The status with HIV/AIDS in Uganda

Experts now urge the problem with HIV/AIDS to become a bigger focus in the coming election campaign. In the 90s and the early 20s Uganda received good money in aid for HIV/AIDS challenges in the country, but after it was reviled in 2005 that a lot of money was misused by the government, many founders pulled out. Now Uganda´s HIV/AIDS statistics aren't looking good.


According to doctors working with the UN in Uganda 2,5 million are dead from the disease, and 61.000 die each year. 1,5 millions are infected, and 47% of them notes their status as married. 200.000 below the age of 18 years have the virus, and many are born with HIV. Even though there are ways of treating a pregnant woman, without hurting the baby.


Just 60.000 of Uganda´s 27 million people are tested, but many of thees don´t come to collect their results. Getting treatment to live a better and longer life, can mean a lot for supporting families and bringing income. But today at least 74.000 needs ARVS (treatment), but only 19.000 are getting it.


The government have stated that they want increase the number of treatments, so that means people have to wait in line for others to die, before they get ARVS.


Information, protection access, and help with the psychological aspect are important elements. But experts says that all the presidential candidates needs to have big and comprehensive programs for dealing with HIV/AIDS to be good candidates in their eyes.

Change of topic at the AU summit

The topic of the African Union (AU) Summit this week was supposed to be maternal health. But the summit had to change their topic,. In light of the terrorist attack on Uganda (under the FIFA World Cup Finally), the AU found it necessary to focus on security.

The president of Sudan Omar Hassan al- Bashir did not participate in the summit. He did not want to go, and no body else from Sudan was sent either. Many criticized this, but still al- Bashir was one of the big topics.

According to Reuters the International Criminal Court (ICC) this month added genocide to charges issued last year against Bashir of war crimes and crimes against humanity in the war-torn Darfur region where the United Nations estimates a humanitarian crisis has claimed 300,000 lives since a 2003 revolt by rebels demanding more wealth and power.

Still the AU made a resolution to make ICC withdraw the arrest order against al- Bashir, because of the level of conflict in the area. The UYD say they are critical to the decision.

Terror attacks in Kampala

Politically, Uganda faces a variety of challenges. One of them is closely related to the country’s military engagement in the peacekeeping operations in Somalia. Being one of very few countries with troops there, Uganda has been threatened with terrorist attacks from the Islamic al-Shabaab movement.

A few weeks ago, Kampala was shaken by a dreadful attack. Suicide bombers attacked The Rugby Pub and the Ethiopian Village, both pubs where locals were watching the FIFA World Cup finals. More than 80 civilians were killed, among them 1 American.

Ethiopia is one of the other countries being involved in the operations in Somalia, making the restaurant in Uganda a “perfect” target for the terrorists.

The Museveni regime of Uganda is using the attack for what it’s worth, and the opposition claims the situation may be used by the president as an excuse for making it even harder for the people of Uganda to organize demonstrations and political meetings. In addition, it could be easier for the army and the police to arrest people and use violence. No one wants to be the ones opposing measures taken to avoid new attacks.

That makes the situation even more difficult for the opposition, already having a hard time getting their voices heard in a media world mainly controlled by the government. Everywhere we go; there are officers with rifles guarding even the super markets and restaurants.

We will keep fighting with UYD and DP, to form a new Uganda based on democratic principles. The first step is having a peaceful campaign and election next winter, getting elected as much DP candidates as possible.

The Ethiopian Village

Violence in the election campaign

The situation for opposition parties are getting worse because of the coming election in 2011. UYD experienced this on a rally recently. The presidential candidate for UYDs mother party Democratic Party (DP) Mr Norbert Mao where supposed to have a rally in Kampala. They had applied for the rally, and the police where notified.

Many UYD- members where at the rally, and in the beginning everything looked good for the speech. But suddenly the police and the military showed up, and told them to end the rally immediately because of security. The UYD/DP showed their papers of approval for the rally, but the police said the had not been notified.
They disused and came to an agreement, so Mr. Mao continued.

But then the policed and military opened fire. They where shooting live bullets from behind the stage, and UYD member John Marry had to protect the president. Everybody on stage had to hid, and the crowd was naturally scared. Luckily nobody was inured or killed in the attack.

UYD- member Brenda was standing on stage when the bullets came. Two television channels where there, and one of the camera men was beaten. But the other one managed to get away, so Brenda could see her self on television later that night.

- I can see that I suddenly gets scared, and that we dont know whats going on. We though everything was clear, but then the police changed their minds. But we will continue the campaigning; the struggle is our life, says Brenda.



Mr. Norbert Mao, the presidential candidate for DP

Women can do it seminar in Kampala

For four whole days 30 participants from the UYD Women League are meeting in Hotel Nexus to have Woman Can Do it (WCDI) seminar. All the women participating are young woman leaders, and some are even candidates for the election in 2011.

