U.S Ambassador Decries Election Violence

By Richard Mutumba United States ambassador Martin Brennan yesterday said election violence and intimidation by various political camps were of concern to the international community. He was presenting the 2000 US Country Report on Human Rights practices for Uganda to the Uganda Human Rights Commission (UHCR) chairperson, Mrs. Margaret Sekaggya. The ceremony took place at the UHRC offices in Kampala. Brennan said rumours that attempts would be made to rig the March 12 elections were worrying. "When you think about attempts to skew the outcome of an election, it indicates lack of confidence in the ability of the voter to exercise considered judgement," he said. He said the price of winning the election at any cost was too high and would cause democratic institutions to suffer. Brennan said, "Some may find it ironic that US's chief representative in Uganda feels he can pronounce on the electoral contest here, given what transpired last November in the US. "It is precisely because of our electoral experience that we think we may have a lesson or two to share." Ends