Idi Dada Amin was born either in Koboko or in Kampala, in the family of Kakwa and Lugbara. In 1946 he joined the Royal African Riflemen (KAR) of the British Colonial Army.
Initially a cook, he rose to the rank of lieutenant, taking part in punitive actions against the Somali rebels and then against the Mau Mau rebels in Kenya. After Uganda gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1962, Amin remained in the military, rising to the rank of major, and in 1965 was promoted to command of the army. Realizing that Ugandan President Milton Oboto was planning to arrest him for embezzling military funds, Amin staged a military coup in 1971 and declared himself president.
In all the photos of Idi Amin, he is dressed in a military uniform and has numerous awards with him, most of which were given to himself.
Childhood and youth
Amin did not write an autobiography or authorize official written information about his life. Thus, there are discrepancies as to when and where he was born. Most biographical sources state that he was born in Koboko or Kampala around 1925. Other unconfirmed sources claim that Dada Ume Idi Amin's year of birth may vary from 1923 to 1928. Amin's son Hussein stated that his father was born in Kampala in 1928. Little is known about Idi Amin's childhood - a film about this period of his life has not yet been filmed.
According to Fred Guvedeko, a researcher at Makerere University, Amin was the son of Andreas Nyabir (1889-1976). Nyabir, a member of the Kakwa ethnic group, converted from Roman Catholicism to Islam in 1910 and changed his name to Amin Dada. He named his first child after himself. Abandoned by his father at a young age, the future dictator grew up with his mother's family in a town in northwestern Uganda. Guvedeko claims that the mother of the future President Idi Amin was Assa Atte (1904-1970), who belonged to the Lugbar ethnic group and traditionally practiced herbalism.
Amin joined the Bombo Islamic School in 1941. After a few years, he left school and began wandering in various part-time jobs, and then was recruited as an officer in the British Colonial Army.
Military service
Amin joined the Royal African Riflemen (KAR) of the British Colonial Army in 1946 as an assistant chef. In later years of his life, he mistakenly claimed that he was forced to join the army during World War II, and that he allegedly participated in the Burmese campaign. He was transferred to Kenya for infantry service in 1947 and served with the 21st KAR Infantry Battalion in Gilgil, Kenya until 1949. This year, his unit was deployed to northern Kenya to fight Somali insurgents. In 1952, his brigade was deployed against the Mau Mau rebels in Kenya. In the same year he was promoted to corporal, and in 1953 he became a sergeant.
In 1959, Amin was made Afande (ensign), which was the highest rank for a black African in the colonial British army at the time. Amin returned to Uganda the same year, and in 1961 was promoted to lieutenant, becoming one of the first two Ugandans to become officers. He was instructed to end (by means of suppression) the war for a major cattle between the Karamajongo people from Uganda and the nomads from Kenya. In 1962, after Uganda gained independence from the United Kingdom, Idi Amin was promoted to captain, and then, in 1963, to major. In 1964, he was appointed deputy commander of the army, and the next year he took his place himself. In 1970, he was appointed commander of all the armed forces of the state.
Army commander
The rise and fall of Idi Amin was a long and dramatic process. In 1965, Prime Minister Milton Obote and Amin were involved in a deal to smuggle ivory and gold into Uganda from the Democratic Republic of Congo. The deal, General Nicolas Olenga, aide to former Congolese leader Patrice Lumumba, later argued, was part of an arrangement to help forces opposing the Congolese government to sell ivory and gold for the supply of weapons secretly sold by Amin. In 1966, the Ugandan parliament demanded an investigation. Obote introduced a new constitution, repealing constitutional monarchy thus overthrowing King Kabaku Mutesh II, and declared himself executive president. He promoted Amin to colonel and army commander. Amin personally carried out an attack on the Kabaki Palace and forced Mutesha to travel to the United Kingdom, where he remained until his death in 1969.
Idi Dada Amin began recruiting members of the Kakwa, Lugbar, South Sudanese and other ethnic groups from the West Nile region bordering South Sudan. South Sudanese have lived in Uganda since the early 20th century, leaving their homeland to serve the colonial army. Many African ethnic groups in northern Uganda live in both Uganda and South Sudan. Some researchers argue that the army of the future President of Uganda, Idi Amin, consisted mainly of South Sudanese recruits.
Rise to power
Learning that Obote was planning to arrest him for misappropriating army funds, Amin seized power in a military coup on January 25, 1971, while Obote attended a meeting at the highest level Commonwealth countries in Singapore. Troops loyal to Amin locked up Entebbe International Airport and captured Kampala. The soldiers surrounded the Obote residence and blocked the main roads. A radio broadcast in Uganda accused the Obote government of corruption and preferential treatment of the Lango region. After the radio broadcast, cheering crowds appeared in the streets of Kampala. Amin announced that he was a soldier, not a politician, and that the military government would remain only as a temporary regime until new elections, which would be announced when the situation returned to normal. He promised to release all political prisoners.
President Idi Amin held a state funeral in April 1971 for Edward Muteshi, the former king (Kabaki) and president who died in exile, freed many political prisoners and fulfilled his promise to hold free and fair elections to return the country to democratic rule in the shortest possible time ...
Introduction of a military dictatorship
On February 2, 1971, a week after the coup, Amin declared himself President of Uganda, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Chief of Army Staff and Chief of Aviation Staff. He announced that he was suspending certain provisions of the Ugandan constitution, and soon established a Defense Advisory Board composed of military officers with himself as chairman. Amin placed military tribunals over the civil law system, appointed soldiers to senior government positions and parastatals, and informed newly appointed civilian cabinet ministers that they would be subject to military discipline.
