Government to Summon Envoys Over Besigye, Mao Visit

Emmanuel Mulondo

28 April 2011

Kampala — The government is making preparations to summon the Dutch, Irish and other European nation ambassadors to formally protest their envoys’ visit to two opposition leaders held in a Nakasongola prison.

However, the government was yesterday at pains to indicate that this protest is not because of FDC leader Kizza Besigye and Mr Norbert Mao, leaders of DP. A minister told Daily Monitor that a general complaint touching on international laws governing diplomacy will be made.

‘Violation of rule’

“It is normal diplomatic action. It is not because of Dr Besigye or Mr Mao but there was a clear violation of the (Vienna) Convention on diplomatic accreditation,” said Mr Okello Oryem, the state minister for Foreign Affairs (international cooperation). “The law says an ambassador shall not travel from any city where he is accredited to another without seeking permission from the host country. So we shall be registering our protest in general. Nothing to do with Besigye,” Mr Oryem said.

Asked what form the government protest will take, the minister said: “We shall invite them to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs because it is the one that handles their affairs. We shall tell them, you are in clear breach of the law and ask them not to do it again because it can strain our relationship. We shall do it diplomatically.”

Pressed whether this would be done before the weekend, Mr Oryem said: “Of course. I have directed my officers to organise.” Concerns were raised by opposition leaders last week after government hurriedly transferred the two opposition leaders and other opposition party officials from Luzira and other Kampala prisons to the remote Nakasongola prison after they were arrested on charges ranging from assaulting a police officer, inciting violence, unlawful assembly and refusing to obey lawful orders during the walk-to- work campaign.

Diplomats from three missions visited Dr Besigye and Mr Mao on Friday, causing jitters in government circles. It was not possible to get the envoys comment yesterday but the Dutch ambassador, Mr Jeroen Verheul, was quoted by a Kampala daily on Tuesday, saying the visit was made at the invitation of the Uganda Prisons authority to assure the envoys that conditions under which the politicians were being held were good.

The walk-to-work campaign, the opposition maintains, is aimed at forcing government to address the skyrocketing cost of fuel and basic commodities. But government claims opposition leaders are trying to use it to unconstitutionally topple a lawfully elected government. Information Minister Kabakumba Masiko, has accused some foreign countries she did not name of aiding the opposition in that effort.

AllAfrica – All the Time