By Jaffar Amin
Son to the late Uganda Uganda’s President [1971-1979]
There is a comedy about a speech by Idi Amin to the Queen of England. While the humour is funny, here is the real speech that they are trying to erase from history by mocking him.
On October 1st 1975 in New York, and for the first time ever in UN history, the pan-Africanist president deliberately chose to make a daring speech to world leaders in an African language: the Luganda dialect.
Time magazine rated it amongst the Top 10 U.N. General-Assembly most memorable moments of all time. Not for the choice of language, but for the daring content and the way it helped change the course of global relations particularly with Africa.
After the summit, many of the continents leaders left New York emboldened by Amin’s fierce speech.
As Chairman of the OAU (the African Union these days), President Amin spoke on behalf of the entire continent.
He took a tough stand against Zionism which was officially classified by the UN as racism. He also condemned neo-colonialism in Africa, discrimination against black people in the US, and denounced the Western imperialist agenda that was exploiting the continent, its people, and its resources.
President Amin then re-asserted an African Union resolution made three months earlier, to free Southern Africa from colonialism and Apartheid by a common African military force if necessary.
Following that declaration, the colonialists succumbed to the extreme political pressure from Africa. Literally six African nations then gained their independence that year thanks to Field Marshal Idi Amin Dada.
The countries included Angola, Comoro Islands, Mozambique, Sao Tome & Principe, Cap Verde, and Djibouti.
While referring to the death of Pan-African hero Patrice Lumumba, President Idi Amin called the CIA a Zionist infiltrated “murder squad”.
An agency that was “killing anyone who resisted US expansionism in Africa”. He also expressed gratitude to the Soviet Union and China for helping African liberation struggles.
The following day the U.N. Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim and the President of the General Assembly gave a public dinner in Amin’s honor. A well-attended event by world diplomats.
This angered Western powers, particularly racist Britain which fully protected the Apartheid regime in South Africa at the time.
In a commentary complaining about the UN, renowned tele-evangelist Pat Robertson from the 700 Club wrote:
“The UN General assembly had given Amin a standing ovation when he arrived, applauded him throughout the speech, and again rose to its feet when he left.”
The original New York Times article about the speech they don’t want you to know about: nytimes.com/1975/10/02/archives/amin-at-un-appeals-to-americans-to-rid-their-society-of-zonists.html
