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- Jessica Corbett reports on the police and military crack down on Ugandan oil pipeline protests, escalating global concerns over human rights violations.
- How can the support of donors help amplify the voices of those fighting against human rights violations and environmental injustice in Uganda?
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Police and soldiers from Uganda’s U.S.-trained army cracked down on Ugandan oil pipeline protests on Monday. The demonstrators advocated against the East African Crude Oil Pipeline, continuing the globally condemned oppression of EACOP opponents.
In the capital city of Kampala, where Ugandan oil pipeline protesters tried to march on Parliament and the Chinese Embassy “there are 21 people arrested, they included 19 males and two females,” defense attorney Samuel Wanda told Agence France-Presse. They were taken to the city’s central police station and charging details were not yet available. Eight Ugandan oil pipeline protesters would be directly impacted by the project.
As AFP noted, the China National Offshore Oil Corporation has an 8% stake in EACOP, which is set to carry crude nearly 900 miles from Uganda’s Lake Albert oilfields to the port of Tanga in Tanzania. Ugandan and Tanzanian state-owned companies each have a 15% stake, and the remaining 62% is controlled by the France-based multinational TotalEnergies.
Ugandan Oil Pipeline Protest Arrests Spark Global Human Rights Concerns
“The arrest of Stop EACOP activists in Kampala today is an attack on democracy and the right to protest,” said climate campaigner and environmental consultant Ashley Kitisya on social media. “We condemn this crackdown and call for the immediate release of all detained activists. Peaceful voices demanding justice must not be silenced. #StopEACOP.”
Fridays for Future Uganda declared that “the arrest of climate activists against EACOP is a blatant move to silence crucial advocates for change.”
“Many affected are misled and unaware of the true risks,” the youth-led group added. “We must oppose this injustice and demand EACOP’s immediate halt to protect people and the environment.”
Hundreds of peaceful Ugandan oil pipeline protesters—including breastfeeding mothers—also gathered in Hoima City, according to the Kampala-based Monitor. They were at a Kitara Secondary School (SS) and planned to demonstrate at regional EACOP offices but “were surrounded by heavily armed police” and Uganda Peoples’ Defence Forces (UPDF) soldiers “who foiled the protest.”
Read the full article about Ugandan oil pipeline protests by Jessica Corbett at The Real News Network.