The program includes gender, women in politics, the situation within UYD/AUF, networking, working successfully with media, building confidence, communications technics, public speaking, argumentation, body language, representation and presentation of women in the society, women leaders in the struggle against HIV/AIDS, advocacy, campaigning, and how to train other women in the future.


The WCDI seminar is an exchange of experience, both between ugandan women, but also sharing experiences with the norwegian youth politicians. The group are all spending time togheter during the seminar, and its only women speakers on the program.


The women attending are from all over Uganda, and from different backgrounds. The capacity building are meant to strengthen and empower young women leaders. The seminar is sponsored by LNU and the Norwegian Labour Party.

The human right situation in Uganda

The AUF & UYD delegation visited FHRI (Foundation for Human Right Initiative) to discuss the human right situation i Uganda. The delegation received reports, and got information of the current challenges.

The human rights situation in the north is still an issue due to the conditions in the camps, the psychological trauma caused by the war, and the resettlement of refuges.

The unemployment is high (some say as high as 60%), and the youths are the once most effected. But generally poverty is the biggest human right issue.

The group naturally focused mostly on the political human rights.
Because of the coming election the situation is becoming worse. The foundation director told stories of imprisonment, torture and even killings of politicians.

Åsmund Aukrust had earlier been to visit UYD- members in prison, so we also discussed the health situation and the overcrowding in the prisons.

The director finished of the meeting by emphasizing that in order to achieve change in the human right conditions, one need to change the leadership from the grasroots.



The UYD and the AUF delegation (Tore Eikeland, Ida Spjelkavik, Tonje Kristensen, Hilde F. Fjellså and Åsmund Åukrust) with FHRI

Grasroot meetings in Uganda

To engage with democratic, non-violent political activities in a country that has never had a peaceful change of power, can be challenging. AUF has for nearly ten years has had a project going with a youth organization, Uganda Young Democrats (UYD) in Uganda.

In front of the election next year (in February / March), UYD together with its mother party Democratic Party (DP) tries to mobilize large amounts of people for change in Uganda, to throw the opposition repressive President Museveni out from the Chesterfield lounge in the presidential palace, so they can create stable democratic structures.

The recent days AUF have together with our comrades in UYD, participated in major meetings in the capital Kampala, as well as in several of the districts east of the city (Gomba, Mityana og Mubende). The aim has been to strengthen local branches, and to discuss the power structures in the regions, in order and strengthen the organization as a whole.



Rita giving a speech about empowering women, youth and the grasroot

The local elections in Georgia will take place at the 26.of May

The AUF delegation and "Social democrats for development in Georiga"

Visit to IDP settlements

The leader of YSG, Georgi Kanchaveli, lead the delegation to a Internal Displeased Persons (IPD) settlement just outside of Tbilisi. Some more members from YSG, the AUF delegation, and one human right activist took the bus to see the conditions for the victims of the war in 2008.

This settlement had over 4000 people living there, and more then 900 out of them where school children. We talked to a lady working in an small shop, she told us that everybody wants to go home to South Ossetia, but their homes have been destroyed or is occupied by Russians. One of the biggest problems for the IDPs in that camp now is unemployment, war trauma and stigma.

AUF promised to raise the questions of IDPs in Georgia when the return to Norway.

Youth seminar in region of Georgia

AUF and YSG have had a youth seminar in Batumi. The focus was youth empowering, youth activity, and youth influence. Tonje spoke about regional activity, Edvin spoke about the parti system in Norway, Kjetil spoke about self-government in Universities, and Ida spoke about youth organizations (with AUF as an example).

YSG spoke about social democracy, about youths role in democracies, and encouraged the Batumi youth to organize. It was 40 people attending the seminar, and some of them were members that also participated at the seminar in Kutaisi the last time AUF was visiting.

The central members of YSG and the AUF delegation also found time to visit the local self-government at the state university of Batumi.

Election campagning

The local election in Georgia is in the end of May, and AUF (Kjetil Vevle, Tonje Ertsås, Edvin Søvik and Ida Spjelkavik) are visiting the campaign. There are posters and billboards everywhere, and a specially from number 5, or the national movement as they are called. They are the once in power both nationally and regionally.


There have been complains that they are misusing there power to buy votes, that they have closed down shops that have supported the opposition in any way, and that they are only building and fixing cities now because of the election. The national movement has got a lot more money and resources than the other parties, and this makes the election much more difficult for the others.


Read more here: http://auf.no/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=320:valg-i-georgia&catid=44:nyheter&Itemid=100

Georgia

In Georgia we have got a sister organization called YSG-Young Socialists of Georgia.
In May there will be an election, that is why we are here.

At this moment we´re in Batumi, Georgia. We just arrived this morning.
We were in Tbilisi yesterday meeting both The National Movement and The Social Democrats. It was quite a difference, but very exiting.
We also had a meeting with the executive board in YSG.

Today we are going to have a seminar about youth in politics with the new branch in Batumi.