[Onthebarricades] Uganda rainforest protest: news reports

[Andy]

NOTE:  Not quite sure why unrest over ecological destruction and land-grabs would turn into a pogrom against an unpopular minority?  (Even though members of this minority owned the company involved - ultimately this is a typical neoliberal decision and the government is very much complicit)  This is rather reminiscent of Indonesia during the economic crisis, when the state deflected grievances onto the Chinese minority who were associated with the business community, and thus avoided bearing the brunt of the unrest itself.  

Obviously as a long-standing anti-racist I oppose ethnically-targeted attacks, but at the same time it is completely necessary to resist this kind of neoliberal ecocide.  It is also clear that the unrest was a direct result of police repression and an unjustifiable ecocidal neoliberal land grab.  Notice also (in the last report) that this is being used as a pretext to round up dissidents on overblown charges - apparently demonstration organisers are to be charged with murder!  The police also admit to having arrested innocent people.  

Some reports suggest that the demonstration may be putting Museveni under pressure with regard to the rainforest issue - apparently he is now claiming that "no decision has been made".

A BBC video can be viewed here:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediaselector/check/player/nol/newsid_6550000/newsid_6550800?redirect=6550813.stm&news=1&bbram=1&bbwm=1&nbwm=1&nbram=1
though with heavily biased commentary declaring "progress a certainty" and thus effectively endorsing the destruction of the forest.  This is in contrast to the response of several Ugandan papers, which denounce Museveni and the land "deal".

http://allafrica.com/stories/200704120492.html

Uganda: Three Die As Demo Turns Violent

The Nation (Nairobi)

April 12, 2007
Posted to the web April 12, 2007

Monitor Team with Reuters
Nairobi

Three people have been killed in Kampala after a peaceful demonstration turned violent.

A man of Asian origin was stoned to death and two other people killed as protesters turned violent, police and witnesses said. The demonstrators were opposed to plans to axe parts of a rainforest reserve to grow sugarcane.

        
Troops in several armoured cars have been deployed in Central Kampala. Regional police commander Edward Ochom told Reuters officers opened fire with tear gas and live rounds after demonstrators began attacking Asian businesses and a Hindu temple, angered by moves to expand an Indian-owned company's sugar plantations.

"Three people have been confirmed dead," he said. "One is an Asian man who was stoned to death by the rioters. The other two are Ugandans and we are still investigating their deaths."

Witnesses reported that in attempting to turn their demonstrators away from their preferred route, the police took to firing teargas, while the demonstrators hit back by throwing stones at anti-riot police. The demonstrators also warned Asians against crossing their path, which prompted police to deploy at various Asian fixtures, notably shops and temples.

In spite of earlier assurances that no teargas would be used to stop the demonstration, police went back on their word after the demonstrators ignored a directive to use Nasser Road instead of Kampala Road.

Police had reasoned that using Kampala Road would paralyse business in the city, but the Save Mabira Crusade pressure group- the organisers of the demo, were having none of it, claiming that the demo had to be carried out in the open.

A Reuters journalist saw the bloodied body of an Asian man in the street. Police blocked roads in the centre of the capital. Scores of demonstrators hurled rocks at them.

Protest organiser Frank Muramuzi said the march began peacefully before a "misunderstanding" with the police.

"All of a sudden they opened fire with tear gas and live ammunition," Muramuzi said. "Everyone scattered but two people were seen lying in the road. I don't know if they were killed or injured, but they have been rushed to hospital."

Police commanders had earlier approved the march, called to protest at plans to cut down thousands of hectares of Mabira Forest to expand the estate of local sugar company Scoul.

Scoul is part of the Indian-owned Mehta Group.

The controversy began last year when President Yoweri Museveni ordered a study into whether to axe 7,000 hectares (17,000 acres) or nearly a third of Mabira.

Mabira - which has been a nature reserve since 1932 - is one of Uganda's last remaining patches of natural forest.

The government's proposal angered some parliamentarians and residents. They said the environmental costs of slashing the forest would far exceed the economic benefits of the plantation.

Environmentalists say destroying Mabira could have grave ecological consequences, from increased soil erosion to the drying up of rivers and rainfall, and the removal of a buffer against polluting nearby Lake Victoria.

They say it would also threaten monkeys and nine species found only in Mabira and surrounding forests - the Tit Hylia bird, six butterflies, a moth and a shrub used to treat malaria.

In a newspaper advert published on Thursday, Scoul said "anti-development lobby groups" were misleading Uganda's public about the company's plans for Mabira.

