New Delhi
14 April 2007
India was in constant touch with Uganda "at the highest level" after
an Indian national was killed when a protest turned violent in the Ugandan capital
Kampala, according to Union Minister of State of External Affairs Anand Sharma. He said
that measures have been taken for the safety of Indian nationals and business
establishments.
"[Government] acted firmly and promptly after protests against denotification of a part of
Mabira Forest for sugarcane cultivation by a mill [operated by The Mehta Group] turned
violent. I spoke to Foreign Minister Sam Kuteesa and the internal security minister of
Uganda and they have reassured me that the situation is normal and under control," Mr
Sharma on Saturday told this newspaper.
The demonstration to protest the transfer of 7,100 hectares of land to the Mehta family
turned violent when a crowd fatally beat up Devangkumar Shaileshkumar Raval and two
others. A resident of Ahmedabad, Raval (23) worked as a sales representative with
Translink (U) Ltd, a company importing products of Johnson & Johnson and Nestle. The
body will reach Ahmedabad by the IC-603 flight from Mumbai at 4.40 pm on Sunday.
"Ugandan President (Yoweri Kaguta Museveni) has in his statement said that violence
was unacceptable ... violence targeted against guests of Uganda will not be tolerated. He
has also said that the violence was caused by the enemies of Uganda. [They] have
since identified the hooligans and made 22 arrests. They have also recovered over 90
per cent of the looted property," he said.
Mr Sharma said that the hooligans damaged the Swaminarayan Temple and the Bank of
Baroda building. "The internal security minister reassured me that armed police has
been deployed. He also met with Indian High Commissioner Sibabrata Tripathi and the
Indian Association and reassured them. The bank and most of the major installations run
by people of Indian origin have reopened," he said.
For the Indian nationals and business establishments in Uganda, Thursday's violence
was reminiscent of the anti-India sentiments that gripped Uganda in the early 1970s.
Asians constituted the largest non-indigenous ethnic group in Uganda until 1972 when
former Ugandan dictator Idi Amin expelled over 50,000 Asians who were engaged in
trade and industry.
No comments:
Post a Comment