Page 2806 - Week 11 - Wednesday, 21 October 1992
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world attention to so many places at one time. Tragically, there are many countries in the world where that spotlight should be used. We could stand here and name them all, but today we are going to concentrate on Uganda. At the same time, we should not forget Burma, Somalia and all the other places that we might care to name.
We need to exert our efforts tirelessly to change the wrongful attitudes that some of our population in Australia may have towards others - other Australians as well as people of other races. We have to be vigilant against those attitudes and work tirelessly to change them. The work of Amnesty International is a contribution that this world cannot go without. Many members of our community belong to and support this organisation, and I personally hope that the focus of Amnesty Week will encourage more people to realise the current realities of this world and join in the efforts to correct the inhuman practices of the oppressors. The evidence that I saw at the poster competition which was used this week to launch Amnesty Week encourages me. It was a poster competition involving schoolchildren. As with all other problems this world faces - be they environmental, be they human rights - the hope that we get as community leaders, I believe, should come from our young people. If we can see that indication in our young community, there is hope for us all.
It is my pleasure to join other members in commending this motion to the Assembly and to the people of Canberra. As I said at the outset, we may have temporarily forgotten the Ugandan cause, but the emphasis of Amnesty Week this year on Uganda and Africa can refocus us and put Uganda back at the top of the list.
MRS GRASSBY (11.16): Madam Speaker, I rise this morning to support Mr Humphries's motion. The events that have been reported in Uganda over the last 20 years show us the irresponsible manner in which the media may be used. We had a little taste of it over the weekend. It was the subject of the MPI yesterday in the house. The problems in many countries around the world often have their beginnings in the shameless way in which the old-world countries have exploited both the people and the assets of other countries, causing an extremely low standard of living for the people involved. Democracy is not something to be taken easily. We in this country are fortunate to live where all citizens have the right to vote a government in or out of power, are not thrown into gaol or maybe shot and do not disappear. We take this right of democracy, I feel, with very little thought and appreciation. It is only motions such as this that make us realise how lucky we are.
Madam Speaker, the poverty that people in some countries are forced to endure has meant that the privileged few in power have come to fear the people they should represent. Madam Speaker, Idi Amin left behind a legacy of fear in Uganda. Uganda's society does not know the luxury of trial by jury, and peaceful demonstrations are also unknown. However, we must remember that citizens from all levels of Uganda's life live in fear. Soldiers have virtually no rights. A method that was infamous 50 years ago - known as "night and fog" - is still used today. People disappear and are never seen again. We all know that this happens not only in Uganda but also in many countries in South America and around the world.
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