"Scoul is very conscious of the environment and would not like to disturb the ecology," it said.

http://allafrica.com/stories/200704150044.html

Uganda: From Demo to Disaster


      
     
        
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New Vision (Kampala)

COLUMN
April 14, 2007
Posted to the web April 15, 2007

Kampala

On Thursday, critics of the proposed Mabira Forest give-away gathered in Kampala to demonstrate against the move. A few short hours later, one Asian and two Ugandans lay dead, windows were broken and shops looted. Elizabeth Agiro examines what happened in between...

IT has happened before and it can happen again. There is fear in the Asian community that history could be repeating itself after last week's events.

        
In 1972, former President Idi Amin forced Asians out of Uganda, leaving most of their businesses to be taken over by Ugandans who run them down.

On Thursday, a group of demonstrators converged near the railway station in Kampala with the intention of holding a peaceful demonstration against the Mabira Forest give-away. They were to walk through Nasser Road and hold a rally at Clock Tower on Entebbe Road. That demonstration soon turned chaotic when a few individuals vented their anger on Indians, a community to which Mehta, the proposed Mabira beneficiary, belongs.

A day before, business owners in town had been warned to lock their shops and not report for duty on Thursday. Those who disobeyed were harassed.

Angry demonstrators also stopped cars asking if there were any Indian passengers. A few were slapped and stoned, escaping with minor injuries. One was not as lucky. He was stoned and clubbed to death.

On Friday Indian-owned businesses stayed closed all day. Later in the afternoon, the Indian Association in Uganda met the Inspector General of Police, Kale Kayihura and security minister Amama Mbabazi at the association's offices on Lumumba Avenue. The Indians wanted assurance on the safety of their lives and businesses. They got it.

But what could have caused such a deterioration in affairs? This is what happened on Thursday.

8:30am

Although they are supposed to meet at 9:00am, demonstrators are slowly gathering in front of the Uganda Railways building. There is excitement in the air. Students from Makerere's Forestry department, religious leaders, environmental activists such as Ken Lukyamuzi, politicians, non-governmental organisations and even street children chant pro-environment and anti-government slogans. Other demonstrators wave sticks and tree branches. A few wear face masks. Although some wear suits, almost everyone is in casual wear, like they know they will have to run.

Big names include MPs Jimmy Akena and Beti Kamya, DP's Mukasa Mbidde, former presidential candidate Abed Bwanika, Save Mabira Forest's Frank Muramuzi, Grace Kaiso from Uganda Christian Council and Makerere University lecturer Oweyegha Afunadula.

While some sing, others hum to the marching tunes of an accompanying school band. Many others write phrases on placards: "Bad governments make bad decisions", "Save Mabira" etc.

Meanwhile in town, shop owners have reported to work. All shops are closed, but the workers stand on the verandahs, hoping the situation will stay calm so they can open for the day. Those who have tried to open have been intimidated into closing their shops. Others stand and sit in clusters gossiping about the latest on the Mabira story. They check their watches every few minutes, knowing that every minute gone is a missed business deal.

9:30am

A group of politicians, religious leaders and environmentalists breaks away from the demonstrators. They go to Parliament to hand a petition to the Speaker of Parliament. The plan is to move to Clock Tower and hold a rally but the team that goes to Parliament is taking so long. The Police are standing on the sidelines monitoring everything. All is well. Then the demonstrators get agitated over the delay of their leaders' return and decide to join them. However, the anti-riot Police have deployed to block the route to Parliament. Another group stands alert at former Esso corner.

10:15am

The group that went to Parliament is back. When the crowd sees them, they get renewed strength. The leaders raise two fingers in the air in a V sign. Screams and cheers greet the gesture.

The leaders confront the Police saying they will go through the human blockade to Kampala Road. They argue that they do not want to demonstrate on the empty Nasser Road. Regional Police Commander Kampala Edward Ochom advises the crowd to stick to the approved route.

10:35am

The crowd moves towards Jinja Road, but the Police are stationed there. The crowd turns to Kampala Road, but the Police block them from reaching Commercial Plaza. They insist on moving forward and the policemen cock their guns. This throws everyone into a frenzy. Stones and sticks fly through the air towards the Police. Akena and Lukyamuzi try to calm the crowd, but peace is the furthest thing from a few individual's minds.

The Police fire three teargas canisters into the air and spray bullets in the direction of a group of spectators standing at the Bank of Baroda Bank building. The crowd disintegrates into various groups. The biggest group flees towards Uganda Railways, another towards Parliament and another to Jinja Road. Yet another group runs to William Street. Two teargas vehicles are parked at Nandos.

