logo
Ugandan military accuses EU diplomats of engaging in subversive activities

Ugandan military accuses EU diplomats of engaging in subversive activities

Yahoo23-05-2025

KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — Ugandan military authorities on Friday accused diplomats from Europe of engaging in subversive activities, in an escalation of tensions over European criticism of human rights violations by Uganda's security forces.
Some European diplomats are mobilizing on behalf 'the negative and traitorous groups opposed" to the government of President Yoweri Museveni, the military said in a statement.
The statement singled out the German ambassador, Matthias Schauer, charging that 'the intelligence services are aware about his clearly undiplomatic practices that have been taking place in different parts of the country for some time now."
That statement was issued by Col. Chris Magezi, a close associate of Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba, the president's son who also serves as Uganda's top military commander.
Kainerugaba's military rise has been a source of concern among Ugandans who believe he is poised to take over from Museveni in a chaotic political transition. Kainerugaba frequently asserts his wish to succeed his father as president of the east African country, alarming Ugandans who don't want to see hereditary rule.
Kainerugaba has gained notoriety most recently for his unpredictable posts on the social platform X. He has threatened to behead Bobi Wine, a prominent opposition figure, and he drew widespread criticism earlier this month for reporting the apparent torture in his 'basement' of Wine's bodyguard, who was missing at the time.
Schauer, the German ambassador, is among a group of European diplomats who complained about Kainerugaba in a meeting on Thursday with Gen. Salim Saleh, a retired army officer who is Kainerugaba's uncle and an influential member of Uganda's security apparatus. Saleh apologized for Kainerugaba's provocative posts on X, according to reports in the local press.
The strong response from Kainerugaba's press office on Friday marks an escalation in relations between the Ugandan government and diplomats it accuses of meddling.
It was not immediately possible to get a comment from Schauer or Jan Sadek, the top EU diplomat in Uganda.
The EU has repeatedly urged Ugandan authorities to protect civil liberties ahead of presidential elections next year.
Sadek has expressed concern over serious rights violations that include arbitrary detentions and the degrading treatment of political opponents. He spoke of 'an alarming militarization of the political sphere' in a speech earlier in May.
"The use of military force against civilians, with apparent impunity, contradicts the principles of the rule of law,' he said.
Museveni, who first took power by force in 1986, is serving his sixth term. He will seek re-election in polls set for January 2026.
Many Ugandans expect an unpredictable political transition because the 80-year-old Museveni has no obvious successor within the ranks of the ruling National Resistance Movement party, with real power concentrated in a strong military and powerful intelligence system. Some observers fear that Museveni may step aside in favor of Kainerugaba in a bloodless coup.
A long-time opposition leader, Kizza Besigye, has been jailed since November over alleged treason charges his lawyers say are politically motivated. Besigye, a qualified physician who retired from Uganda's military at the rank of colonel, is a former president of the Forum for Democratic Change party, for many years Uganda's most prominent opposition group.
Uganda has never witnessed a peaceful transfer of political power since independence from the British in 1962.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Family pleads for the release of a Nepali student abducted by Hamas
Family pleads for the release of a Nepali student abducted by Hamas

