Spectacle Of Idi Amin

The emergence and fall of famous heroes and villains is a key feature of world history. The cheers and condemnations of the past resound through the passageways of time. Idi Amin, who was simultaneously praised and condemned, a hero and a villain, was merged into the contradiction of heroic evil. He represented despotism as a villain. Thousands of thousands of his countrymen perished during his tyranny. Amin has four connotations for Africa and the Third World as a hero. In terms of the economy, he sought to combat reliance on outside sources and foreign dominance. In terms of culture, he represented a reaffirmation of cultural authenticity.

For better or worse, he encouraged Africans' cultural self-discovery. Politically, Amin frequently rebelled against the 20th-century power system that was dominated by the north. He poked fun of the powerful and occasionally aided in boosting the confidence of Third World soldiers. Amin represented a morally fundamental balancing act between the nationalistic interests of most of the Third World and the liberal values of the west. Before we study the dialectical irregularities of Amin's heroism, let's first look at Amin the villain.

Autocracy Versus Anarchy

The old contrast between tyranny and anarchy must be kept in mind. How much of Uganda's suffering between 1971 and April 1979 was brought on by Idi Amin's tyranny? How much of it was a result of pure anarchy and the breakdown of norms? Anarchy is decentralized violence, while tyranny involves force that is directed centrally. The two procedures might support one another. Governments that are afraid of what they perceive to be anarchic trends may become more repressive. On the other side, organizations that are unsatisfied with a government's credentials and refuse to recognize its legitimacy risk destabilizing society.

Thirdly, there is the danger that certain groups will increase the level of arbitrariness and insecurity in society by taking advantage of either governmental inefficiency or a widespread decline in morality. Every Third World nation strikes a different balance between despotism and anarchy. Because of Idi Amin's flamboyant personality and ability to garner global attention, the authoritarian aspect of Uganda under Amin received by far the most media attention.

But, by 1977, Uganda had turned into a situation that exemplified both deliberate authoritarianism and pure decentralized brutality. This does not refute the argument that many of the more well-known killings were certainly centrally planned and frequently started by Field Marshal Idi Amin himself. The murder of Chief Justice Kiwanuka in 1972, the murder of Vice Chancellor Kalimuzo of Makerere University in the same year, and the murder of Archbishop Luwum in 1977 along with two cabinet ministers, were almost certainly ordered by Idi Amin himself.

The Inviolable and the Profane

There was a third issue in the Ugandan context, one of separating the religious from the secular, in addition to the issues of separating fact from fiction and dictatorship from anarchy. In what ways did Idi Amin's actions reflect Islam? How important is religion in comprehending the larger social dynamics in Uganda? The importance of religion in politics has been widely discussed by observers.

Some of those commentators appear to have forgotten that just a small fraction of Ugandan Muslims is actually Nubia, Kakwa, or from Sudan, the three intertwining communities that were meant to be the foundation of Amin's rule. Most Muslims in Uganda don't fit into any of these three groups. Are these scholars right to attribute a significant part of the tensions and brutality in Uganda under Amin on religion? In this case, a comparison viewpoint is necessary. While Muslims and Christians in Uganda have been 'confronting' each other, what has been going on elsewhere in Africa in terms of religion?

The month of February 1977 witnessed two highly publicized acts of brutality reportedly committed by Africans against the clergy. First came the news that seven white Roman Catholic missionaries including four nuns, had been gunned down in Zimbabwe-Rhodesia. The sole survivor, Father Dunston Myerscough, 65 years old, was convinced that the murderers were African nationalist guerrillas.

The second event less than two weeks later was indeed the murder of the Most Reverend Janani Luwum, Anglican Archbishop of Uganda, while in custody under the charge of plotting to overthrow the government of President Amin. The government claimed that the archbishop and two of Amin's own Cabinet Ministers under a similar charge were killed in a car crash, but most of the world was understandably skeptical. In the case of the murder of the seven missionaries in Zimbabwe, it was assumed that they died as casualties of a racial war - rather than as martyrs in a religious crusade.

But in the case of the Ugandan Archbishop, the world jumped to the conclusion that he was a martyr to his faith as a Christian. Was the world justified in assuming that Archbishop Luwum died for religious reasons? In contemporary Africa, tensions between religious groups are never purely religious. Religious tensions are usually an aspect of either ideological conflict between militants and moderates (as in parts of Ethiopia), racial conflict between white and black (as in Southern Africa), ethno-cultural conflict between different African tribes and communities (as in Uganda), or class conflict between the haves and have-nots (as illustrated in virtually all cases). publicized acts of brutality reportedly committed by Africans against the clergy First came the news that seven white Roman Catholic missionaries including four nuns, had been gunned down in Zimbabwe-Rhodesia. The sole survivor, Father Dunston Myerscough, 65 years old, was convinced that the murderers were African nationalist guerrillas.

The second event less than two weeks later was indeed the murder of the Most Reverend Janani Luwum, Anglican Archbishop of Uganda, while in custody under the charge of plotting to overthrow the government of President Amin. The government claimed that the archbishop and two of Amin's own Cabinet Ministers under a similar charge were killed in a car crash, but most of the world was understandably skeptical. In the case of the murder of the seven missionaries in Zimbabwe, it was assumed that they died a casualty of a racial war rather than as martyrs in a religious crusade. But in the case of the Ugandan Archbishop, the world jumped to the conclusion that he was a martyr to his faith as a Christian.

Was the world justified in assuming that Archbishop Luwum died for religious reasons? In contemporary Africa, tensions between religious groups are never purely religious. Religious tensions are usually an aspect of either ideological conflict between militants and moderates (as in parts of Ethiopia), racial conflict between white and black (as in Southern Africa), ethno-cultural conflict between different African tribes and communities (as in Uganda), or class conflict between the haves and have-nots (as illustrated in virtually all cases).