On Dustar Street, a blue police vehicle drives around with someone shouting over a public address system, asking whoever wants to demonstrate to move towards the railways building. The speaker advises people to avoid rioting, but have a peaceful demonstration.

        
Meanwhile, the group that went in the direction of Uganda Railways develops the idea of lynching Indians, who they claim are the cause of the Mabira problems. They split into several smaller groups. Some slip through Nasser Road and join Kampala Road. Others pass behind Uganda House and Charm Towers to join Kampala Road. They collided with the riot-police and fight them with sticks and stones.

At Orient Bank, one Indian is cornered on his scooter and beaten. He, however, escapes.

11:00am

The situation is out of hand. On Entebbe Road, the demonstrators pelt Indians they spot staring out windows of Conrad Plaza. At Ganesh building, the gates are locked, but one Indian is riding his scooter just outside the building. The crowd hits him, but he too escapes. Another one riding towards Kampala Road from Entebbe Road gets a few slaps. The demonstration is now a full blown riot. The crowd is moving towards Shoprite.

Another Indian escapes from the angry mob, leaving his scooter behind. Chanting rioters torch it. Another Indian drives a salon car down past Centenary Bank fleeing the rioters. He runs over Radio One journalist Simon Kaggwa and drives off. The angry crowd can only throw stones at the disappearing car, but they revenge on the next Indian they find. They pull him off his scooter, tear his clothes and throw him on the ground.

Two individuals clobber him, while others stone him. He pleads for mercy, but the blows continue to rain down on him. One thug slips a ring off his finger as others empty his pockets. He is rushed to hospital, but dies on the way.

A truck with Kenyan number plates soon arrives at the Shoprite junction. It belongs to businessman Tom Mugenga. The occupants run off when the mob approaches it. They set the truck ablaze, but since they are near the Fire Department Headquarters, the firemen quickly put out the blaze.

The mob continues to Katwe and carries off motorcycles in an Indian-run showroom.

Meanwhile, on Dustar Street, an Indian is walking by when someone screams: "Mehta". Suddenly he is surrounded. He is beaten and injured, but succeeds in escaping to Express Hotel where the Police is directing Indians to take refuge.

Others rioters are hitting every building owned by Indians.

12:00pm

Back on Kampala Road, one rioter is shot in the leg. Someone else, packing up his payphone equipment is mistaken for a looter and shot in the back.

One group, led by Mbidde converges at Hot Loaf on Luwum Street. Another comes from the city centre. Both are chasing Indians, who are trying to take refuge at the Central Police Station (CPS).

Those stranded in buildings, are evacuated by the Uganda Indian Association and herded into vans.

The Bata shop on Dustar Street is broken into and looted.

One group of rioters surrounds the Hindu Temple opposite Shoprite on Ben Kiwanuka Street. They break its windows and those of the nearby arcades. The Police intervene.

2:00pm

An act of God stops the situation from generating into pure anarchy; the skies open, releasing torrents of rain. The rioters take shelter. Armoured military vehicles together with two pick-up trucks patrol Kampala Road. Shortly after the rain, the rioters are back in action, but their leaders have disappeared.

At CPS, throngs of Indians, some of them children, jump into police vans and are driven to safety under Police guard.

A crowd at Centenary Bank is still battling it out with the Police. When the Police fire a teargas canister, a youthful boy picks it up and quickly throws it back at the Police. The Police fire another canister and it is also tossed back. Unarmed Local Defence Unit staff flee the scene.

A vehicle with personal plates - Mehta 1 - races down Entebbe Road with three pick-up trucks of military men guarding it.

        
The military has dispersed the rioters on Luwum Street.

5:30pm

Looting continues at Kibuye.

6:00pm

The Police deploys at banks, with private security lending a helping hand.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/6551303.stm

      Eyewitness: Uganda attacks on Asians  
      Kampala resident Salim Matovu was at Thursday's protest against the allocation of a forest reserve to a sugar company, which turned violent leading to the death of at least three people. 
      The sugar company is owned by Ugandan Asians and some protesters started to attack members of the country's small but economically powerful Asian community. 


             
            Asians have returned to Uganda, after being expelled by Idi Amin 
       At first it was very peaceful but when policemen denied the demonstrators access to Kampala Road, they turned rowdy. 

      Some started chanting songs against Indians asking them to return to their country. 

      The protest turned into a hunting session for Indian men and women all over the central business district. 

      The first victim was an Indian man who was innocently walking near the clock tower in Kampala. The irate mob pounced on him and stoned him to death. 

      When the crowds reached Entebbe Road, they attacked another Indian man riding home on his motor bike. 