Yahoo

time31 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

Family pleads for the release of a Nepali student abducted by Hamas

KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — The family of a Nepali man taken captive by the Palestinian militant group Hamas appealed Thursday to his captors for his release, stressing that he has no involvement in the conflict in Gaza. Bipin Joshi, now 25, was among 17 Nepali students studying agriculture in southern Israel during the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack that ignited the war in Gaza. Joshi had worked hard in a government competition to earn a spot to study in Israel, his 17-year-old sister Pushpa Joshi said Thursday in Kathmandu. He arrived in southern Israel just three weeks before the attack. It was his first time out of Nepal. 'Bipin Joshi is an innocent agriculture student,' Pushpa Joshi said. 'He is a student who has a long life ahead of him, who is just 25 years now.' Militants killed 10 of the Nepali students in the attack and injured six. Joshi saved multiple lives by tossing a live grenade out of the bomb shelter where they were hiding, his sister said, before he was abducted and taken to Gaza. His family hasn't had a sign of life from him since Israel obtained security footage from a hospital in Gaza showing Joshi, so they know Joshi was taken alive to Gaza, but have no information about him since then. Pushpa, who was 15 when her brother was kidnapped, lives with their parents in a town in western Nepal. She travels eight hours each direction on buses to Kathmandu regularly to lobby officials to secure her brother's release. She has met the country's prime minister and president several times. Nepal's government says it has repeatedly sought help from Qatari and Egyptian officials to get Joshi freed. 'He is alive and we believe from the bottom of our hearts that he for sure is going to come back all safe and sound,' Pushpa said. 'We have big hopes that he will be back.' Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took 251 hostages in the Oct. 7 attack. They are still holding 53 hostages, around 20 them believed to be alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefire agreements or other deals. Israeli forces have rescued eight living hostages from Gaza and recovered dozens of bodies, including five over the past week. In the ensuing conflict, more than 55,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to the Health Ministry in Hamas-run Gaza. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has expressed 'doubts' about whether several hostages are still alive. None of the previously released hostages have seen Bipin Joshi recently during their captivity. His parents are constantly monitoring news about the Gaza conflict, and get their hopes up whenever they see signs of a hostage release. 'News is always on, all day from the morning to night, at our house,' Pushpa Joshi said. They also are in contact with families of other Nepalis who were killed or injured in the attack, though Joshi is the only Nepali hostage. Pushpa said her brother is her best friend, and that they would often learn, sing and dance together while their parents were at work. 'In rainy season like now, we used to get wet in the rain and dance,' she said. He studied diligently to earn the scholarship to study agriculture in Israel, she said. The exchange program at Kibbutz Alumim was close to the Gaza border in a major agricultural area. Nepalese go to Israel for both education and employment, to learn the country's advanced agricultural techniques. Agriculture is the backbone of Nepal's economy, and the primary source of income for more than 60% of the population. —- Associated Press writer Melanie Lidman contributed from Jerusalem.

International Atomic Energy Agency: Iran in breach of non-proliferation commitments
International Atomic Energy Agency: Iran in breach of non-proliferation commitments

Yahoo

time31 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

International Atomic Energy Agency: Iran in breach of non-proliferation commitments

June 12 (UPI) -- The U.N. nuclear energy watchdog ruled Thursday that Iran was in breach of its Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty obligations by failing to come clean about undeclared nuclear material and activities at multiple sites. A meeting of the 35-member-nation board of the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna voted 19-3 in a favor of the resolution, the first against Iran in 20 years, amid heightened tension over its nculear program and fears an pre-emptive military strike by Israel could be imminent. Russia, China and Burkina Faso voted against the U.S., British, French and German-sponsored resolution, 11 countries abstained and two did not take part at all. The vote came after IAEA Director-General Rafael Grossi, in a briefing on the body's quarterly report, told the board that Iran had not been cooperating and had sufficient 60% enriched uranium to build nine nuclear warheads. He said the IAEA had been seeking answers from Tehran ever since inspectors found man-made uranium particles at three undeclared locations in 2019 and 2020, including via a series of high-level meetings and consultations that he said he had been personally involved in. "We have been seeking explanations and clarifications from Iran for the presence of these uranium particles. Unfortunately, Iran has repeatedly either not answered or not provided technically credible answers to the agency's questions. It has also sought to sanitize the locations, which has impeded agency verification activities," Grossi said. The decision prompted a strong reaction from Tehran, which issued a statement criticizing what it called a "political" move that placed the IAEA's credibility and stature in doubt and that it would bring forward "a new [uranium] enrichment center in a secure location" and update first generation centrifuges at another site. Prior to the vote it threatened to quit the 1970 NPT, which Tehran has signed but failed to ratify the part that authorizes international inspection teams access to remote regions of Iran where they have reason to believe illicit nuclear development projects may be underway. On Wednesday, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned the so-called E3 [Britain, France and Germany] against punishing Iran for its own failures with regard to the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action under which the United States, E3, Russia and China agreed to lift some sanctions in return for Iran reining in its nuclear program. "The E3 have had seven years to implement their JCPOA commitments. They have utterly failed, either by design or ineptitude. Instead of displaying remorse or a desire to facilitate diplomacy, the E3 is today promoting confrontation through the absurd demand that Iran must be punished for exercising its right under the JCPOA to respond to non-performance by its counterparts," he wrote on X. "As I have warned: Another major strategic mistake by the E3 will compel Iran to react strongly. Blame will lie solely and fully with malign actors who shatter their own relevance." A joint statement issued by the Foreign Office in London said Britain, France, Germany, and United States welcomed the action by the IAEA. "The board's collective action upholds the integrity of the IAEA safeguards system and the broader nuclear nonproliferation regime: states will be held to account if they do not live up to their obligations. "The action creates an opportunity Iran should seize. Iran still has a chance to finally fulfill its obligations, in full candor, and answer the IAEA's crucial, longstanding questions on undeclared nuclear material and activities," said the statement. However, ongoing U.S.-Iran negotiations mediated by Oman that began in April were apparently unaffected with a sixth round between Araghchi and Steve Witkoff, U.S. President Donald Trump's special envoy, scheduled to go ahead Sunday as planned, according to Omani Foreign Minister Bad Albusaidi. The negotiations, exactly five years after Trump pulled the United States out of the JCPOA during his first term, are aimed at replacement deal ensuring Iran does not and cannot develop a nuclear weapon in exchange for removing sanctions. Iran has always denied working toward developing nuclear weapons, insisting its nuclear program is strictly for energy and other peaceful purposes.