Amin renamed the presidential apartment in Kampala from Government House to Command Post. He disbanded the unit general service(SSS), an intelligence agency created by the previous government, and replaced it with the State Research Bureau (SRB). The SLR headquarters in the Kampala suburb of Nakasero became the site of torture and execution over the next several years. Other institutions used to harass dissidents included the military police and the public security unit (PSU).
Obote took refuge in Tanzania, where he received asylum from the President of that country, Julius Nyerere. Obote was soon joined by 20,000 Ugandan refugees fleeing Amin. The exiles tried but failed to reclaim Uganda in 1972 in a poorly organized coup d'état attempt.
National repression
Amin, in response to an invasion attempt by Ugandan exiles in 1972, clearing the army of Obote supporters, predominantly of the Acholi and Lango ethnic groups. In July 1971, Lango and Acholi soldiers were killed in the Jinjia and Mbarara barracks. By early 1972, about 5,000 Acholi and Lengo soldiers and at least double the number of civilians had disappeared. Soon, other ethnic groups, religious leaders, journalists, artists, officials, judges, lawyers, students and intellectuals, as well as foreign citizens, began to fall victim to them. In this atmosphere of violence, many other people were killed for criminal reasons or simply at will. Bodies were often dumped into the Nile River.
Ethnic, political and motivated killings financial factors, continued throughout the eight years of the reign of Ugandan President Idi Amin. The exact number of those killed is unknown. The International Commission of Jurists has estimated that the death toll is at least 80,000, and more likely close to 300,000.
Foreign policy
Initially, Amin was supported by Western powers such as Israel, West Germany and, in particular, Great Britain. In the late 1960s, Obote's movement to the left, including the introduction of his charter as an Extraordinary Man and the nationalization of 80 British companies, made the West worry that this president would threaten Western capitalist interests in Africa and make Uganda an ally of the USSR. Amin, who served in the British army and was involved in the suppression of the Mau Mau uprising before Uganda's independence, was known to the British as a staunch loyalist. This made him the obvious and most desirable successor to Obote in the eyes of the British.
After the expulsion of Ugandan Asians in 1972, most of whom were Indian origin India severed diplomatic relations with Uganda. In the same year, within the framework of its “ economic war", Amin broke off diplomatic relations with Great Britain and nationalized all British-owned enterprises.
In parallel, Uganda's relations with Israel deteriorated. Although Israel had previously supplied weapons to Uganda, in 1972 Amin ousted Israeli military advisers and appealed for support to Libya's dictator Muammar Gaddafi and the USSR. Later, Idi Amin became an outspoken critic of Israel. Amin did not hesitate to discuss with advisers and journalists his plans for a war with Israel, using paratroopers, bombers and suicide squadrons. Rumors spread in Africa and the West that Idi Amin was a cannibal.
The Soviet Union became the largest arms supplier for the regime of the dictator Idi Amin. East Germany participated in the General Services Group and the State Research Bureau, two organizations that were best known for their terror against the opposition and civilians. Later, during the 1979 Ugandan invasion of Tanzania, East Germany tried to erase evidence of its collaboration with these organizations.
In 1973, US Ambassador Thomas Patrick Meladi recommended that the US reduce its presence in Uganda. Meladi called Amin's regime "racist, erratic and unpredictable, brutal, inept, belligerent, irrational, ridiculous and militaristic." Shortly thereafter, the United States closed its embassy in Kampala.
1976 terrorist attack
In June 1976, Amin allowed an Air France airliner, flying from Tel Aviv to Paris and captured by two members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, as well as their German Communist aides, to land at Entebbe Airport. Shortly thereafter, 156 non-Jewish hostages who did not have Israeli passports were released, while 83 Jews and Israeli citizens, as well as 20 crew members, continued to be held captive by Arab-German terrorists and their Ugandan allies. In the ensuing Israeli hostage rescue operation, codenamed Operation Thunderbolt, on the night of 3-4 July 1976, a group of Israeli commandos flew out of Israel and seized control of Entebbe airport, freeing nearly all of the hostages. Three hostages were killed during the operation and 10 were injured. 7 terrorists, about 45 Ugandan soldiers and 1 Israeli soldier, Yoni Netanyahu (unit commander) were killed. The fourth hostage, 75-year-old Dora Bloch, an elderly Jewish British woman who was taken to Mulago hospital in Kampala before the rescue operation, was subsequently killed in the repression. This incident further exacerbated international relationships Uganda, as a result of which the United Kingdom closed its High Commission in Uganda. In response to aid to Kenya in the raid, the cannibal Idi Amin also ordered the killing of hundreds of Kenyans living in Uganda. According to some reports, he often ate the flesh of killed oppositionists.
Revanchism and militarism
Uganda, under Amin's leadership, has embarked on a military build-up that has raised concerns from neighboring Kenya. In early June 1975, the Kenyan authorities confiscated a large convoy of Soviet weapons en route to Uganda at the port of Mombasa. Tensions between Uganda and Kenya came to a head in February 1976 when Amin announced that he would consider annexing parts of southern Sudan and western and central Kenya, as well as 32 kilometers (20 mi) of Nairobi, which are said to be part of historic Uganda. The Kenyan government reacted with a stern statement that Kenya would not part with "one inch of territory." Amin retreated after the Kenyan army deployed troops and armored personnel carriers along the Kenya-Uganda border.