      The man was suspected to be fleeing from the protesters. He was pulled off the motorbike, slapped and beaten severely but luckily policemen rescued him. 

      His motorbike was however burnt to ashes by the protestors. 

      Running battles 

      The crowd hurled insults at the police as they accused Indians of taking over retail businesses in the city and Uganda's economy. 

             
            The police blocked the protesters 

      As the protestors snaked through the streets, many Indian traders closed their shops and started leaving the town hurriedly. 

      Some shops were looted in the ensuing running battles. 

      Protestors also attacked and tried to enter a Hindu Temple at Nakasero, where some Indians had sought refuge but policemen arrived timely to protect them. 

      The Indians were later transferred on a bus to the central police station. 

      Trouble then spread out to Kampala suburbs where an Indian couple was attacked in Kansanga, as they tried to drive out of town. 

      Their car was smashed and they were beaten before policemen on patrol rescued them. 

      Others attacks on Indian motorists took place in Kibuye, Ndeeba and Natete. 

      A new truck that had Kenyan registration numbers was also burnt by the protestors who claimed that it was used to ferry sugar from Sugar Corporation of Uganda Limited [which wants to take over part of the Mabira forest reserve]. 

      Kampala is now calm as the irate crowds have dispersed by the heavy rains and policemen. 

     


http://www.bakutoday.net/view.php?d=36185

Three killed as Ugandan police disperse environmental protest 



KAMPALA 12/04/2007 19:11 



At least three people were killed Thursday during violent protests against a government decision to hive off swathes of protected forest for sugar plantation by an Indian company, police said. 


     





Police spokesman Simeon Nsubuga said two people were killed as they tried to break into a shop in the capital as security forces were dispersing thousands of demonstrators from the streets. 




"Two Ugandan rioters who were trying to loot a shop were shot dead by security guards," Nsubuga told AFP. 

Earlier, Kampala police chief Edward Ocwom said a man of Indian origin died after being beaten by demonstrators. 

"I have just confirmed that one Indian who was beaten by rioters has just died at Mulago hospital. I do not know any other case of death, but we are still gathering information," he told AFP. 

Earlier, police fired live rounds and tear gas in the air to disperse thousands of protestors in downtown Kampala rallying against the plan to clear around 7,000 of the 30,000 hectares (75,000 acres) in Mabira Forest Reserve east of Kampala. 

The government plans to seek parliamentary approval before handing over the forest land to Indian-owned Mehta Group for sugar cane farming. 

Military police beat and dispersed the demonstrators, who had also attacked motorists of Indian origin and burnt a truck that was carrying sugar. 

Several people were injured in the riots that forced businesses to shut down. 

The protestors tried to raid a Hindu temple, but were blocked by police. 

"All Indians should go back to Bombay. Mr President, let Mabira stay. (Yoweri) Museveni is trying to rob us. We are tired of Indians," read some of the placards brandished by the crowd. 

They also chanted slogans in praise of former dictator Idi Amin, who expelled Indian merchants from Uganda and confiscating their properties in 1972. 

"Amin, Uganda's Jesus wouldn't accept this." "Mehta, do you want another Amin?" read other banners. 

Amin, whose 1971-1979 rule was marked by atrocities, was finally ousted and died in exile in Saudi Arabia in 2003. 

Furious conservationists have warned that further encroachment of the forest would threaten up to 312 species of trees, 287 species of bird and 199 of butterflies. 

In December, Norwegian environmentalist Olav Bjella quit as National Forestry Authority chief after refusing to implement Museveni's order to approve the clearance of a rainforest on Lake Victoria's Ssesse Islands for a palm plantation, saying it was against his conscience and the laws of Uganda. 

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/B062B0A4-5110-4A74-A687-3E6E6D727B43.htm

            forest protest turns deadly   
           
           
     
           
                             
                              Anger has erupted over the plan to allocate part of the forest to a sugar cane grower [Reuters] 

                       
                  Four people have been killed in the Ugandan capital Kampala during protests against a government move to allow an Indian-owned company to grow sugar cane in a protected forest. 

                  Two men of Asian origin were stoned to death by protesters and security guards shot dead two demonstrators who were trying to break into a shop, police said.
                       
                        
                       

                  Troops in armoured cars were deployed in Kampala after police fired tear gas and live rounds to stop rioters attacking Asian businesses. 

                  Thousands had rallied in the capital against the plan to clear around 7,000 of the 30,000 hectares (75,000 acres) in Mabira Forest Reserve east of Kampala.
                       
