{"id":120,"date":"2016-01-29T15:18:00","date_gmt":"2016-01-29T15:18:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/communications.amecea.org\/index.php\/2016\/01\/29\/uganda-uec-chairman-calls-on-media-to\/"},"modified":"2016-05-03T09:40:33","modified_gmt":"2016-05-03T09:40:33","slug":"uganda-uec-chairman-calls-on-media-to","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/communications.amecea.org\/index.php\/2016\/01\/29\/uganda-uec-chairman-calls-on-media-to\/","title":{"rendered":"UGANDA: UEC Chairman calls on the media to be proactive to ensure peaceful 2016 general elections"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Most Rev. John Baptist Odama (right)
during the AGM meeting<\/i><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
\nWith exactly
\n21 days left to the 2016 Uganda General Elections, the Chairman of the Uganda
\nEpiscopal Conference (UEC) and the Archbishop of Gulu Archdiocese, Most Rev.
\nJohn Baptist Odama has urged the media to be proactive in addressing the issue
\nof violence and ensuring peaceful elections on February 18 this year.<\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\nArchbishop
\nOdama made these remarks at the Uganda Catholic Secretariat premises in Kampala
\non Wednesday 27th January 2016, during the Second Annual General
\nMeeting (AGM) of the Association of Catholic Communication Practitioners in
\nUganda (ACCPU) that was attended by journalists from various media houses in
\nUganda. <\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\n\u201cWe are in a
\nvery important state now in this country and you have more knowledge than me,
\nbut I have my concerns so that we can work together. I have no idea how the
\nelection will be. Will it be free and fair? Will it be peaceful? Nobody knows,
\nbut I\u2019 am concerned about the state of this country because I wouldn\u2019t like the
\ncountry to be destabilized anymore because of the elections,\u201d Archbishop Odama
\nsaid.<\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\nHe said that
\nthe Catholic Bishops of Uganda will collaborate with the media in the endeavor
\nto promote democracy and peace-building, and will make use of their Pastoral Letter
\n(which was released in August last year)<\/i>
\nas the guiding principles for the 2016 general elections,. The Pastoral Letter
\nis entitled, \u201cFree and Fair Elections: Our Common Mission to Consolidate
\nDemocratic Gains in Uganda.\u201d<\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\nThrough the
\nwatchdog role, he said the local media should protect the public interest and
\nencourage free, fair and peaceful conduct of the elections to achieve the
\nlong-term goal of democratic consolidation and human development.<\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\n\u201cWe had a
\nterrible situation in the northern region for over 20 years and on that part I
\nam so sensitive about the future of this country. If there is anybody who is a
\ngreat patriot, I would be number two. Unless we are firm on what we want Uganda
\nto be before, during and after the elections, we are likely to see some
\nviolence,\u201d Archbishop Odama explained. <\/div>\n
\nHe added,\u201cI
\nthink we should be proactive on this important matter because many people
\nlisten to the media. We love our country so let us be proactive in addressing
\nthe issue of violence.\u201d<\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\nThe
\nArchbishop further stated that he has begun holding talks in his Archdiocese
\nabout the consequences of instigating violence before, during and after
\nelections, and he encouraged the journalists to do the same.<\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\n\u201cI have been
\ntalking to the people in my Archdiocese from the urban areas to the villages and
\nI<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Participants<\/i><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

have told them to go to their communities and pass the same message of peace.
\nWhoever causes violence from the national to the grassroots level should be held
\naccountable for any loss of lives, for any injuries or for any destruction. I
\nam very clear on this issue and I am going to continue doing so to avoid
\nviolence,\u201d he emphasized.<\/p><\/div>\n

\n<\/div>\n
\nHe quoted a
\nline from Chinua Achebe\u2019s book, \u2018Things Fall Apart,\u2019 about the mosquito which
\nalways disturbed the ear with noise to remind it that it was still alive,
\nfollowing the ear\u2019s mockery of the mosquito that it was too weak to live long
\nenough for marriage. He urged the journalists to emulate the mosquito\u2019s style
\nto be proactive and persistent in advocating for peace during this period.<\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\nArchbishop
\nOdama applauded the ACCPU members for forming the association and for their active
\nparticipation in making the visit of the Pope to Uganda a great success. <\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\n\u201cIt is our
\nhope that the members of this association, who have met at the very important
\njuncture, will contribute towards a free, fair and peaceful elections,\u201d he
\nconcluded.<\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\nThe AGM also
\nattracted the UEC Secretary General, Msgr. John Baptist Kauta and the UEC
\nExecutive Secretary of the Social Communications Department, Rev. Fr. Philip
\nOdii who was re-elected as an ex-officio member.<\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\nBy Jacinta W. Odongo; Media Officer, Uganda
\nEpiscopal Conference<\/i><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Most Rev. John Baptist Odama (right) during the AGM meeting With exactly 21 days left…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1551,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-120","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/communications.amecea.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/communications.amecea.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/communications.amecea.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communications.amecea.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communications.amecea.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=120"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/communications.amecea.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1553,"href":"https:\/\/communications.amecea.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120\/revisions\/1553"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communications.amecea.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1551"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/communications.amecea.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=120"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communications.amecea.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=120"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communications.amecea.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=120"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}