Two opposition Members of Parliament, who this week spent a few nights in jail over last Thursday's riots, have vowed to continue to put pressure on Government to drop a proposal to cut down a third of Mabira Forest.
A proposal floated by President Yoweri Museveni recommends the giveaway of 7,100 hectares of Mabira Forest to the Mehta Group of Companies for the expansion of its sugarcane plantation.
Beatrice Anywar Atim MP for Kitgum and Makindye West MP Hussein Kyanjo say their two-night jail experience has hardened their resolve on Mabira. They claim their arrest was an attempt by President Museveni and his Government to divert the public from the forest giveaway.
Anywar says that as much as she regrets the death of three people during last week's demonstration, she does not apologize for publicly protesting against the Mabira issue. She says it was never the intention of the demonstration's organizers for violence to erupt during the march. The MP contends that she would not have risked the lives of the children in the brass band if she knew they would be put in harms way.
Despite the setback, Anywar vows to participate in any other future genuine political actions against government.
//Cue in: iDespite the fact#i
Cue out: i# I will move forward.i//
Hussein Kyanjo says the demonstration was part of a process of ensuring that the Mabira Forest giveaway remains of public concern. He says he was aware when he joined politics that it would be a risky job.
//Cue in: iWhat we are attempting #i
Cue out: i# of those threats.i//