                        
                       
                       
                       
                       
                  The government plans to seek parliamentary approval before handing over the forest land to the Indian-founded Mehta Group for sugar cane farming. 

                  Military police beat and dispersed the demonstrators, who had also attacked motorists of Indian origin and burnt a truck that was carrying sugar.

                  "All Indians should go back to Bombay. Mr President, let Mabira stay," read some of the placards brandished by the crowd. 

                  Temple Attacked 

                  As scores of demonstrators hurled rocks at police in pouring rain, officers rescued more than 100 Asian men besieged in a Hindu temple and elsewhere. 

                  Fifty-year-old Dipaul Patel said: "We were inside the temple and the protesters started attacking us from outside. 

                  "It was very frightening." 

                  One witness, Senusu Mugodansonga, said a mob killed an Asian man after he crashed a motorbike into them. 

                  Frank Muramuzi, the organiser of the demonstration, said the march began peacefully, before a "misunderstanding" with the police. 

                  "All of a sudden they opened fire with tear gas and live ammunition," Muramuzi said. 

                  Expulsion 

                  Idi Amin, Uganda's former military ruler, expelled Uganda's Asians in 1972. 

                  Thousands have returned, but they are viewed with suspicion by some Ugandans who resent their domination of many businesses. 

                  Police commanders had approved Thursday's march, called to protest against plans to cut down thousands of hectares of Mabira forest to expand the estate of a local sugar company, Scoul. 

                  Scoul is part of the Mehta Group. 

                  Environmental impact 

                  The controversy began last year when Yoweri Museveni, the president, ordered a study into whether to use part of the forest to grow sugar cane. 

                  Mabira - which has been a nature reserve since 1932 - is one of Uganda's last remaining patches of natural forest. 

                  The government's proposal has angered many Ugandans, with some saying the environmental costs of slashing the forest would far exceed the economic benefits of the plantation. 

                  Environmentalists say destroying Mabira could have grave ecological consequences, from increased soil erosion to the drying up of rivers and rainfall, and the removal of a buffer against polluting nearby Lake Victoria. 

                  They say it would also threaten monkeys and nine species found only in Mabira and surrounding forests. 

                  In a newspaper advertisement published on Thursday, Scoul said "anti-development lobby groups" were misleading Uganda's public about the company's plans for Mabira. 

                  "Scoul is very conscious of the environment and would not like to disturb the ecology," it said. 
           

      http://somalinet.com/news/world/East%20Africa/9449

      Uganda: Violent demonstration kills three, injures several
      Fri. April 13, 2007 05:46 pm.- By David Odoki.
      (SomaliNet) What was supposed to be a peaceful demonstration turned bloody on Thursday when at least three people died and scores were injured in a demonstration against the proposed giveaway of part of Mabira forest to the Mehta family. 

      Property was not spared either. It took divine intervention of a downpour that perhaps kept a charged mob away from the streets after Riot Police and Military Police had failed to control the mobs. 

      Ugandan Police fired tear gas and live bullets to stop rioters from attacking Asians, the protesters linked to Mehta and their businesses.Police spent most of the evening soothing sections of the Asian community in Kampala frightened by mob attacks on their property. Scores had sought refuge at the Central Police Station (CPS). 

      Although deployed in the city to quash the riots, the combined force of police and the military, spent much of the afternoon protecting fleeing Asians from protestors. 

      Irate protestors then vented their frustration at any Asian they came across. An Asian who was driving a pick-up near Conrad Plaza was stoned and his vehicle destroyed. He sped off. Rioters also burnt a trailer registration number ZC 5832 and KAX 662M they believed belonged to an Asian. 

      At a press briefing, the Ugandan Inspector General of Police Kale Kayihura said police would hold the leaders of the demonstration accountable for yesterday's events. 
      He singled out Fred Mbidde, MP Atim Anywar (Kitgum woman), and Issa Ssekitto as the ring leaders. "It is very un-Ugandan, very un-African and I have never seen this before. 

      Ugandans have exhibited a lot of sectarianism," Maj Gen Kale Kayihura said. "How do you attack innocent people? We are back to the days of Idi Amin." ( Daily Monitor)  


http://www.news24.com/News24/Africa/News/0,9294,2-11-1447_2098105,00.html

Protests spark racial violence
13/04/2007 07:22  - (SA)   

Godfrey Olukya 


Kampala, Uganda - A mob stoned to death two people of Asian origin, and two other people were killed as a protest over a prized Ugandan rain forest exploded into racial violence, forcing military police in armoured vehicles to fire tear gas into the crowd, authorities said. 

