General Amin is proving to be a problem, not only for British imperialism, but also for the Lift in this country. Some portray him as a tool of imperialism despite all the rhetoric. Others take the exact opposite view - he is an anti-imperialist getting rid of the Asians who have been the lackeys of Britain. A third view, peddled hardest by the press but absorbed by many on the left, is that Amin is simply a hutter and an evil one at that.
Most of these theories' are tailored to suit particular stands on the entry of Ugandan Asians into this country. But to grasp what Amin really represents it is necessary to analyse his actions in the context of the unfolding crisis of Ugandan society and its relations with its British imperialist masters.
OBOTE DITCHED Between independence and Aimin's rise to power in January 1971, Uganda had been ruled by President Obote. For most of his time in office Obote had been a fairly willing tool of British imperialism, but by the end of the 1960s he was becoming increasingly annoying. Two developments set Obote and Britain on à collision course. First, as the sixties dragged on the Ugandan masses found precious little to show for independence in terms of rising living standards - quite the reverse. Obote was forced to choose between the two different roads of his neighbours in East Africe: Nyerere's nationalisation of foreigh interests, or Kenyatta's reliance on favours from the imperialist powers. He eventually chose the first course, to the fury of British interests in the area.
Secondly, Britain itself, particularly after the election of the Tory government, was taking an ever-more active interest in Southern and central Africa. Sections of British capital have a very substantial stake in the super-profits to be gained from this part of the world, and the Heath governient from the start has made strenuous efforts to form an alliance ask John Weal and Oliver MacDonald with South African capital to carve up th continent while keeping the Americans at Bay. Such a strategy depends on propping up Portugese power and on having Black regimes which are at least as co-operative as Kaunda's in Zambia. What is absolutely Unacceptable is someone like Nyerere, who not only nationalised foreign interests but shelters the Frelimo guerillas, fighting-the Portuguese in Mozambique. When Obote turned towards Nyerere the British chopped him.
Obote was got rid of with such ease because he turned leftwards too late, and had failed to maintain any strong popular support within Uganda. Hit by capitalist exploitation and without any perspectives of socialist struggle, the Ugandan masses were turning towards tribal rivalries.
AMIN COMES IN The British chose Amin with care. Firstly, he was the Israeli-trained head of the army; secondly, he belonged neither to the Buganda tribe whose kingdom had been dissolved by Obote, not to the Luganda, Obote's own tribe. He belonged to a Muslim minority. Amin was to rule through a state dominated by the army.
ut Britains plans for Amin mistirec tate expenditure on the army soared. Thi was necessary to consolidate Amin's position and absolutely acceptable to Britain's war industry, but it had a disastrous effect on the Ugandan economy. As disalfection grew, Amin tried one trick after another. But not everything could be blamed on Obote-ite wreckers or Tanzanian fifth columnists. It was to save his own position that Amin ousted the Israelis, installed the PLO, and resorted to anti-imperialist demagogy. The benefits of this in terms of Libyan military backing has been shown in the last couple of weeks. But demagogy could not supply a solid power base within the country, and the army was not a sufficient substitute for popular support. Amin had only one card left to play, unless he was to turn to Obote's nationalisation policy, which had brought about the latters downfall. That card was the Ugandan Asians. Here was the move by which Amin hoped to unite the tribally divided African masses around himself. BRITAIN HESITATES So, in a bid for real mass support A min decided to ditch the Asians, only to find himself facing bitter hostility from his former masters in Britain. By this time Whitehall was asking itself how it could get rid of this upstart who put his own interests before those of the people who had given him power - the British government. The only organised opposition seemed to be Obote and his followers. Britain therefore seems to have assisted the Obote invasion in mid-September. The British plan seems to have been to send troops into the country to "disengage the combatants" and put a "neutral" (i.e, their own man) such as the chief justice of the country, Kiwanuka, into power. The latter could presumably have justified such an intrusion in the name of law and order. His credentials as tar as Britain was concerned were excellent: he had been Prime Minister before independence in the "self-governing" phase. But the chief justice was arrested before the British had finished debating the idea of an intervention. Amin had left them with no more levers inside Uganda with which to prise him out.
in Ilford, and other incidents multiplied. To sum up, Amin is not by any means as nutty as the Daily Mirror might like to think He has managed to gain some credibility as a popular leader with the country, provide himself with a new military backer in the shape of Libya, and outmanoeuvre Britain's attampt to get rid of him.
What political position should socialists in this country take towards Amin? The responsibility for the problems of the Ugandan masses lies first and foremost not with Amin but with British imperialism. However, it is equally nonsensical to suggest that Amin can provide any solution for those problems through his present demagogic policies. He is not an heroic anti-imperialist leader.
British imperialism's man in Uganda found that he had to ditch his backers in order to survive. Eating their sour grapes the British ruling class calls such activity madness: in fact it is only too normal a position for someone like Aimin to find himself in. Someone, that is, who has to grapple with the probelms of a neo-colonial country in the epoch of revolution without taking a revolutionary road and of Colin Jordan. It worked hard to