Overthrow and exile
By 1978, the number of Amin's supporters and close associates had dwindled significantly, and he faced growing dissent from the population as the economy and infrastructure collapsed as a result of years of abuse. After the assassination of Bishop Luvum and Ministers Oryema and Obom Ofbyumi in 1977, several of Amin's ministers went into opposition or disappeared in exile. In November 1978, after Amin's vice-president, General Mustafa Adrisi, was wounded in a suspicious car accident, his loyal soldiers revolted. Amin sent troops against the rebels, some of whom fled across the Tanzanian border. Amin accused Tanzanian President Julius Nierre of waging a war against Uganda, ordered the invasion of Tanzania and formally annexed a section of the Kagera region adjacent to the border.
In January 1979, Nierre mobilized Popular forces defense of Tanzania and counterattacked along with several groups of Ugandan exiles, united in the National liberation army Uganda (UNLA). Amin's army steadily retreated, and despite military aid from Muammar Gaddafi from Libya, Amin was forced to flee into exile by helicopter on April 11, 1979 when Kampala was captured. He fled first to Libya, where he stayed until 1980, and eventually settled in Saudi Arabia, where The Royal Family allowed him to stay and paid a generous subsidy in exchange for not returning to politics. Amin lived for several years on the top two floors of the Novotel on Palestine Road in Jeddah. Brian Barron, who covered the wars in Uganda and Tanzania for the BBC as chief African correspondent with cinematographer Mohamed Amin (namesake), met the former Ugandan dictator in 1980 and conducted his first interview since his ouster.
In an interview he gave in Saudi Arabia, Amin said that Uganda needed him and that he never had any qualms about the brutal nature of his regime.
Sickness and death
On July 19, 2003, Amin Nalongo's fourth wife Madina reported that he was in a coma and nearly died at the King Faisal Research Center Hospital in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, from kidney failure. She pleaded with Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni to allow him to return to Uganda for the rest of his life. Museveni replied that Amin would have to "answer for his sins the very moment he returns." Amin's family eventually decided to shut down the life support apparatus, and on August 16, 2003, the former dictator passed away. He was buried in Ruwais Cemetery in Jeddah in a simple grave without any honors.
In popular culture
In the eyes of the modern viewer, Idi Amin "glorified" the film "The Last King of Scotland", in which the bloody dictator was brilliantly played by Forrest Whitaker, who received an Oscar for this role.
June 23rd, 2016
The history of the twentieth century knows many dictators, whose names, even decades after their overthrow or death, compatriots pronounce with fear, hatred or contempt. The most terrible and "cannibalistic" (sometimes literally) dictatorships in modern history have existed in the countries of the "third world" - in Asian and African states.
How many of these specific African rulers have we already had, remember the topic or for example. But in general, but today we will have a new character.
Field Marshal Idi Amin Dada was in power in Uganda from 1971 to 1979. He was called "Black Hitler", however, the dictator of one of the poorest African countries himself did not hide his sympathy for the Fuhrer of the Third Reich. Eight years of the dictatorship of Idi Amin Dada entered the history of the African continent as one of the bloodiest pages. Despite the fact that authoritarian leaders were in power in many countries of the continent, Idi Amin's name became a household name.
It was he who launched a brutal terror against the groups of Ugandans he hated - first against the immigrants from India, whose impressive communities live in many East African countries, then against the Christian population of the country. In the West, Idi Amin was always portrayed as a caricatured character - after all, many of his actions were impossible to take seriously. What about the proposal to move the UN headquarters to Uganda or the demand to appoint him as the new head of the British Commonwealth instead of the Queen of England?
His rise to power is a natural consequence of the tribal struggle that flared up in Uganda in the first years of independence. There were forty tribes in the country, living in different areas, differently remote from the capital, and occupying different social niches. In fact, Uganda was fragmented into tribal unions, and the tribal leaders enjoyed real authority, which cannot be said about the official power. And the country's first prime minister, Milton Obote, decided to unite Uganda into an integral power and give it a more "civilized" character. It would be better if he did not do this, many will say. Obote, one might say, upset the delicate balance of a vast tribal alliance. As they say, good intentions lead to hell.
Like many African dictators, the exact date and place of birth of a man named Idi Amin Ume Dada is unknown. Therefore, it is generally accepted that he was born on May 17, 1928, most likely in Koboko or Kampala. Idi Amin's father Andre Nyabire (1889-1976) came from the Kakwa people and first professed Catholicism, but then converted to Islam. Mother, Assa Atte (1904-1970) belonged to the Lugbara people and worked as a nurse, although in fact she was a tribal healer and sorceress. When 39-year-old André Nyabire and 24-year-old Assa Aate had a baby - a hero who already weighed five kilograms in the first week, none of the relatives had any idea that after more than four decades he would become the sole ruler of Uganda. The boy was named Idi Avo-Ongo Angu Amin. He grew up a strong and tall guy. V mature years Idi was 192 cm tall and weighed over 110 kilograms. But if the nature of the young Ugandan was not deprived of physical data, then the guy's education was worse.
He until the end of the 1950s. remained illiterate, could not read and write. But he was distinguished by tremendous physical strength. It was physical data that played a major role in the further fate of Idi Amin.
