252. Telegram 14733 From the Embassy in the Federal Republic of Germany to the Department of State 1 2
Subject:
- American Interests in Uganda
Refs:
- (A) State 205335;
- (B) State. 210994;
- (C) Bonn 14732
Summary: The FRG Ambassador in Kampala strongly urges the US to reopen its Embassy in Kampala to counter growing Russian influence. He said that Amin wants American diplomats back in Uganda and that they would be safe. End summary.
1. Embassy officers met with Dannenbring of the Foreign Ministry and the FRG Ambassador to Uganda, Ellerkmann, to transmit Department’s reporting. List (ref A) and to request the Germans to inform Ugandan officials that Department believes Uganda will be eligible for GSP in 1976 (ref B).
2. Ambassador Ellerkmann strongly urged that the US reestablish at least a minimal presence in Uganda. He argued that only the US can counteract growing Russian activity in Uganda where the Soviets have approximately 30 diplomats and 300 military advisors. In his opinion, the Russians have no affection for Amin or Uganda, but they are extremely interested in the port of Mbossa and in East Africa generally because of their strategic interests in the Indian Ocean. They are also preparing for the day when Kenyatta no longer runs Kenya. A second reason for American presence is that Amin wants the US back because he needs American technical assistance after having expelled the Asians and many qualified Africans. He is also uneasy about relying completely on the USSR.
[Page 2]3. EllerkmanN said that the PRC is very active in Uganda. Its 30–40 technical assistants who are teaching the Ugandans rice farming are very successful. The North and South Koreans who are in Uganda, mainly to build support for their respective countries in the UN, spend a lot of time playing one-upmanship with one another.
4. Embassy official said that we see no sign that Amin had changed, and we do not want to give him the chance to blackmail us by again harrassing US personnel.
5. Ellerkmann replied that although “rule of law” does not exist in Uganda and that Ugandans have no protection from Amin’s caprice, american and europeans are safe (Ellerkmann left his family in Kampala while visiting the FRG).
6. Commenting on Amin, Ellerkmann found Western press reporting on the dictator to be inadequate. Amin is unpredictable, but he is not insane or stupid. And he should be taken seriously.
7. Ellerkmann thought that Amin would probably remain in control for the reseeable future. Many Ugandans approve his expulsion of the Asians. Even in the Dennis Hills affair, some take the position that Amin got what he wanted, a visit by Callaghan to Africa. More importantly he has killed, expelled, jailed or frightened away all of his opponents. Those who remain who might oppose him include some students at Makerere University and possibly some Army officers, but they are too frightened to do anything. However, Amin, an apparently sincere Moslem, may be alienating some Ugandans by pushing Islam too hard and by preferential treatment for members of his own tribe.
- Source: Department of State, Nairobi Embassy Files: Lot 78 F 173, POL-DEF 19–8, POL Uganda 1975. Confidential. Repeated to Nairobi, Dar Es Salaam, Lusaka, Kinshasa, Addis Ababa, Khartoum, Pretoria, and Tananarive.↩
- The FRG Ambassador in Uganda, representing U.S. interests, urged the United States to reopen its embassy in Kampala to counter growing Soviet influence.↩