Police arrested 20 people suspected of being the ringleaders of Thursday's melee and offered special security to Asians in the Ugandan capital, Kampala, said Information Minister Kirunda Kivejinja. Police were guarding some Asians in their homes. 

The protest was aimed at a subsidiary of the Mehta Group, which is run by Ugandans of Indian descent. The company wants to slash part of the Mabira Forest Reserve to expand its sugar plantation. 

The crowd burned cars, attacked a Hindu temple and chanted, "We are tired of Asians!" and "They should go back to their land!" Dozens of Asians, fearing for their lives, took refuge in police stations. 

Tension between black Ugandans and those of Asian origin has a long history in this African country. In the 1970s, dictator Idi Amin expelled South Asians, saying they were trying to dominate the economy. 

On Thursday, police fired live bullets in the air and used tear gas. 

"Our police officers at the scene say two people of Asian origin have been killed by demonstrators," said Simeon Nsubuga, a police spokesperson. "They were stoned to death." 

Police Maj Gen Kale Kaihura confirmed the account. 

"Yes, two (Asians) have died," he said. "It's unfortunate that hooligans have attacked the Asians." 

Two other Ugandans also were killed in the melee, but the circumstances of their deaths was not known, police spokesperson Edward Ochom said. 

None of the victims was believed to be connected to the Mehta Group, which has businesses in Uganda and Kenya working in sugar, cement and financial services. 

A subsidiary of the Mehta Group, the Sugar Corporation of Uganda, wants to use 7 000 hectares - nearly a third of the Mabira Forest Reserve - to expand its sugar plantation. The Ugandan government owns a 51% stake in the company, and recent indications that it will allow the forest to be axed have enraged residents here. 

Phillip Karugaba, spokesperson of the Ugandan-based Environmental Action Network, a local lobby group campaigning against Mehta's plans, deplored Thursday's violence. 

But "this forest is our heritage and cannot be given away by the Ugandan government", Karugaba said. 

The forest is home to 50 species of monkeys, along with bird and plant species only found in Mabira, he said. 

Maria Mutagamba, a government minister, denounced the violence and said "the government has not yet given away Mabira Forest. It is under discussion". 

Calls to the Sugar Corporation of Uganda rang unanswered on Thursday. 

http://www.thestar.co.za/index.php?fArticleId=3779256

Two die as mob protests rape of Ugandan rainforest
April 13, 2007 Edition 3 


Kampala - A mob stoned to death two people of Asian origin, and two other people were killed as a protest over a prized Ugandan rainforest exploded into racial violence, forcing military police in armoured vehicles to fire teargas into the crowd. 

Yesterday's protest in the Ugandan capital was aimed at a subsidiary of the Mehta Group, run by Ugandans of Indian descent. The company wants to slash part of the Mabira Forest Reserve to expand its sugar plantation. 

The crowd burnt cars, attacked a Hindu temple and chanted: "We are tired of Asians!" and "They should go back to their land!" Dozens of Asians, fearing for their lives, took refuge in police stations. 

Tension between black Ugandans and those of Asian origin has a long history in Uganda. In the 1970s, dictator Idi Amin expelled South Asians, saying they were trying to dominate the economy. 

Troops in armoured cars were deployed in central Kampala after police fired teargas and live rounds to stop rioters attacking Asian businesses and a Hindu temple. 

"Our police officers at the scene say two people of Asian origin have been killed by demonstrators," said police spokesperson Simeon Nsubuga. "They were stoned to death." 

Police Major-General Kale Kaihura confirmed this account. "Yes, two (Asians) have died," he said. "It's unfortunate that hooligans have attacked the Asians." 

Two other Ugandans were also killed, but the circumstances of their death was not known, police said. 

None of the victims was believed to be connected to the Mehta Group, which has businesses in Uganda and Kenya working in sugar, cement and financial services. 

A subsidiary of the Mehta Group, the Sugar Corporation of Uganda, wants to use 7 000ha - nearly a third of the Mabira Forest Reserve - to expand its sugar plantation. 

The government owns a 51% stake in the company, and recent indications that it will allow the forest to be axed have enraged locals. 

Phillip Karugaba, spokesperson for the Ugandan-based Environmental Action Network, a local lobby group campaigning against Mehta's plans, said yesterday, "This forest is our heritage and cannot be given away by the Ugandan government." 

The forest is home to some 50 species of monkey, along with bird and plant species found only in Mabira, he said. 

Maria Mutagamba, a government minister, denounced the violence and said "the government has not yet given away Mabira Forest. It is [still] under discussion." 

The controversy began last year when President Yoweri Museveni ordered a study into whether to axe a third of Mabira for agriculture. 