In 1946, Idi Amin was 18 years old. After changing a number of activities, such as a seller of sweet cookies, a tough guy decided to enlist in the colonial troops and was adopted as an assistant chef in rifle division... In 1947 he was recruited into the 21st Royal African Rifle Division, which redeployed to Somalia in 1949 to fight local insurgents. When in the early 1950s. in neighboring Kenya, the famous Mau Mau uprising began, parts of British troops from neighboring colonies were transferred there. Got to Kenya and Idi Amin. It was during his military service that he got the nickname "Dada" - "Sister". In fact, the nickname in the Ugandan unit that was dissonant for a Russian soldier was almost commendable - Idi Amin often changed his mistresses, whom he brought to his tent. He introduced them to the commanders by his sisters. Therefore, colleagues called the loving soldier "Sister"
While serving in the colonial forces, Idi Amin was remembered by commanders and colleagues for his incredible courage and cruelty towards the rebels against whom the Royal African Riflemen fought. In addition, Idi Amin was not let down by his physical characteristics. Nine years - from 1951 to 1960 - he remained the Ugandan heavyweight boxing champion. Thanks to these qualities, the military career of a completely illiterate soldier was developing successfully. Already in 1948, a year after the beginning of the service, Idi Amin was awarded the rank of corporal, in 1952 - a sergeant, and in 1953 - an effendi. For the African Royal Rifleman, reaching the rank of "Effendi" - a warrant officer (an approximate analogue of a warrant officer) was the ultimate dream. Only Europeans were officers in the colonial troops, so we can safely say that by the age of 25 Idi Amin had made the greatest possible career for an African in the British army. For eight years he served as an Effendi in the Royal African Rifle Battalion, and in 1961 he became one of two Ugandan NCOs to receive lieutenant insignia.
On October 9, 1962, Uganda gained independence from Great Britain. The president of the country was proclaimed the tavern (king) of the Buganda tribe, Edward Mutesa II, and the prime minister was a politician from the Lango tribe, Milton Obote. The proclamation of state sovereignty also meant the need to create the country's own armed forces. It was decided to build them on the basis of the units of the former Royal African Riflemen stationed in Uganda. The commanding staff of the Ugandan "shooters" joined the composition of the emerging armed forces of the country.
A bit of background. The Buganda tribe was considered elite in the country. The Bugandians are Christians, they adopted English culture from the former colonialists, lived in the capital region, and held various privileged positions in the capital. In addition, the Buganda is the largest tribe. The leader of the Bugandians, King Freddie, enjoyed the confidence of Obote, who made him the first president of the country. The Bugandians raised their heads even more. But at the same time, representatives of the other tribes grumbled, who felt oppression from the Bugandians. A small tribe of Langi, to which Obote belonged, considered itself deceived. To maintain a fair order, Obote began to curtail the powers of King Freddie, which led to new discontent, already from the Bugandians. In the end, they began to carry out large-scale actions, demanding Obote's departure from power. He had no choice but to resort to force.
The choice fell on the second man in the Ugandan army, deputy commander in chief Idi Amin. Amin possessed all the qualities Obote needed: he was a representative of the Kakwa tribe, backward and living in the distant outskirts of the country, as a result of which he was considered a stranger; did not speak English and professed Islam; was physically strong, furious and energetic, and the village dullness and assertiveness allowed him to disregard any conventions.
Amin, as usual, quickly fulfilled the prime minister's order: he fired at the president's residence. King Freddie was warned by someone about the upcoming attack and managed to escape the day before. He left for England, where he lived happily for the rest of his days and died peacefully.
This little favor brought Amin closer to Obote. Amin was promoted more and more and became a confidant of the Prime Minister. This rapid rise was unique to the Kakwa; the inhabitants of Kampala, belonging to this tribe, performed the lowest paid work here: kakwa were janitors, taxi drivers, telegraph operators, and laborers.
Gradually, Amin became the second person in the state, showing deep devotion to his fatherland and the head of government.
Idi Amin Dada was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Ugandan Armed Forces, and in 1968 he was promoted to Major General. Having gained almost unlimited control over the army, Idi Amin began to strengthen his influence in the military. First of all, he flooded the Ugandan army with his fellow tribesmen Kakwa and Lugbar, as well as the Nubians who had migrated from Sudan during the colonial era.
Converted to Islam at the age of 16, Idi Amin always preferred Muslims, who prevailed among the representatives of the listed peoples. Naturally, President Milton Obote saw Idi Amin's policies as a serious threat to his power. Therefore, in October 1970, Obote took over the functions of the commander-in-chief of the country's armed forces, and Idi Amin again became deputy commander-in-chief. At the same time, the special services began to develop Idi Amin as a well-known corrupt official. The general could be arrested any day, so when President Milton Obote was in Singapore at the British Commonwealth summit at the end of January 1971, Idi Amin staged a military coup on January 25, 1971. On February 2, Major General Idi Amin proclaimed himself the new president of Uganda and regained the powers of the commander-in-chief of the armed forces.
Something that, and the cunning of an illiterate African shooter was not to be occupied. In order to win the favor of the world community, Idi Amin promised that he would soon transfer power to the civilian government, released political prisoners, that is, he posed as a supporter of democracy with all his might. The new head of state tried to enlist the patronage of Great Britain and Israel. He arrived in Israel to receive financial assistance, but did not find support from the country's leadership. Offended by Israel, Idi Amin severed Uganda's diplomatic relations with this country and reoriented to Libya. Muammar Gaddafi, who himself recently came to power, has provided support to many anti-Western and anti-Israeli regimes and national movements. Idi Amin was no exception.
As an ally of Libya, he could count on help from the Soviet Union, which he soon took advantage of. The USSR provided military assistance to Uganda, which consisted primarily in the supply of weapons. Having quickly forgotten about democracy, Idi Amin turned into a real dictator. His title sounded like this: “His Excellency President for Life, Field Marshal Al-Haji Dr. cross "and the Order" For Military Merit "".
