Uganda
promises Indians security, Indians still scared
Kampala/New Delhi, April 14 (IANS) Two days after
an Indian was killed by a mob protesting an Indian sugar firm's plan
to develop part of a protected rainforest, most frightened Indians
in the Ugandan capital Saturday stayed indoors despite President
Yoweri Museveni assuring them of their safety.
In New Delhi, Minister of State for External
Affairs Anand Sharma said Saturday that India was keeping a close
watch on the situation and said that it has taken up the issue of
Indians' safety with the Ugandan government.
The body of Devang Rawal, who was stoned to death by rioters in
Kampala, is likely to be flown to his hometown Ahmedabad later
Saturday.
"Uganda Funeral Services is preparing the body to be flown to
India," said Rajni Taylor, who heads the Ugandan Indian
Association, adding that his employers were supervising the burial
arrangements.
Rawal was working as a sales representative with Translink (U) Ltd,
a company importing products of Johnson & Johnson and Nestle
products.
Officials from the Indian High Commission on Thursday evening
visited Mulago Hospital mortuary where the body of Rawal was being
kept.
"To attack, insult or damage the property of any Ugandan or
guests of Uganda is something the government will not
tolerate," Museveni said in a statement Friday.
"I want to assure Ugandans that such hooliganism will not be
allowed to happen again, and to warn those that do not want to
follow the law they will pay heavily," Museveni added.
Many Indian-owned shops were closed in Kampala and many Indians
decided to stay home and not send their children to school.
Knowing the sensitivity of such attacks and its possible impact on
the Ugandan economy in which Indians, mostly traders, play a key
role, the police swung into action and has identified those
responsible for rioting and looting that hit the city Thursday.
For Indians living there for generations, Thursday's mob attack that
included Indians being dragged off motorbikes and beaten, their
shops looted and a Hindu temple attacked, it was an eerie recall of
virulent anti-India bashing by former Ugandan dictator Idi Amin who
expelled nearly 75,000 Asians in 1972.
The rioting mob was protesting the move by The Sugar Corporation of
Uganda Limited (SCOUL), part of the Indian-owned Mehta group, to
expand its sugar estates by cutting the Mabira rain forest- one of
Uganda's last remaining patches of natural forest. It has been a
nature reserve since 1932.
Troops had to be deployed to control the situation, after police
failed to stop rioters attacking Asian businesses.
Shangu Patel of the Indian Association went around the city Friday
encouraging Asians to reopen their shops but his efforts were met
with scepticism, the online edition of New Vision reported.
"How can we be very sure that there will be no repeat?"
asked a local Indian shopkeeper.
The controversy began last year when the Ugandan government ordered
a study whether to cut down nearly a third of Mabira- one of
Uganda's last remaining patches of natural forest.
The government's proposal had angered many in the country who
alleged that the environmental costs of slashing the forest would
far exceed the economic benefits of the plantation.
Until 1972, Asians constituted the largest non-indigenous ethnic
group in Uganda.
2014
Asian Games: Indian, South Korean officials reach Kuwait
Kuwait
Delegations from India and South Korea, vying to host the 2014 Asian
Games, arrived here Saturday morning almost at the same time. Both
sides admitted that it would be a close fight between them.
Indian
Olympic Association (IOA) president Suresh Kalmadi told reporters
that India is confident of Delhi winning the bid, but the delegation
is not taking any chances.
"We know the bid is tough and we have our own strategy. We
cannot disclose our strategy, but mind it, we are a strong contender
and we have the support from our friends," he said.
The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) will meet in Kuwait Tuesday to
choose the winner between Delhi, the Indian capital, and the South
Korean city of Incheon as the host city.
Kalmadi was accompanied by Minister for Woman and Child Welfare
Renuka Chaudhary, Haryana Tourism Minister Kiran Chowdhary, former
sports minister Sukhdev Singh Dhingra, Olympian Aslam Sher Khan and
others.
Indian Ambassador to Kuwait M. Ganapathi was at the airport to
receive the delegation.
Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit is also reaching Kuwait Monday
to make the presentation in favour of New Delhi as probable host for
the games.
Billed as the bid of a billion people, Kalmadi said "hosting
the Commonwealth Games in 2010 will give us the necessary
infrastructure and experience to organise the Asian Games".
"The government is backing our bid fully and Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh has shown personal interest in the matter," the
IOA chief said.
IOA delegations have toured Asian countries in recent days to
canvass support for New Delhi. Last month, E. Ahamed, minister of
state for external affairs, visited Kuwait in this regard.
India's plus point remains the fact that South Korea had organised
the Asian Games as recently as 2002, in Busan, and Delhi says it is
time for another nation to get the games.
"India is one of the founders of the games, had the honour of
staging them in 1951 and 1982," Kalmadi said. "Thirty-two
years is a long gap and it is time for the games to return to
India."
South Korean officials argue that India needed to look beyond Delhi
when it came to staging major sporting events.
Korean Olympic Committee secretary general Kim Sang Woo, who also
arrived here Saturday morning as a part of a strong delegation, said
that Incheon was a strong contender for the 2014 Asian Games.
The bid has the support of the Korean government. "Our tourism
and culture minister, besides several MPs, will be in Kuwait to back
our claims," he said.
Woo said that the highlight of the Incheon would be promoting sports
in the whole of Asia and our 'Vision 2014' to be presented at the
OCA meet would highlight the country's commitment to promoting
sports and raise the standard of Asians Games to the level of
Olympics.
Incheon has decided to earmark $20 million exclusively for the
promotion of sports in Asia and that Korea would emerge as one of
the major international venues for sports events.
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