{UAH} Jeema Wants Parliament Debate Somalia Withdraw Strategy

 

JUSTICE FORUM (JEEMA) MONTHLY PRESS STATEMENT

JEEMA Headquarters, Mengo, Kampala, Monday 30th 2013

Smart Politics. Smart Governance.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PRESS STATEMENT

UGANDA SHOULD WITHDRAW FROM SOMALIA

Jeema wishes to join the rest of the world in extending our deepest condolences to the people of Kenya upon the loss of their beloved ones in recent terrorist attacks on the Westgate mall in Nairobi.

We join the world in condemning the wanton, reckless, unjustified and misguided attack on innocent, helpless and vulnerable people to achieve personal and selfish goals and interests.

As a party that believes in justice and morality, we value life as very sacred and sacrosanct, and that humanity should be preserved by all and sundry regardless of our differences in social, political, economic and cultural beliefs. We therefore believe that any unjustifiable deaths and murders are reprehensible and should be condemned by all right thinking members of society.

We wish to applaud the Kenyan government and the Kenyan People for dealing with the situation in a calm and mature manner. We are particularly delighted by the work of the Kenyan Media for highlighting the problem in a professional and balanced manner, and avoiding the propagandist angle of attempting to attribute the problem to a particular nationality and religious group.

It is also our prayer that what happened in Kenya will not result into blanket persecution and harassment of certain communities and groups as has happened before. As it turned out, the causalities were diverse in composition which reveals the ruthless character of these terrorists.

As we pray for the injured and hurt, we call upon the world to consider discussing the root causes of terrorism. Terrorism has become a complex phenomenon that requires extensive understanding and discussion. We seem to be so much focused on the symptoms rather than the root causes, and it's high time we understood what drives some people into such barbaric and inhuman acts. We urge terrorists to put their grievances on table for discussion rather than being violent. In the same vein, we call upon the world to listen to these people, however barbaric they may be. We hope that through mutual understanding and dialogue, we could discover a way forward.

It's also high time that the Ugandan Parliament considered a time table for withdrawal from Somalia because we cannot babysit a country forever. Uganda has played its role; other countries should play theirs. Besides, we have domestic challenges, especially the breakdown of law and order in the country. Religious leaders and business people have been gunned down in the recent past while ordinary citizens are hit with iron bars almost on a daily basis.  Purported investigations into these violations have come to naught. How can we protect our neighbor when our own house is in disarray?

                                             Thank you

Asuman Basalirwa

 

PRESIDENT

FOR GOD AND MY COUNTRY