Mabira - which has been a nature reserve since 1932 - is one of Uganda's last remaining patches of natural forest. 

The government's proposal angered some parliamentarians and residents, who said the environmental costs of slashing the forest would far exceed the economic benefits of the plantation. - Reuters

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/6548107.stm

      Deaths in Uganda forest protest  
      At least three people have died in Uganda during violence at a protest against plans to allocate forest land to a sugar company, police say. 
      A suspected looter was shot by guards, a passer-by was hit by a stray bullet and an Asian man was stoned to death, while police have fired live bullets. 

      There have been several attacks on Asians in Kampala, and a Hindu temple has been damaged. 

      The sugar firm which wants to use part of the Mabira forest is Asian-owned. 

      Environmentalists say the move threatens the existence of rare species of trees and birds in the 30,000 hectare forest. 

      'Frightening' 

      The march began quietly, with some 1,000 people marching through central Kampala, carrying placards and tree branches. 

      "People were demonstrating peacefully when there was a misunderstanding with the police. All of a sudden they opened fire," environmental activist Frank Muramuzi told Reuters news agency. 

      The BBC's Sarah Grainger in Kampala says protesters threw stones at the police and set fire to vehicles. 

      An Asian motorcyclist was attacked and later beaten to death, witnesses say. 

      Our correspondent says the demonstration took on a racial dimension with some protestors blaming the country's Asian-Ugandan population for the situation because the parent company of the sugar firm, Mehta Grou, is owned by an Asian Ugandan. 

      Reuters also reports that police had to rescue about 40 men from a Hindu temple after it was attacked by a mob. 

             
           

      "We were inside the temple and the protesters started attacking us from outside," 50-year-old Dipaul Patel told Reuters. "It was very frightening." 

      A police source says about 20 people have been arrested. 

      The Sugar Corporation of Uganda (Scoul), part of the Mehta group, wants to expand its plantations in central Uganda, taking over one-third of the Mabira forest. 

      Campaigners are now calling on Ugandans to boycott its sugar products. 

      In recent years, Ugandan Asians, including the owners of Mehta, have started to return to the country, after being expelled by Idi Amin in the 1970s. 

      They used to control much of the economy, sparking resentment among some Ugandans. 

      Text campaign 

      Parliament is yet to change the status of the forests and campaigners have threatened legal action if the forest is given away. 

             
            The police blocked the protesters 

      Public protests over the government plans have heightened in the capital and car bumper stickers urging people to save Mabira forest have become very popular, our correspondent says. 

      There has also been a text message campaign, urging people to take part in the protests. 

      Supporters of Scoul's bid for more land say the expansion of would create more jobs and income for the country. 

      They dismiss those opposing the move saying subsistence farmers have already encroached on much of the forest land. 

      The kabaka, or king, of the local Buganda community has offered to give alternative land for the sugar company in a bid to save the hardwood forest. 
     


http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/411366/1060603

Uganda police open fire at demo
Apr 12, 2007 
Ugandan police have opened fire with tear gas and live rounds and at least two people were hurt as hundreds demonstrated in Kampala against plans to slash a rainforest nature reserve, a protest organiser said.

"People were demonstrating peacefully when there was a misunderstanding with the police. All of a sudden they opened fire with tear gas and live ammunition," Frank Muramuzi, chairman of a Ugandan environmental group, said.

"Everyone scattered but two people were seen lying in the road. I don't know if they were killed or injured, but they have been rushed to hospital."

Police officials could not immediately be reached for comment. Commanders had earlier approved the march, which was called to demonstrate against plans to replace thousands of hectares of Mabira Forest with sugarcane plantations.

http://www.stratfor.com/products/premium/read_article.php?selected=Situation%20Reports&sitrep=1&id=287152

Uganda: 3 Protesters Killed In Clashes With Police
April 12, 2007 14 16  GMT

One Ugandan Indian and two black Ugandans were killed April 12 when ethnically charged clashes broke out in Kampala between protesters and police over plans to cut down one-third of the Mabira Forest Reserve. Police used live bullets and tear gas to disperse an estimated 500 protesters, who were rallying against Indian-owned Sugar Corp. of Uganda's plans to expand its sugar fields into the rainforest, one of Uganda's last.

http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/international.cfm?id=566562007
Man stoned to death as protesters riot over plans to chop down rainforest
FRANCIS KWERA AND EUAN DENHOLM IN KAMPALA 
A MOB stoned to death an Asian man in Uganda yesterday and two other people were killed during a protest against plans to cut down nearly a third of a rainforest reserve to grow sugarcane. 