Having consolidated his power, Idi Amin embarked on a policy of brutal repression. The first to come under attack were representatives of the military elite, who did not agree with Idi Amin's policies.
One of the bloodiest murders was the massacre of the commander-in-chief of the army, Suleiman Hussein. He was beaten with rifle butts in prison, and his head was cut off and sent to Amin, who locked her in the freezer of his huge refrigerator. Later, Hussein's head appeared during a lavish banquet, to which Dada gathered many dignitaries. In the midst of the celebration, Amin carried his head into the hall in his hands and suddenly burst into curses and curses at her, began to throw knives at her. After this attack, he ordered the guests to leave.
However, from the very beginning, Amin killed not only officers. The gangster manners of the dictator and his associates allowed them to deal with anyone who had a lot of money or tried to get to the bottom of the bloody truth. Such curious turned out to be two Americans who worked as journalists in different Ugandan publications. They interviewed a colonel who was a former taxi driver. When it seemed to him that they wanted to know too much, he contacted Amin and received a short answer: "Kill them." In an instant, two Americans were done away with, and the Volkswagen of one of them immediately became the property of the colonel.
By May 1971, that is, in the first five months of being in power, as a result of the repression, 10,000 Ugandans had died - senior officers, officials, politicians. Most of the repressed belonged to the Acholi and Lango tribes, which were especially hated by Idi Amin.
The bodies of the dead were thrown into the Nile - to be eaten by crocodiles. On August 4, 1972, Idi Amin launched a campaign against "petty-bourgeois Asians," as he called the many Indian immigrants who lived in Uganda and were active in business. All Indians, and there were 55,000 of them in the country, were ordered to leave Uganda within 90 days. By expropriating the business and property of immigrants from India, the Ugandan leader planned to improve his own well-being and "thank" for the support of his fellow tribesmen - officers and non-commissioned officers of the Ugandan army.
Ugandan Christians were the next target of repression by the Idi Amin regime. Although Muslims at that time in Uganda accounted for only 10% of the country's population, the Christian majority was discriminated against. Archbishop Yanani Luvum of Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi, in an effort to protect his flock, petitioned Idi Amin. In response, the President of Uganda, during a personal meeting with the Archbishop at the Nile Hotel in February 1977, shot a high-ranking cleric with his own hand. Repression against the most educated strata of the population, corruption, theft of property have turned Uganda into one of the poorest countries in Africa. The only expense item on which Idi Amin spared no money was the maintenance of the Ugandan army.
Idi Amin positively assessed the personality of Adolf Hitler and was even going to erect a monument to the Fuhrer of the Third Reich in Kampala. But in the end, the Ugandan dictator abandoned this idea - he was pressured by the Soviet leadership, which was afraid of discrediting the USSR by such actions of Idi Amin, who continued to receive Soviet military assistance. After the overthrow of Idi Amin, it became clear that he not only brutally destroyed his political opponents, but also did not hesitate to eat them. That is, along with the Central African dictator Bokassa, Idi Amin entered recent history and as a ruler - a cannibal.
Idi Amin fed the corpses of his enemies to the crocodiles. He himself also tasted human meat. “It's very salty, even saltier than leopard meat,” he said. "In a war, when there is nothing to eat and one of your comrades is wounded, you can kill and eat him to survive."
Go Amin and Muammar Gaddafi
Idi Amin continued to work closely with the Palestine Liberation Organization, whose office he located in the premises of the former Israeli embassy in Kampala. On June 27, 1976, an Air France plane was hijacked in Athens. The militants of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and the German left-wing radical organization "Revolutionary Cells" who had captured it, took passengers hostage, among whom were many Israeli citizens. Idi Amin gave permission to land the hijacked plane at Entebbe airport in Uganda. The PFLP militants set a condition - to release 53 Palestinian fighters from the prisons of Israel, Kenya and the Federal Republic of Germany. Otherwise, they threatened to shoot all the passengers on the plane. The ultimatum expired on July 4, 1976, but on July 3, 1976, a brilliant operation by Israeli special forces was carried out at Entebbe airport. All the hostages were released.
Seven gunmen who hijacked the plane and twenty Ugandan army soldiers who tried to obstruct the operation were killed. At the same time, all Ugandan Air Force warplanes were blown up at Entebbe airport. Israeli special forces lost only two soldiers, among whom was the commander of the operation, Colonel Yonatan Netanyahu, the elder brother of the future Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. But Israeli commandos forgot to release 73-year-old Dora Bloch, who was taken to a hospital in Kampala due to deteriorating health. Idi Amin, furious after the impressive "raid in Entebbe," ordered her to be shot (according to another version, he personally strangled an elderly Israeli woman).
But the biggest mistake Idi Amin Dada made was the start of a war with neighboring Tanzania, a much larger country in terms of area and population. In addition, Tanzania belonged to the friendly Soviet Union African countries, and its leader Julius Nyerere adhered to the concept of African socialism. After the outbreak of the war with Tanzania, Uganda lost support from the countries of the socialist camp, and relations with Western countries were ruined even earlier. Go Amin could only rely on the help of the Arab countries, first of all - Libya. However, the Ugandan army invaded Kagera province in northern Tanzania. This was a fatal mistake. Tanzanian troops, aided by the armed formations of the Ugandan opposition, drove Idi Amin's army out of the country and invaded Uganda itself.
On April 11, 1979, Idi Amin Dada hastily left Kampala. He left for Libya, and in December 1979 he moved to Saudi Arabia.
