Uganda killings continue

Press, 15 June 1979, Page 12

Uganda killings continue

From the “Economist,” London

The arrival of Tanzanian and Ugandan troops at the Sudanese frontier this month signalled the end of the battle against the forces that remained loyal to the vanished Ugandan dictator, Idi Amin. But now that President Lule’s government in Kampala can claim that the whole country is undei* its command, Sudan is accusing it of allowing the Tanzanian army to commit atrocities against Muslims in northern Uganda. Sudan is demanding that the Tanzanian soldiers be with-, drawn.

Allegations that the advancing liberation army of Tanzanians and former Ugandan exiles sought out and killed circumcised (Muslim) males and their women and children are being spread by the refugees who have streamed across the frontier into southern Sudan.

The president of this autonomous province, General

Joseph Lagu, estimates that there are now around 100,000 refugees. The latest arrivals to the remote border villages brought nothing with them and are said to be near starvation. Senior members of Amin’s regime who fled into Sudan are more fortunate. They are being accommodated in comfort by the wealthier southern Sudanese, including General Lagu himself.

The accusations of tribal and religious killings by Tanzanian and anti-Amin Ugandans have been repeated by Sudan’s President Numeiri who has gone on to allege that being a Muslim has become a crime punishable by death in Uganda. Such charges cannot fairly be made against Mr Lule’s Government. Since it took over power in April it has consistently broadcast appeals to the Ugandans not to revenge themselves against

those who supported Amin or against the northern Muslim tribes from which Amin drew most of his soldiers and officials.

These appeals have clearly been ignored by many Acholis, Langis and Bagandans, who were killed in their thousands by Amin’s men. Whether Tanzanian soldiers are killing Ugandans because of their religion is more open to question; a high proportion of Tanzanians are themselves Muslim. The Lule Government has no means of imposing the rule of law except through the Tanzanian army that put it into power. Its own army and police force are still in the making. An alarming spate of armed robberies indicates how badly they are needed. The Ugandan and Tanzanian Presidents have met to discuss the future of the 25,000 Tanzanian troops of Uganda.