ABC Highlights Opposition Figure's Health, Ignores US Proxy Role in Uganda
📰 THE STORY: ABC News reports on the deteriorating health of jailed Ugandan opposition figure Kizza Besigye, citing his party's concerns, and framing it as a human rights issue within Uganda's political landscape. 🔍 WHAT THEY'RE NOT TELLING YOU: Historical Context: Uganda's current President Yoweri Museveni, while criticized by the West today for authoritarian tendencies, was a US-backed darling
for decades. In the 1980s, the US and UK provided significant support, including military training, to Museveni and his National Resistance Army. His rise to power and subsequent long reign (since 1986) were initially lauded by Western powers eager for a 'stable' ally in the Great Lakes region, a stability often maintained through repression. Double Standard: Western media often champions
'democracy' and 'human rights' for opposition figures when it suits their geopolitical interests, particularly in nations not fully aligned, or when long-standing proxies start to wobble. Compare the extensive coverage of Besigye's health with the absolute silence on the hundreds of thousands, if not millions, dead in conflicts fueled by Western-backed militias in Congo (where US allies like
Rwanda's Kagame play a heavy hand) or the consistent refusal to engage with the dire human rights situation in Western-allied states like Saudi Arabia or Sisi's Egypt, which receives $1.3 billion yearly from the US for maintaining its brutal regime and controlling the Rafah crossing. Follow the Money: The US provides significant military and economic aid to Uganda, totaling hundreds of millions