The former dictator settled in Jeddah, where he lived happily for almost a quarter of a century. On August 16, 2003, at the age of 75, Idi Amin died and was buried in Jeddah (Saudi Arabia). Life path the bloody dictator, nicknamed "Black Hitler", ended very well: Idi Amin died in his bed, living to old age, in contrast to the numerous victims of his regime.
Idi Amin is considered one of the most curious, odious and shocking personalities of the 20th century. He is involved in many unprecedented tragicomic incidents that later made him the hero of many stories and anecdotes. In the West and in some countries of Eastern Europe he was considered an eccentric and comic person and was constantly ridiculed in cartoons.
Amin was extremely predisposed to a variety of awards, so he lengthened his robe to accommodate most of the British medals and other World War II awards bought from collectors. The dictator became the object of ridicule of foreign journalists also because he appropriated many magnificent titles that did not correspond to the real power of Amin, for example, "Conqueror of the British Empire" and "King of Scotland".
In addition to claims to become the head of the British Commonwealth of Nations instead of the Queen of Great Britain, in 1974 Amin proposed to move the UN headquarters to Uganda, explaining this decision by the fact that his country is the "geographic heart of the planet."
One of the most absurd decisions of Amin is considered his ephemeral declaration of a one-day war on the United States of America. The dictator of Uganda declared war only to declare himself victorious the next day.
Having become the full-fledged dictator of his country, Amin continued to play sports, in particular motorsport (evidence of this was the acquisition of several racing cars), and was also fond of Walt Disney cartoons.
It is known that the dictator of Uganda considered Adolf Hitler to be his teacher and idol and was even going to erect a monument to the Fuhrer, but was stopped by the Soviet Union, with which Amin had established close ties.
Also, after the end of his reign, information was confirmed, including from himself, that Amin was a cannibal and ate killed opponents and other subjects, keeping parts of their bodies in a large refrigerator of the residence next to unsuspecting foreign delegations received at audiences.
However, I met this opinion on one of the sites on the network: "Standard infa ala "wiki", which was often done not entirely by military special correspondents, or in other words - a body arrived for 3 days, sat in a hotel, took a couple of photos from the balcony and brought down an article back to civilization to sell.
Plus, the British, who fell out of favor with IdiAmin, in every possible way warmed up any topic that would throw him off, including sheer nonsense.
I spent a happy childhood there, I was more than once in the palace and at the IdiAmin's hacienda - a normal guy :) I still keep in touch with people who were with my parents at the embassy from 1977 to 1980.
I think the same Sergei Potemkov (he was at that time in Uganda as a military translator) - laughs out loud with such information. "
sources
Go Amin- dictator, President of Uganda, in the seventies, created one of the most brutal totalitarian regimes in Africa. He was remembered for cannibalism, love of awards and repression (personally, while killing about 2,000 people). Rise to power.
He practically did not receive an education, and in his youth he was selling sweet cookies in Kampala (what a shame for a future dictator!). But, realizing that he would not achieve success in life in this way, he went to serve in the British army (recall that this is happening in the British colony). And then came 1962, Uganda gains independence, and Idi Amin - the rank of captain and friendship with Prime Minister Milton Oboa, with whom, after a while, they arrange a military coup to overthrow the president. And then another one - only Idi Amina versus Obota. The result - in 1971, Idi Amin becomes the full-fledged ruler of Uganda.
Presidency
Initially, Amin was focused on supporting Great Britain, South Africa, and for some reason Israel, where the black Muslim president was looked at as an extremely suspicious person, and friendship (as well as cash loans) was denied. Offended by the West, the President of Uganda went to Libya and made the right decision. Gaddafi, considering Idi Amin to be the same fighter against imperialism, became his faithful ally, knocking out help for his regime even from the USSR.
But despite the propaganda of "reforms", in fact, Idi Amin was preparing a real terror for his country. The so-called "death squads" organized by him annihilated almost all of the highest army command personnel in six months, killing more than 10,000 people.
Also, the former cookie seller was an extremely poor economist, and in the first year of his rule he brought the country to bankruptcy. He found a way out of this resemblance in the executions of enemies of the people, who could be blamed for everything - primarily under hot hand Asian merchants living in the country (50,000 people) ended up, who were voluntarily offered to transfer all their property to the state and leave the country. This did not help the economy, then Christians, who made up the majority of the country's population, were declared enemies ...
(In the photo: meeting of Idi Amin and Muammar Gaddafi)
About personality.
Idi Amin was an extremely eccentric person, which is fully reflected in some facts from his biography:
Even while serving in the UK army, suppressing the uprisings of the tribes, he often ordered the castration of the entire male population. They say that he did not mind having a snack with the severed genitals, and in general he did not hide his cannibalism, he kept parts of the bodies of his victims in the refrigerator, as well as their heads as trophies.
Has conferred on himself the official title "His Excellency President for Life, Field Marshal Al-Haji Dr. "And the Order" For Military Merit "". At the same time, the "doctor of all sciences" did not even know how to write.
He considered A. Hitler his idol, he wanted to erect a monument to him in Uganda, but the USSR dissuaded him.
He was very fond of awards, for which he even lengthened his uniform. The medals and orders themselves were bought from collectors (!).
Once he declared war on the United States, but the Americans did not notice this, so the next day Idi Amin declared his victory.
As a result of the terror, between 300,000 and 600,000 people were killed, 2,000 of whom were personally killed. Many of his decisions were motivated by the fact that in a dream Allah gives them to him.
