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IdiAmin
Page 165
165 / 681
CONFIDENTIAL
1?
We owe a debt of gratitude to President Mobutu and to Mr. Bula which
I would like to express now. Of course we also are grateful for the magnanimity
which President Amin has shown. There have been no concessions made and
no secret bargains struck. What we have undertaken to do is what I undertook
to do before, namely to send out a team of officials to discuss such questions as
the compensation that is owed to British citizens, the terms of credit and com-
mercial indebtedness which exists at the present time and the prospects of future
trade and other issues that either side may wish to raise. I ought also to add that
on the question I discussed with President Amin the question of the British
community, President Amin has made clear to me that he wishes the community
to stay there, that he values their presence and indeed that he would like further
British citizens to go and work there. I have told him that I would indicate this.
The community there of course have made up their own minds about the future.
I saw I suppose probably three-quarters of them last night. They travelled in
from all the way round Uganda. They only knew I was there 24 hours beforehand.
Some of them travelled as much as 300 miles or so in order to come. We had
a very good meeting at the High Commissioner's house and I found that they are
aware of the situation very fully. They don't need any nannying from anybody.
They know what the position is and they know how to make up their own minds
about their own decisions. I ought to pay tribute to the work of our Acting High
Commissioner. He has been operating with a very small staff. I have complete
confidence in him. As I expressed to President Amin. And he will continue
with his work and I hope perhaps on a rather better basis than before. Now I
think that is all I wish to say at the moment. I will be glad to answer questions
after Mr. Hills has said anything he wishes to say and has answered two or three
questions. You will no doubt want to ask me more. I have one more thing to
do. Before I left Uganda I was given a small memento by the Ugandan authorities
which I now proceed to hand to you. Here it is.
Mr. Hills: Well, I am a British subject again. I have considered what I
wish to say this evening and I made a note or two about it. I am a little bit
bewildered of course at the sudden change in my fortunes. I am very glad and
happy to be back in England, home. Of course I have been happy in Uganda
as a teacher there . . . We have been doing constructive work teaching in Uganda.
I like Uganda very much and I hope to go back to Uganda one day. It wouldn't
be fair of me to make any sort of criticism of my treatment. It has been perfectly
correct according to the prison regulations which are much the same all over
the world. And in military custody I was also treated according to the manual
of military law which is based on British Army Law and it would really be untrue
of me to make a complaint about my treatment by the Ugandan people.
Now I haven't known what has been going on at all, since 1 April. I haven't
seen newspapers and have had no information. I now realise what a debt of
gratitude I owe the British Government and to all of you who have been helping
me to get out of this situation, for which I take responsibility. I should apologise
in fact for causing all this trouble but I hope that perhaps something positive
may have come out of it, in so far as things have been said no doubt and people
have met each other. I am sure in fact that perhaps some good may have come
out of this event.
Mr. Callaghan, I feel very humble of course to have
Mr. Callaghan and Her Majesty—you see this is something which is fantastic
for an ordinary British subject who is distressed should get such assistance. And
I feel that very deeply and I am proud of my country for having done this.
CONFIDENTIAL
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