Troops in armoured cars were deployed in central Kampala after police fired tear gas and bullets to stop rioters attacking Asian businesses and a Hindu temple, angered by moves to expand an Indian-owned company's sugar plantations. 

As scores of demonstrators threw stones at police, officers rescued more than 100 Asian men besieged in a Hindu temple and elsewhere, and rushed them to a police station. Dozens were arrested. "We were inside the temple and the protesters started attacking us," said Dipaul Patel, 50. "It was frightening." 

The scenes were a sharp reminder of 1972, when the late former dictator Idi Amin expelled Uganda's Asians. Thousands have returned, but are viewed with suspicion by some Ugandans. 

One Indian supermarket owner said rioters pulled him from his motorbike and beat him. "I am blaming the police for this," he said. Police chiefs had approved yesterday's march against plans by the sugar company Scoul to cut down thousands of acres of Mabira Forest. 

Frank Muramuzi, the march organiser, said it began peacefully, before a "misunderstanding" with police. "All of a sudden, they opened fire with tear gas and live ammunition," he said. 

The controversy began last year when Yoweri Museveni, the Ugandan president, ordered a study into whether to axe 17,000 acres - nearly a third - of Mabira. It 

has been a nature reserve since 1932 and is one of Uganda's last natural forests. 

The government's proposal angered some parliamentarians and residents. Environmentalists say destroying Mabira could have grave ecological consequences, from increased soil erosion to the drying up of rivers and rainfall, and the removal of a buffer against polluting the nearby Lake Victoria. 

In a newspaper ad yesterday, Scoul said "anti-development lobby groups" were misleading the public about its plans.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,2056090,00.html

Uganda forest protest sparks racial violence


· Three killed, 100 flee as anti-Asian anger erupts 
· Scenes revive memories of '72 Amin hate campaign 

Xan Rice, East Africa correspondent
Friday April 13, 2007
The Guardian 



Uganda's capital, Kampala, erupted into racial violence yesterday, with three people killed during a protest against government plans to allow Ugandan-Asian industrialists to grow sugar cane on protected forest land. 
In scenes described as reminiscent of 1972, when Idi Amin led a hate campaign against south Asian merchants, demonstrators attacked businesses and a Hindu temple, where police had to rescue more than 100 people seeking sanctuary. 

An Asian man was reported to have been stoned to death after being pulled off his motorbike. Several other motorists were beaten and a sugar truck was set on fire. Demonstrators shouting anti-Indian slogans hurled rocks at troops who set up roadblocks to stop the protests spreading. Soldiers retaliated with live ammunition, killing two black Ugandans.

The march, which was authorised by police and began peacefully, was arranged by environmentalists, opposition leaders and religious groups angered by a government proposal to allow the Mehta Group to clear a quarter of the Mabira forest reserve to grow sugar. The 30,000-hectare (7,400-acre) reserve, east of Kampala, contains some of the last patches of virgin forest in Uganda and serves as an important water catchment area. 

President Yoweri Museveni last year ordered a study into whether to allow Scoul, a local sugar firm owned by Mehta, to use 7,100 hectares of the forest. The state has a 30% share in Mehta. 

Though conservationists said the move would ruin an area containing hundreds of species, the government pushed ahead with its plans for the reserve, which has been protected since 1932. 

Critics say President Museveni is moving ahead at the expense of the environment. A decision to allow a rainforest to be cleared for a private palm plantation on the Ssesse Islands in Lake Victoria caused a storm of protest last year. Olav Bjella, a Norwegian environmentalist who headed Uganda's National Forestry Authority quit in protest, saying it was against his conscience to implement the order. 

The Mehta Group took out newspaper advertisements that branded the opponents of the Mabira forest scheme as "anti-development" and dismissed concerns about the environmental impact. Analysts say that the company's aggressive stance, coupled with the government's intransigence, amplified and charged the debate. 

Angelo Izama, a commentator at the Daily Monitor newspaper in Kampala, said: "What happened today was less about the environment than resentment by the oppressed Ugandan economic class towards the Asian commercial class." 

Some of the 500 protesters chanted slogans praising Amin, who expelled south Asians from Uganda in 1972 - including the wealthy Mehta family who fled to Britain and India - and confiscated their property. One of the placards read: "Mehta, do you want another Amin?" 

In the 1990s the Mehta family was among thousands of Asian-Ugandans who returned to reclaim their properties, under a campaign to encourage foreign investment. Many have flourished, particularly in the manufacturing, banking and hotel sector. Their success has led to resentment by some black Ugandans, who say the government is not doing enough for them.
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