In 1976, he allowed an aircraft hijacked by Palestinian terrorists to land in Uganda. During the negotiations, he agreed to release all non-Jewish hostages. As a result, Israeli citizens flew in to save the Mossad, destroying ALL Ugandan warplanes at the same time ("Operation Entebbe")
He had five wives, most of whom, instead of divorcing, arranged fatal accidents. Children - 36 sons, 14 daughters (officially)
(pictured: a note about Operation Entebbe in the government newspaper The Voice of Uganda)
Overthrow.
In 1978, Idi Amin declared war on socialist Tanzania, which turned himself away from the last allies in the face of the USSR, Cuba and Vietnam. Even with the military help of Libya, Amin's regime was defeated, he himself fled to Kadaffi and then moved to Saudi Arabia where he died in 2003 (although he tried to return to his homeland, believing that "the country needs him."
(In the photo: Ugandan tank brigade during the war with Tanzania)
P.S.
Idi Amin is considered one of the most ridiculous and odious personalities of the 20th century and is often mentioned in popular culture, in particular in the movie "The Last King of Scotland" (2006). The actor Forest Whitaker, who played Idi Amin, was awarded the Golden Globe For Best Dramatic Actor and Oscars for Best Actor.
In the TV series "House Doctor" there is an episode dedicated to the treatment of the former African dictator, in whose image Idi Amin is unmistakably guessed.
Is the President the Guarantor of the Constitution and Human Rights? Forget it when it comes about Idi Amin - one of the most disgusting rulers in the history of mankind. It is hard to imagine that just forty years ago in Uganda, the head of state ate his subjects and kept the heads of his enemies in the refrigerator. Get ready: Today HistoryTime talks about these and other hideous "weaknesses" of Idi Amin. We strongly recommend people under the age of 18 and just the faint of heart to refrain from reading this article.
His Excellency President for Life, Field Marshal Al-Haji Dr. Idi Amin, Master of all beasts on earth and fish in the sea, Conqueror of the British Empire in Africa in general and in Uganda in particular, Knight of the Victoria Cross, Military Cross and Order military merit ".
Do you think this is a quote from a surreal movie? Or maybe the title of a little-known painting by Salvador Dali? Not guessing. Idi Amin, the humble president of Uganda, used this complex construction as a title. The head of state was incredibly proud that his self-name was 19 words longer than that of Queen Elizabeth II. Certain complexes of Idi Amin were also associated with a strange title: if one of the subordinates missed at least one word, then in the blink of an eye he became Mr. President's supper. Therefore, every citizen of Uganda learned the title of the leader of the country as "Our Father" and could repeat it without hesitation at the first request.
The subjects for dinner are by no means a cynical journalistic metaphor, but a very real addiction of Idi Amin. According to the stories of contemporaries, the African tyrant began to eat nutritious human meat long before the presidency. Idi Amin devoted most of his life to the army: from common soldier he was promoted to Commander-in-Chief of the Ugandan Armed Forces. Using his official powers, Idi Amin subtly killed, robbed, buried his victims alive or beaten to death. The monster was a very large, even obese man, so killing a man for him was like swatting a fly. Apparently, the love for the juicy little man had an effect. Also, Amin's colleagues noted that the future "lord of all fish on earth" played football perfectly. However, this is where its advantages ended.
Everything else that Idi Amin, nicknamed "Dada" (you will be surprised, but this word translates as "sister"), did just unimaginable disgust. The president, who came to power in the course of several military coups, did not even try to hide his passion for cannibalism for the sake of decency. For example, during a gala reception on the occasion of his own inauguration, Amin publicly announced that in honor of the visit of foreign guests, the dinner menu included human meat will not. The naive ambassadors decided that the newly minted President of Uganda just had a kind of humor. How wrong they were ...
Another hobby of Idi Amin was collecting the severed heads of enemies. Especially for such executions, the dictator ordered a new, modernized model of the guillotine from France (we dare to assume that it was backlit and heated). Few victims of the tyrant were honored to die in this way: guillotination was applied only to serious political opponents of Amin. For example, a valuable piece in the Dada collection was the head of Suleiman Hussein, the chief of staff who opposed the appointment of Amin to the presidency. The dictator's acquaintances reported that Amin liked to dine in the company of severed heads: he pulled the remains of defeated enemies from the refrigerator, sat down at the table and talked with them about the fate of humanity.
Idi Amin subdued Uganda by terrorist methods and made several million people tremble with horror. By the most conservative estimates, 500 thousand civilians were killed during the rather short reign of the cannibal. At the same time, Idi Amin personally killed at least two thousand people (the tyrant also ate most of them). The demonstration executions were so massive that the army team could not cope with the burial of corpses. The bodies of the dead were often thrown into the river by the soldiers or sent to feed the crocodiles. Due to this method of getting rid of evidence, the work of the hydroelectric power station had to be stopped several times, because the bodies clogged the water intake pipes and sewers. Moreover, the bodies of the victims looked so terrible that it was completely impossible to identify them.
But Idi Amin also had cute habits: the huge cannibal simply adored watching cartoons. The cannibal and the killer was puppyish about the fairy tales of Walt Disney Studios, and often spent evenings watching the adventures of Tom and Jerry. After the overthrow of the bloody tyrant, huge collections of masterpieces of world animation were discovered in his residence, which surprised the new authorities a lot.
In 1979, Idi Amin, who had committed atrocities in the presidency of Uganda for about eight years, was overthrown. The plundered and disfigured country finally sighed calmly. The cannibal spent the remaining years in exile and never returned to his homeland. Fortunately, his attempts to re-take the presidency were unsuccessful. Idi Amin died of kidney failure only in 2003 at the age of 75.
