We have heard with shock and contempt the disparaging and desperate attempts to associate A4C with plans to carry out violent activities around country. We are surprised that while we have not made our identity a secret, the State continues to shroud our activities in secrecy and disrepute whereas all our engagements are public, legal and peaceful. It is a sign of the times that the government chooses to disguise its fear in a web of deceit in order to camouflage its failures and criminal acts against the public.
Our methods are well known to the public by now. We always engage openly and invite people to peacefully participate in a public show of their discontent without causing any harm to any person. We despise violence and the use of arms. We are confident that the people of Uganda can express their displeasure at the status quo without harming anyone. Our activities are deliberately and violently sabotaged by security forces; who have testified in open court that they act on “orders from above.” We are aware that if such orders were not handed to them, the security forces would be the first to support our demands for sanity in the management of the country and restoring a crumbling economy.
Activists for Change is an open group for all Ugandans who are willing to stand up for what they believe in. We refuse to witness an economic meltdown without standing up for ordinary Ugandans. We appeal to all conscientious Ugandans to engage the government without fear or favor and to embrace the struggle for change.
We will continue to highlight the failure of government to address the problems of the ordinary person and we shall continue to stand by the man on the street who is suffering as a result of government’s intransigence and failure to implement meaningful and pragmatic solutions.
A4C has a well thought out program of how to call Government to account during the current crisis. We know that the economic crisis cannot be halted by destroying Mabira Forest to lower sugar prices. Selling off a natural resource like Mabira will not solve the impending melt down of the economy. It just serves to distract our attention from the 19% inflation rate, the plummeting shilling and the skyrocketing prices of fuel and food prices which we have lived with since the last general elections.
We call on Ugandans to remain focused on the broader picture. We can barely afford one meal a day. We cannot afford transport fares. We barely afford school fees or the most basic health care. We are a country under siege by our own security forces. Our people who rose up to speak on these issues and those who came to witness our campaigns against the crisis were killed in a brutal manner in April and May of this year. We cannot forget them.
A4C made a deliberate decision to recognize the lives of those innocent lives through the ‘Light A Candle’ Campaign which we launched last week in Masaka. We shall not be deterred by state inspired shenanigans to lose focus of our set program. Our remembrance events continue tomorrow Wednesday 17th August, in Kireka. The Honourable Ibrahim Ssemujju Nganda will host us in his constituency to remember all those who were killed or buried in Kyandondo East Constituency.
We invite all of you to come and honor the lives of innocent Ugandans who paid the dearest price during the Walk to Work Campaign. Our activities are peaceful and legal and we do not associate with anyone who wants to break the peace in any manner. We are aware that the Police is mobilizing thugs to create a situation that aims to taint our good name. We denounce all violence and any attempt to discredit our activities with violence. We call on the Inspector General of Police and his cohorts to respect our right to mourn the dead.
We shall also use the occasion to celebrate the acquittal of all our colleagues who were maliciously prosecuted during the Walk to Work campaign. We ask those in charge of security to ensure that our events are peaceful and protected from unlawful activity.
Mathais Mpuuga (MP)
National Coordinator, A4C
No comments:
Post a Comment