Ugandan plan for forest suspended

Plans to give thousands of acres of rainforest in Uganda to an Asian-owned sugar company have been suspended after protests left three people dead.

The decision to allow a sugar cane plantation in Mabira met intense criticism from environmentalists.

They warned of extensive soil erosion and the possible extinction of rare species of wildlife.

Environment minister Maria Mutagamba said the government was trying to find alternative land for the Mehta Group

A protest last month in the capital, Kampala, turned violent when police fired live bullets to disperse the crowd.

Mrs Mutagamba said no action would be taken until a cabinet committee had completed a review of the Ugandan sugar industry.

They don't understand that the future on all countries lies in processing President Yoweri Museveni Eyewitness: Uganda violence

The Sugar Corporation of Uganda (Scoul), part of the Mehta group, wants to expand its plantations in central Uganda.

President Yoweri Museveni had backed the plan and other supporters of the sugar bid said the expansion would create more jobs and income for the country.

But the government was divided on the matter and the state-run New Vision paper had criticised the move.

The kabaka, or king, of the local Buganda community had offered to give alternative land for the sugar company in a bid to save the hardwood forest.

In the capital there has been a car bumper sticker campaign urging people to save Mabira forest.