256. Telegram 251082 From the Department of State to the U.S. Mission to the United Nations1 2
For Deputy Assistant Secretary Seelye
Subj:
- Briefing Memorandum: Bilateral Meeting With Ugandan Foreign Minister
1. Setting:
You are meeting Lt. Col. Juma Abdalla Oris, GOU Foreign Minister, at the urging of Liberian Foreign Minister Dennis, who approached you on this subject apparently at the request of Ugandan President Idi Amin. Following a slight improvement in our relations with Uganda last fall when Amin was playing a positive role on Angola (during which time Acting Assistant Secretary Mulcahy met twice with him), relations deteriorated again after Amin abruptly reversed his position on Angola and began supporting the Soviet line. Since then he has voiced vehement opposition to U.S. policies towards Africa, including the Secretary’s recent Southern African initiative. (Amin initially may have felt slighted that the Secretary did not see him during his April visit to Africa, but his highly negative comments have continued unabated ever since.) Excerpts of recent Amin statements were contained in your briefing paper for your meeting with Foreign Minister Dennis. Amin’s latest statement, reported by Kampala’s domestic service on Oct. 5, came in a meeting with 12 visiting black American journalists; the report said Amin told them that “Kissinger’s purpose of coming to Africa was not to bring peace to Africa but to rescue the white minority in racist South Africa and Rhodesia”, and that “Kissinger came to blackmail Africans.”
His interest presumably will be to discuss an improvement in US-Ugandan relations, including the possible reopening of our Embassy in Kampala.
Our interest, given the fact that we have agreed to meet with him and also our concern for the 300-odd Americans still resident in Kampala, will be not to raise false hopes about an imminent improvement in relations and to convey a clear but inoffensive explanation of the barriers we see to such an improvement at present.
2. Issues/talking points:
A. Improvement of relations/reopening of Embassy Kampala:
Background: The Embassy has been closed since late 1973. We see no prospect for or advantage to an early reopening. Since the Ugandans requested this meeting, we believe you should leave it to them to speak first and make their presentation on this subject.
Your talking points:
—The U.S. desires friendly relations with all African states, including Uganda. We will certainly consider the Minister’s presentation (and/or message from President Amin) on this subject.
—However, the Minister can probably understand that we have some difficulty in relating Uganda’s stated desire for improved relations with the U.S. to President Amin’s public statements on the U.S. and its policies in Africa, as evidenced in a number of recent broadcasts from Kampala including reports of the President’s comments to a group of American journalists just this week.
—The Minister should also understand that the American public and our Congress reacted strongly to what was regarded as Ugandan cooperation with the hijackers during the Entebbe incident, and that there have been expressions of outrage at the disappearance shortly after this incident of Mrs. Bloch, the hostage who remained behind in Kampala. The American people would have great difficulty understanding what appeared to be unilateral moves by their government to improve relations with Uganda in the wake of these incidents.
B. Southern African policy:
Background: Amin has parroted the Soviet line on the Secretary’s Southern African initiative. Your meeting with the Foreign Minister offers an opportunity to present an explanation of our policies directly to the GOU, if only for the purpose of getting the facts on the record.
Your talking points:
—Let me brief you on the status of our efforts to achieve peace in Southern Africa.
C. Economic relations:
Background: We do not discourage American firms from doing business with Uganda (except for strategic goods). From time to time Ugandan delegations have visited this country to purchase American products. A delegation of three Ministers ostensibly on such a mission were received by Mr. Sisco and Mr. Mulcahy in March 1975 (they made an approach on improvement of bilateral relations to which we made a non-committal response). The Ugandan Embassy has informed us of the possibility that a six-Minister delegation will visit the U.S. this fall in connection with the purchase of locomotives; we have agreed that this group will also be received in the Department.
Your talking points (if matter is raised by Juma Oris)
—We do not discourage private American economic activities in uganda.
—The upcoming Ugandan Ministerial mission would be received in the Department should they visit Washington and wish to call at the Department-we are awaiting further word on this subject from the Ugandan Embassy.
D. Protection for Foreign Minister Juma Oris in New York:
Background: The day prior to Juma Oris’ arrival in New York, the Ugandans informed us of his coming and requested full security protection including a police post at their PermRep’s residence where he is staying. SY was unable to provide coverage, their assets having long since been fully programmed. The New York Police were, however, requested to provide protection to the maximum degree possible (this consists essentially of patrol coverage of the Mission and residence). Juma Oris may be personally irritated over this situation.
Your talking points (if matter is raised by Juma Oris):
—We regret that we only learned of the Foreign Minister’s planned attendance at the UNGA the day before his arrival, and that our limited State Department security staff had already been completely assigned to other visitors by that time. However, we hope that the protection being provided by the New York Police in addition to the normal security at the UN complex is responsive to the Minister’s requirements.
- Source: National Archives, RG 59, Central Policy Files, 1976. Confidential; Immediate. Drafted by Baker (AF/E), approved in AF/E and AF. The meeting did not take place after Liberian Foreign Minister Dennis showed the Ugandans a U.S. paper cataloging General Amin’s hostile statements. (Telegram 253377 to Monrovia, October 13; ibid.)↩
- The Department transmitted a Briefing Memorandum for Deputy Assistant Secretary Seelye’s meeting with Uganda Foreign Minister Juma Abdalla Oris. The memorandum instructed Seelye not to raise false hopes about reopening the U.S. Embassy in Kampala.↩