Amin's Hopeful Prospect

However, there is a silver lining in the story of someone like Idi Amin. No one could have been completely evil who captured the imagination of so many millions of oppressed people in many regions of the world. Amin was a towering symbol of na�ve but valiant opposition against the world's strong powers for at least the first few years of his rule. He represented the disadvantaged fighting the powerful and the semiliterate opposing the pretenses of sophistication.

However, this same Amin was one of the 1970s' most violent leaders. He was undoubtedly Uganda's villain, on the one hand; he appeared to have ascended to become a Third World hero.

The 'New International Moral Order':
What did this teach us? Was there really a moral divide between the industrialized and developed nations of Europe, North America, and Japan on the one hand, and the underdeveloped nations of the rest of Asia, Africa, and Latin America on the other? Of course, it would be false to imply that the Third World supported Amin's atrocities against his own people. What needs more explaining is the ambivalence of the Third World about Idi Amin, rather than any unqualified approval of him. Much of the West was quite clear in its verdict - the man was evil and should disappear from the scene as soon as possible.

For much of the Third World Idi Amin, at least for part of his period in office, was not a case of unmitigated evil. He had that profoundly dialectical quality of heroic evil. And whether one applauded the heroism or lamented or denounced the evil depended upon one's priorities. In other words, Amin had more of an impact on foreign than internal issues during the 1970s.

The degree to which the Third World was occasionally willing to overlook his domestic excesses so long as he continued to oppose the powerful was symptomatic of a significant moral divide between the southern hemisphere of the exploited and impoverished and the northern hemisphere of the wealthy. President Carter came to power in the US nearly six years after Amin seized control of Uganda. Carter made the decision to take on a more moral role in the North. He declared to be on a global crusade for human rights in many parts of the world.

On the one hand, it turned out to be a continuation of the ideological conflict between the Soviet Union and the West; however, Carter led a more positive, normative crusade in favor of civil liberties, the satisfaction of fundamental human needs, and the promotion of liberal values and compassion rather than simply declaring himself to be anti-communist, as the America of John Foster Dulles tended to do.

Carter's plan certainly had North-South consequences that affected southern leaders like Idi Amin. Before drawing broader conclusions about these two leaders' importance for the "New International Moral Order," let's first take a deeper comparison look at them.

Western Hegemony�s Demise

The role of Amin helped to erode the legitimacy of western hegemony by challenging it and defying it in a variety of ways. The myth of western invincibility was receiving severe knocks from Amin's sustained strategy of irreverence. The biggest act of defiance remained the expulsion of British Asians and the nationalization of some British firms and property. But there were other instances of calculated impertinence whose total effect amounted to the gradual erosion of the western mystique.

He repeatedly disregarded diplomatic procedure. In 1973, against the backdrop of the October War in the Middle East, he could send a cable to Prime Minister Golda Meir ordering her to pull up her underpants and another to President Richard Nixon wishing him a swift recovery from the Watergate scandal. Amin tried to bring in new defiant myths of black assertiveness while trying to ram certain outdated imperial beliefs through the exit door by turning the entire world into a stage.

Rudyard Kipling and his idea of the White Man's Burden were made fun of in his widely circulated photograph, which was part of Amin's absurdist play. Another strategy to ridicule the world system was to keep the world guessing. His games with the world news media in the summer of 1977, in relation to the Commonwealth Conference of Heads of Government and Heads of State in London, was one such instance.

Would Amin come to defy the diplomatic ban against his participation at the Commonwealth Conference which the British government had decided to impose? His radio in Uganda issued statements which implied that he was about to land in France, and then go by boat to Britain; or was about to land in Ireland and find his way to the Commonwealth Conference: A deliberate comedy was unfolded upon the world stage, poking fun at the world and its ways.

Amin also occasionally used the tactic of holding a hostage or hostages, or he allowed foreign missionaries and teachers to be considered as a potential source of future hostages against Western influence inside of Uganda. A large portion of the Third World is currently being held captive by the northern hemisphere, and not just in a symbolic sense. In their own competition for hegemony, the superpowers can wipe off the remainder of humanity. The ability of the northern hemisphere to determine the futures of the economies of the South holds the Third World economically hostage.

The North's choice to consume half as much Ugandan coffee might have hastened his demise, for better or worse. Amin also occasionally used the tactic of holding a hostage or hostages, or he allowed foreign missionaries and teachers to be considered as a potential source of future hostages against Western influence inside of Uganda. A large portion of the Third World is currently being held captive by the northern hemisphere, and not just in a symbolic sense. In their own competition for hegemony, the superpowers can wipe off the remainder of humanity.

The ability of the northern hemisphere to determine the futures of the economies of the South holds the Third World economically hostage. The North's choice to consume half as much Ugandan coffee might have hastened his demise, for better or worse. In short, drinking habits among Western Europeans and North Americans, or how much chocolate the affluent North is interested in this year as opposed to last year, could either put economies in the South under severe strain or create a temporary boom here and there.

Apart from the oil-rich Third World countries, almost all other Third World countries are, in a fundamental sense, held constantly hostage by the tastes and consumption patterns of the northern hemisphere. Therefore, when Idi Amin held a westerner like my friend and former col- league, Denis Hills, hostage, there was a profound reversal of roles.

Or when Amin threatened to bring all Americans within Uganda to the Entebbe Airport, there was again a sense of the mighty being held hostage by the whims of a Third World tyrant, just as the Third World is held to ransom by the vagaries of western consumption patterns.

Award Winning Article Is Written By: Mr.Tanmay Vijay

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