Robert F. Kennedy met with the CIA after a trip to the Soviet Union, newly declassified files show
Robert F. Kennedy met with the CIA after a trip to the Soviet Union, newly declassified files show

Yahoo

time31 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

Robert F. Kennedy met with the CIA after a trip to the Soviet Union, newly declassified files show

WASHINGTON (AP) — The CIA released nearly 1,500 pages of previously classified documents relating to Sen. Robert F. Kennedy and his 1968 assassination Thursday, detailing the agency's work to investigate his killing, as well as previously unknown contacts between him and the spy agency. Kennedy met with the CIA following a 1955 tour of the Soviet Union, relaying his observations to the spy agency as a voluntary informant, the documents show. The newly available material comprises 54 documents, including memos about the agency's work to investigate whether RFK's killer had any foreign ties, as well as the response to his killing by foreign powers. President Donald Trump had ordered the release of documents relating to the assassinations of RFK, President John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. More than 10,000 pages of records pertaining to RFK's assassination were released in April. 'Today's release delivers on President Trump's commitment to maximum transparency, enabling the CIA to shine light on information that serves the public interest,' CIA Director John Ratcliffe said in a statement. 'I am proud to share our work on this incredibly important topic with the American people.' Kennedy was fatally shot on June 5, 1968, at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles moments after giving a speech celebrating his victory in California's presidential primary. His assassin, Sirhan Sirhan, was convicted of first-degree murder and is serving life in prison. Kennedy's contacts with the CIA following his visit to the Soviet Union reflected the tensions of the time, and the high value put on personal observations of Americans who traveled to Russia and other former Soviet regions. Prominent elected officials and business leaders visiting the USSR were often asked to share their observations following their return. The documents show that RFK was a voluntary informant. In a statement Thursday, the CIA showed the meetings reflected RFK's 'patriotic commitment' to serving his country. Many of his observations reflected granular observations about daily life. 'On 29 Aug 55, while in Novosibirsk, USSR, a friend and I visited a State machine factory. The factory has 3,500 employees, of whom one third are women. The wage scale is between 840 and 2,500 rubles,' Kennedy told the CIA interviewer, according to the documents. "The Director of the plant whose name I do not recall was frosty, although the engineer was friendly." The CIA used artificial intelligence to scan its library for documents related to RFK's assassination that could be declassified. The search turned up many documents that had little to do with his killing, such as the records of RFK's meeting with the CIA. Kennedy's son, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., said he was gratified to see the documents' release. 'Lifting the veil on the RFK papers is a necessary step toward restoring trust in American government,' Kennedy said. ___ The documents can be found online at and

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store