the incident in which Besigye’s car windows were smashed, the occupants doused with stinging pepper-spray, and Besigye extracted like a common squirrel, and frog-marched into the back of a waiting truck. However much Government spinners would like to spin that scene, it was one where many old enough saw flashes of the bad old days of Idi Amin’s State Research Bureau.
Now, someone could argue that there was nothing that authorities could do except toss Besigye like a rag-doll into the back of a Police truck. But that is a very lazy argument based on very poor logic. The question is why was he corralled into a stand-off with authorities in the first place? Why even get into a spitting argument with Besigye over whether he wants to go to his bank or to some other location in Kampala?
The smarter thing to do would have been to ask him where he was going, and then have Police escorts take him there. Over time, tired of being allowed space to walk or drive or sit down, Besigye would have chosen to end his campaign as he wished.
But it was and remains his democratic rights—just as it is for any Ugandan—to be able to do any of those things without being beaten up for them.
In the end, the picture of Besigye rubbing his face as the pepper spray tore into his eyes convinced many, even those who disagree with his politics, to sympathise with him. It was also a very bad day for Uganda because it became one of the leading news stories around the world with obvious questions being asked whether Uganda was the next country to witness North African-style change.
That is not likely to happen. But what is clear is that people gathering to express dissatisfaction with the economy are losing fear of being beaten up or even shot by authorities as happened last week again. In countries like Syria, Bahrain and Yemen where governments have abandoned all pretence of moderation, protesters are emboldened by crackdowns rather than cowed by them.
Miraculously, even as their ranks are raked with machine gun fire, demonstrators in Syria and Yemen have returned to the streets everyday. In the end, it is the governments that look heavy-handed, authoritarian and undemocratic. This is the point that the Government of Uganda must avoid because once it is reached no amount of force will deter demonstrators.
The way forward is straightforward. Foremost, the Government must clearly accept that many Ugandans are unhappy with the current state of economic affairs and will want to show their displeasure by demonstrating and so forth.
Secondly, the Government must instruct Police to stop harassing those engaged in peaceful walk-to-work, including Besigye and the other leaders. Rather than arresting the walkers, the authorities must work with their leaders so that specific routes are made safe for peaceful walkers without inconveniencing other citizens going about their businesses. Authorities must not hesitate to swing into action to arrest anyone attempting to use the demonstrations as cover to commit crime. But the demonstrations themselves must not be criminalised.
Third, leaders of opposition must also accept responsibility to ensure that their calls for demonstrations do not cause suffering to Ugandans who must go to work, and eke a living to sustain their families. There is also no need to engage in diatribe against the Government. Rather, there must be constructive dialogue on how the current crisis can be resolved, what the Government must do to alleviate suffering for Ugandans.
Finally, delicate balance must be struck so that voices of dissent are heard while maintaining law and order.
Opiyo.oloya@sympatico.ca
IF it was a student, the Government of Uganda would get a big fat F for its handling of the walk-to-work demonstrations. The first big failure which set off additional failures stemmed from the Government’s inability to recognise that Uganda has been operating under the premise of democracy for over two decades now.
In every democracy, the government of the day must be prepared to accept that there will be those who vociferously disagree with its policies. Many leaders of democracies, including President Obama, create political space for disagreement especially for those who dislike their policies.
It was, therefore, sad that the Government of Uganda failed to distinguish between those legitimately expressing their dissatisfactions with escalating cost of fuel and food and the few eager to cause chaos. It lumped together everyone as trouble-makers with labels such as 'rioters', 'looters', 'opposition', 'unpatriotic', and so forth. That made it easy for the authorities to crack down on just about anybody who attempted to express dissatisfaction. Even the media became part of the plot to destabilise the Government, with photographers beaten up, their cameras smashed to the ground!
The Government’s second failure was in dealing with politicians who saw opportunity to rebrand themselves as leaders of the suffering masses. Dr Kizza Besigye, for example, whether one likes his politics or hates it, understood the anger that was bubbling just below the surface, and worked hard to capture it, bottle it, and dub it the walk-to-work demonstration. It is part of being an astute politician to see emerging trends and run with it. Some would label that opportunism, but Besigye was as shrewd as the Government was not.
This set up, for example, the now famous incident in which the Government lost a big chunk of its credibility in a scant 10 minutes of a four-hour long stand-off. This is the incident in which Besigye’s car windows were smashed, the occupants doused with stinging pepper-spray, and Besigye extracted like a common squirrel, and frog-marched into the back of a waiting truck. However much Government spinners would like to spin that scene, it was one where many old enough saw flashes of the bad old days of Idi Amin’s State Research Bureau.
Now, someone could argue that there was nothing that authorities could do except toss Besigye like a rag-doll into the back of a Police truck. But that is a very lazy argument based on very poor logic. The question is why was he corralled into a stand-off with authorities in the first place? Why even get into a spitting argument with Besigye over whether he wants to go to his bank or to some other location in Kampala?
The smarter thing to do would have been to ask him where he was going, and then have Police escorts take him there. Over time, tired of being allowed space to walk or drive or sit down, Besigye would have chosen to end his campaign as he wished.
But it was and remains his democratic rights—just as it is for any Ugandan—to be able to do any of those things without being beaten up for them.
In the end, the picture of Besigye rubbing his face as the pepper spray tore into his eyes convinced many, even those who disagree with his politics, to sympathise with him. It was also a very bad day for Uganda because it became one of the leading news stories around the world with obvious questions being asked whether Uganda was the next country to witness North African-style change.
That is not likely to happen. But what is clear is that people gathering to express dissatisfaction with the economy are losing fear of being beaten up or even shot by authorities as happened last week again. In countries like Syria, Bahrain and Yemen where governments have abandoned all pretence of moderation, protesters are emboldened by crackdowns rather than cowed by them.
Miraculously, even as their ranks are raked with machine gun fire, demonstrators in Syria and Yemen have returned to the streets everyday. In the end, it is the governments that look heavy-handed, authoritarian and undemocratic. This is the point that the Government of Uganda must avoid because once it is reached no amount of force will deter demonstrators.
The way forward is straightforward. Foremost, the Government must clearly accept that many Ugandans are unhappy with the current state of economic affairs and will want to show their displeasure by demonstrating and so forth.
Secondly, the Government must instruct Police to stop harassing those engaged in peaceful walk-to-work, including Besigye and the other leaders. Rather than arresting the walkers, the authorities must work with their leaders so that specific routes are made safe for peaceful walkers without inconveniencing other citizens going about their businesses. Authorities must not hesitate to swing into action to arrest anyone attempting to use the demonstrations as cover to commit crime. But the demonstrations themselves must not be criminalised.
Third, leaders of opposition must also accept responsibility to ensure that their calls for demonstrations do not cause suffering to Ugandans who must go to work, and eke a living to sustain their families. There is also no need to engage in diatribe against the Government. Rather, there must be constructive dialogue on how the current crisis can be resolved, what the Government must do to alleviate suffering for Ugandans.
Finally, delicate balance must be struck so that voices of dissent are heard while maintaining law and order.
Opiyo.oloya@sympatico.ca