“Gotov je!” (Serbian for: He is finished) was the euphoric battle outcry of the Serbian students’ non-violent movement, Otpor (Resistance). That was in the pre- and post 2000 election uprising. By June 2001, the fascist Milosevic, the Butcher of the Balkans, was in jail in the Hague—one more testimony to what the people can do without carnage if they could only understand their power. His successor was a mild lawyerly type under whom all the many disparate political parties rallied.
In post independent Uganda the use of violence has developed into the standard mode of acquiring and maintaining power. And the present leadership subscribes to that mindset. We, the people sustain it by our tacit acquiescence to the same notion. Why is that? Are there other viable means?
Looking back at Uganda history and the cultural milieu in which all the political theatre is playing can give us some clues.
To the major groups in Uganda power was monolithic. Other smaller groups were brought into the same mindset by the equally monolithic British colonial power.
The monolithic model presumes that the government is a strong, independent, durable (if not indestructible) self-reinforcing and self-perpetuating force. Fear, habit, morality, self-interest, psychological identification with the ruler, indifference, and lack of self-confidence keep the masses in check. And by the same token, accordingly, therefore, the people believe that the only means of opposing such a power structure is with overwhelming destructive force which no one has access to.
So, when Museveni adroitly acquires and successfully uses the “overwhelming destructive force” to change the government in his image he becomes a mythic figure. However, if we understand the nature of power, we can burst the myth that he acquired his dictatorial powers all by himself. The fact of the matter is: we have given him our support by our bewilderment, uncertainty and passivity. He needs the cooperation of those around him if he is to rule at all. Without the passivity of the population and the blind support of his agents (cabinet members, aids, legislative body, police, military officers, the church, LCs, etc) Museveni would just be another megalomaniac crackpot with dreams of a life presidency.
Where then can we go from here? We have to decide that enough is enough. All we need to do is withdraw our support. But, it is not that simple. We need organization and education on the efficacy of non-violent resistance movement. History tells us that in Buganda it was once used successfully in the colonial period when Indian shops and British import and export firms were boycotted. May be Olara Otunnu and Dan Muliika are on to something. For Olara, if he is to gain credibility in this arena of activist advocacy, he needs to demonstrate that this is not another avenue on which to build his partisan UPC.
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* Ref: Fragments Website by James VanHise
The Politics of Nonviolent Action, Gene Sharp
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