Thursday, April 29, 2010

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Columbia, MD, April 29, 2010 ? Urgent Conference on Uganda: Saturday, May 1, Washington, D.C.

The Uganda Democratic Federal Union (UDFU), led by Remigius Kintu, will host a summit on human rights, ?Urgent Conference on Uganda,? Saturday, May 1, in Washington, D.C. Presenters will address President Yoweri Museveni?s eradication of open elections, his massacre of all Ugandans who oppose him, and the conflict in U.S. policy which simultaneously denounces and supports his regime.

?UDFU?s open forum will feature defenders of political freedom from all over the world,? said Kintu. ?Speakers and attendees will develop strategies to expose and redirect the Obama administration?s support of Uganda?s oppressive government.? Saturday?s program will be held at the International Graduate University, 1325 D Street, S.E., Washington, D.C., from 1:00 to 7:00 pm.

The UDFU believes Uganda can be democratically governed in the future once Museveni has been ousted. ?We hope to establish a more democratic regime as early as 2011,? said speaker Deo Kawunde-Miti. ?We will bring the best players together to devise ways of running upcoming campaigns, utilizing new social media in the villages to circumvent Museveni?s blockade of conventional news media, and contest every elected official from East to West.?

The conference will also address the Obama Administration?s ongoing support of Museveni despite the dictator?s abysmal human rights record and authoritarian rule that stand in opposition to President Obama?s and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton?s stated foreign policy objectives.

The opposition to Museveni contends the United State?s support of democracy in Africa is tempered by policy considerations that elevate U.S. strategic interests in the resource-rich African great lakes region over traditional American values. The United States State Department, Central Intelligence Agency, and other federal agencies use Uganda as a central stage for operations throughout the African great lakes region. Museveni has curried favor with US administrations by assisting in the war against terrorism and by contributing 3,000 Ugandan soldiers to the peacekeeping efforts in Somalia.

Uganda is the latest example of United State?s support of dictatorial regimes in Africa, Asia and Latin America ?- a policy that extends back to Guatemala in the 1950s, Chile under General Pinochet in the 1970s, and Saddam Hussein in Iraq in the 1980s and 1990s.

Museveni first seized power in Uganda in 1986. He continued to rule in the 1990s through sham elections. In 2001, he had the term-limit provision of the Ugandan constitution eliminated so that he could, in effect, be ?president-for-life.?

The urgency of this conference is underscored by Museveni?s escalating human rights violations. In April, Museveni?s security officers shot and killed in cold blood 20 Ugandan students engaged in a nonviolent demonstration against Museveni in Kampala.

The UDFU ?Urgent Conference on Uganda? will feature the following topics and speakers:

?Democracy, Ethnicity and National Unity? by Sulayman S. Nyang, Ph.D., Professor of African Studies, Howard University, Washington D.C.

?The 24 years of Museveni and his NRM* dictatorship; its effect on Uganda and the great Lakes region? by Mr. Yoga Adhola, political activist and former editor of The People Newspaper. (*Museveni?s National Resistance Movement)

?Non-violence through Economic Boycott and Embargo? by John DiJoseph, Ph.D., Professor of Non-Violence Studies, Loyola Graduate University, Columbia, MD.

?The Discovery of abundant oil and gold in Uganda. Is it a blessing or a curse?? by E. Leopold Edwards, founding member of TransAfrica Forum; Chairman, National Coalition on Caribbean Affairs Inc., Silver Spring, MD.

?Federal Governance in Uganda? by Remigius Kintu, Chairman, UDFU, and author, Africa, My Beloved: A Liberation Plan for a Free & Sovereign Continent, American Heritage Publishers.

?Uganda After Museveni and his NRM Regime? by Deo Kawunde-Miti, Educator; Graduate of Makerere University, political Activist with Uganda Young Democrats.

Closing Remarks by Remigius Kintu will be followed by a question and answer period and discussions. There is a $20 tax-deductible donation suggested. Refreshments will be served.

For additional information, contact Remigius Kintu at (240) 432-7973. Learn more about UDFU at http://www.UDFU.org