Protestors at Ugandan Embassies: “Don’t Cooperate with Deportation of Asylum Seekers from Israel!”

Starting today, Monday April 9, protestors at Ugandan embassies around the world as well as outside the Ugandan legation in Israel will demand: “Don’t cooperate with the Israeli PM’s plan to deport African people.” The organizers of the worldwide protest have written: “People around the world understand that seeking asylum is a basic right, and examining each case quickly is a matter of basic fairness… We demand that Uganda refuse to participate in Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plan to deport up to 38,000 people, mostly from Sudan and Eritrea, who are in Israel seeking asylum.”

Prime Minister Netanyahu has stated that all people seeking asylum from African nations must choose between deportation to a “third country” or indefinite imprisonment in Israel. The media have reported that Netanyahu is trying to close a secret deal with Uganda to deport asylum seekers there after Rwanda backed off from the deportation deal due to international pressure.

The Ugandan government publicly denies having an agreement to accept people deported from Israel, but statements by Israeli government officials and local news reports indicate that Uganda may have indeed agreed to this plan.

The organizers went on to write: “The best way the Ugandan government can help people seeking refuge in Israel is to refuse to cooperate with Prime Minister Netanyahu’s cruel deportation plan. If Uganda refuses to cooperate, the deportation plan will end and the Israeli government will have to implement a plan in cooperation with the international community that will help people seeking asylum in Israel to find safety. Advocates have vowed to continue protesting until Uganda cancels the secret agreement with Israel, and until Israel implements a plan for people seeking asylum that respects basic rights and human dignity.”

More details on world-wide demonstrations, specifically in: