Uganda: Gadaffi Urges Museveni to Stay On

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The Monitor (Kampala)

18 March 2008
Posted to the web 18 March 2008

Al-Mahdi Ssenkabirwa
Kampala

LIBYAN leader Col. Muammar Gadaffi yesterday urged President Yoweri Museveni to rule for life as long as he has the will of the people.

Closing the 10- day Afro-Arab Youth Festival at Speke Resort in Munyonyo, Col. Gadaffi said he has no faith in western-style democracy that emphasises multiparty politics and presidential term limits.

It "only fuels divisionism in Africa, a continent already shattered by colonial imbalances", the Libyan leader claimed.

Addressing Afro-Arab youth delegates from 30 countries, Col. Gadaffi, speaking in Arabic, said western-style democracy was incompatible with the African system.

"Why should a leader relinquish power when he is doing good things for his people? There are people who talk about term limits. What are they [term limits]? A constitution is simply a document drafted by people."

Col. Gadaffi added: "A leader should only leave power by the will of the people for example; President Museveni came into power through revolutionary means not the vote. How can he simply go?"

This is the second time Col. Gadaffi is urging Mr Museveni to stay on. The first was during his visit in 2001 - when he promoted the president's son Kainerugaba Muhoozi, then a second lieutenant to the rank of Major.

No elections

According to the East African newspaper report of May 21, 2001 - at a meeting of the ruling Movement's National Executive Council, Col. Gaddaffi recommended that Ugandans do away with elections, and Mr Museveni, as a "revolutionary leader", be allowed to reign forever.

Mr Museveni didn't contradict him firmly, only telling delegates to consider it as "food for thought."

In a dramatic speech yesterday, lasting one hour, Col. Gadaffi, who has ruled Libya for 39 years, cited President Museveni and Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe as 'true' African leaders.

"We have President Mugabe and President Museveni here as true African leaders. They are visionary and should stay," he said.

He also singled out Senegal, which he said has 60 political parties based on the 60 indigenous tribes.

Col. Gadaffi said Africa should be concerned with bread and butter issues, not who should be the next president.

"You find a family of 20 children without a father. And when you ask where he is, they say he abandoned them and lives with another wife. These are the real issues we should handle," he said, admitting that there were some African leaders who come to power to serve their own interests.

Urging the youth to resist what he described as western aggression, Col. Gadaffi attacked Europeans for imposing their religions and beliefs on Africans and giving their names to countries, lakes and rivers. "We should tell them [colonialists] not to preach to us their religions. This is Africa and we have our own way of seeing and doing things," he said.

The delegates said in a communiqué,: "We agree to oppose all forms of colonialism, occupation and domination of any country over another ...We reaffirm our support to all struggles for liberation and self determination and the Arab initiative for peace."

Col. Gadaffi, who is spearheading the quest for the United States of Africa, urged Arabs outside Africa to join the integration. "I call upon our Arab brothers outside Africa to join to form the United States of Africa because it they don't do this they will be left in isolation," he said.

President Museveni said: "We need to invest together, stand together and if there is any problem between Africans and Arabs like in Sudan, the differences should be resolved by discussions and not violence."

He praised the Libyan leader for adopting "an independent policy, not a policy dictated by the West". The second Afro-Arab Youth Festival, following the first one in Khartoum in 2004, set out to discuss many subjects, from health to climate change to gender issues.

Disagreements

But there were many disagreements among the delegates, with some foreign delegates, especially the delegation from Yemen, prematurely returning home allegedly because the organisers failed to adhere to the schedule initially provided for the festival.

They were also disappointed about the poor organisation exhibited at this festival as most of them didn't get time to 'prepare' for sessions.

Col. Gadaffi is tomorrow expected to open the Gadaffi National Mosque in Kampala whose construction he funded.

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