Uganda Should Talk to Protestors – Not Shoot

21 April 2011

editorial

Nairobi — The walk-to-work protests in Uganda have turned ugly, with at least half a dozen people killed, and hundreds – including several opposition leaders – in jail.

This is the second week of the protests called by the opposition to oppose high food and fuel prices.

True, the government is not wholly to blame for the increase in fuel prices and the resulting spike in food prices. It is a global phenomenon caused by the skyrocketing price of oil. But the government says the opposition is using the increases to pursue a political agenda.

There is need for pause here. True, high food prices are not confined to Uganda. Kenya too has seen two days of demonstrations, which didn’t go the Uganda way, because the police didn’t use force.

Secondly, the government took the sting out of the protests and regained some initiative by announcing a reduction in tax on kerosene and diesel.In most of the rest of East Africa, energy costs have risen by a single digit – in Kenya just under 5 per cent. In Uganda, it is by 30 per cent, suggesting there are exceptional problems there.

However, the government has not offered even a token reduction in tax. Such moves, we believe, could help expose the opposition’s true intents.

Many governments have faced this problem. In Tunisia and Egypt the governments reacted the Uganda way, and the crisis ended up in regime changes. In Jordan and Saudi Arabia, they granted concessions and avoided violence.

Everywhere in the world, opposition politicians are taking advantage of the food crisis. The governments that do not shoot hungry protestors always win. President Museveni will do well to borrow a leaf from them.

AllAfrica – All the Time