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Message: [QUOTE="Munyaradzi Mafaro, post: 82334, member: 636"] Cops are absolutely crushing opposition rallies in Uganda. Amnesty International dropped a report detailing security forces using wild excessive force. They targeted events in Kawempe and Iganga with tear gas, beatings, and arbitrary arrests. Officers even used attack dogs and rifles as clubs to intimidate peaceful crowds. In one messed-up incident, police blocked an exit with a truck before opening fire. That attack killed at least one person and injured many others. The authorities also arrested over four hundred people just for attending or supporting the opposition. They used road closures to disrupt the rallies, too. A regional director for Amnesty called it a brutal repression campaign. He said Uganda is violating the rights to free assembly and association. Police are supposed to use non-violent methods first under international law. Any force must be proportional, but these actions were way over the line. Ugandan police claim crowds threw stones and damaged vehicles first. Eyewitnesses directly contradict that, saying people were peaceful and only carried flags. This is all happening before a major election where the president wants to extend his forty-year rule. The main opposition candidate, Bobi Wine, says his campaign feels like a war. He points to soldiers everywhere and supporters being killed. The president recently gave an interview but dodged questions about cracking down on rivals. Similar repression happened during past elections, too. Amnesty wants proper investigations into all these incidents. They demand fair trials and no death penalty for those arrested. A United Nations human rights chief also pushed Uganda to stop the repression last December. The situation looks grim as the election approaches. [/QUOTE]

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