Idi Amin did not know how to write and count, but this did not prevent him from making a brilliant military career. Co-workers noted his fearlessness, sometimes bordering on insanity, and cruelty towards the enemy. First Prime Minister of Uganda Milton Obote draws attention to the soldier. In 1966, he instructs Amin to lead a special operation against King Mutesa II of Uganda. The future dictator successfully copes with the mission entrusted to him. It is at this moment that the thought of his high destiny is born in him. He, unlike other mortals, is not touched by bullets, God chose him to put him on a par with the rulers of this world. Revelations appear to Amin in a dream, and he sacredly believes them. Having already become president, this is how he will explain his decision to expel from the country 40 thousand Asians, who allegedly plunder national wealth with their "dirty" trade deals.
Idi Amin loved public speaking and disliked office work.
After rising to the rank of major general, Amin recruits supporters from his tribe. Milton Obote, meanwhile, is rapidly losing the support of the elites due to the wave of repression and "lawlessness" of the secret police initiated by him. In 1971, Idi Amin organized a coup d'etat with his associates and became President of Uganda.
The West is welcoming the new head of state with good will. Hoping for a generous investment in the Ugandan economy, Idi Amin calls himself a "friend" of Israel and Britain. An article appears in The Daily Telegraph calling him "a long-awaited African leader and a staunch friend of Great Britain." In 1971 and 1972, Amin makes an official visit to London and Edinburgh, where he participates in a reception with the Queen. The guests are surprised by the rude manners of the President of Uganda and his tongue-tied, but Amin's good-natured smile won over everyone present.
Investigating the details of the conspiracies against the leader, the prisoners were tortured to death
Meanwhile, a repression machine is starting to operate in Uganda. Ethnic conflicts remain a "powder keg" that is about to explode. More than 30 tribes live in the country, endlessly at war with each other. Amin himself comes from a small tribe, whose representatives are usually not allowed to the top of the social ladder. The President does not make the slightest attempt to resolve ethnic differences. Residents of Uganda are exterminated on ethnic and religious grounds, the number of victims is estimated at tens of thousands. The powers of the police have been significantly expanded, and bystanders often become prisoners. Even a trip to a nearby bakery was a dangerous step, since it is impossible to calculate the "logic" of Amin's special services. People just disappeared and did not return home.
A Muslim president turns his hatred on Christians. Meanwhile, more than 50% of the Ugandan population were Christians in the 1970s. Amin also deals with the leaders of the tribes, who enjoy great authority among the people. Three-quarters of the cabinet ministers are now of his people from the outskirts of Uganda. As a rule, they did not have the ability to govern the state, however, with enviable regularity they put their hand into the treasury. The president puts Muslims in high positions.
Idi Amin obviously understood the term “turnover of power” in his own way: he executed all officials indiscriminately. And those who worked under the previous president, and ministers and politicians loyal to the new head of state. One careless gesture, glance, or simply the president's bad mood was enough. Some he killed personally. It is not possible to find out the exact number of people personally executed by Amin.
The executions carried out by his special services were distinguished by particular cruelty: the unfortunate were inflicted many wounds, after which the corpse was dismembered; burial alive was also widely used. Finding out the details of mythical conspiracies against the leader, the victims were tortured to death. In other cases, the murder was disguised as an accident - a fall from a great height, fire, robbery. The dictator also dealt with one of his spouses.
One of the dictator's wives was brutally murdered
For 8 years of Amin's rule, the size of the army has grown 2.5 times. The victims of repression, according to the International Commission of Jurists, were up to 300 thousand people. Amnesty International reports other figures - up to 500,000.
Researchers are unanimous in the opinion that Idi Amin suffered from a mental disorder, but it is unclear which one. Judging by the regularity with which he got rid of his associates, a "portrait" of a man with a persecution mania emerges. This could be bipolar disorder. According to some reports, Amin ate the meat of killed political opponents, but there is no documentary evidence of this. It is known that the president had a quick temper and changed his decisions every minute; suspicions of a possible conspiracy led the president to panic. In addition, he could not concentrate on the office work, his attention was enough for a maximum of half an hour. At the same time, the researchers note, Amin loved to speak in public: his enthusiasm infected the audience, his gestures inspired confidence, he was charming in his own way. Amin's psychological portrait is perfectly reflected in the film "The Last King of Scotland".
Shot from the movie "The Last King of Scotland"
Relationship with Western countries the Ugandan president messed up pretty quickly. He attacked Israel with criticism, made friends with Gaddafi. The deportation of Asians, most of whom had British passports, also played a role. Amin was completely devoid of political tact. Trying to emphasize his greatness in every possible way, at one of the events he sat on an armchair, which he made the British diplomats carry. In 1977, Britain severed diplomatic relations with Uganda and withdrew its diplomats from the country.
One of the dictator's oddities was his sympathy for Scotland and its people. Idi Amin was fascinated by the history of Scotland, in particular, the point that related to the wars of independence. Perhaps the reason is that Uganda long time was a British colony.
Idi Amin suffered from bipolar disorder and persecution mania
The President even ordered to organize a musical group performing Scottish music. He sent musicians to Scotland to learn how to play the bagpipes. The group often appeared at official events, its members performed in traditional Scottish costumes.
As the army grew stronger, Amin began to think about territorial increments; in 1976 he stated that South Sudan and western Kenya were historically part of Uganda. In 1978, Amin's troops invaded Tanzania. By this time, the president had lost most of his supporters: some of them were executed, some fled. The military conflict ended with a counter-offensive by Tanzanian troops and the flight of Idi Amin to Saudi Arabia, where he remained for the rest of his life.