The European Union (EU) Ambassador in Uganda Kristian Schmidt has made a call to the Ugandan government to work closely with the opposition to ensure they serve the national interests.
He further spoke against the consistent violation of individual and constitutional rights by the state calling for reforms.
Ambassador Schmidt made these comments Monday evening during the commemoration of the Europe Day at his residence in Kampala.
“If you want improved governance, better service delivery, victory over corruption, and free and fair elections, you should consider reforms. Even if you just want steady progress, change is still needed. We think, like the rest of the world, to preserve legacy, to ensure peace and stability, to build the future, things have to change,” said Schmidt.
“Curbing media freedoms, deploying security forces or resorting to courts to solve political differences may not be the solution. As your partner and friend, we worry when we see the freedoms, guaranteed by the constitution coming under pressure currently,” the EU Ambassador added.
The remarks come against the backdrop of a government’s warning that foreigners must not interfere in Uganda’s internal affairs.
He stressed that there’s need for change in Uganda to facilitate better democratic practices, good governance and service delivery.
The duty to protect national interests, he said lies not only on government but the unified effort of all political actors as well as civil society.
“We hope Uganda’s leaders, political parties and civil society will come together and agree to put Ugandan national interests first. After all campaign mottos; ‘Stead progress’, ‘Go Forward’ and ‘One Uganda One people’ advanced a better Uganda for all.”
During the celebrations for his victory in the February general elections, Dictator Museveni sounded a warning to Western countries that meddle in the affairs of Uganda saying “Uganda doesn’t need lectures on how to be run”.
The EU Ambassador said Europe harbours no imperialist agenda but rather believes in multilateralism.
No comments:
Post a Comment