UGANDA: PRESIDENT IDI AMIN OPENS NEW SATELLITE STATION AND ATTACKS WESTERN MASS MEDIA AND THEIR REPORTS OF AFRICAN AFFAIRS.

Record ID: 421703

  • Title: UGANDA: PRESIDENT IDI AMIN OPENS NEW SATELLITE STATION AND ATTACKS WESTERN MASS MEDIA AND THEIR REPORTS OF AFRICAN AFFAIRS.
  • Date: 8th November 1977
  • Summary: 1. SV: Ugandan flag on coach TILT DOWN TO VIPs alighting from vehicle. (2 shots) 0.22 2. GV: tribesmen dancing. 0.29 3. SV: Ugandan President Idi Amin arriving and shaking hands with delegates. 0.42 4. SV: SV AND CU: President Amin laying foundation stone (2 shots) 0.53 5. CU: President Amin's wife and son. 0.58 6. CU: President Amin speaking. 2.29 AMIN: "In order to perpetuate their exploitation, the imperialist mass media agents have always tended to twist news items from Africa so as to suit their case, as, to them, news from Africa is not news unless it has a negative element in it. Even where obvious achievements have been more prominent than the negative side, the news media have slanted the new to look as if no progress has been made. In certain cases, that gave created fact, news and reported it as correct with to mass media. This they have done in order to continue earning large sums of money accruing from false reports at the expense of out people. President Amin said the Arua station made it possible for Uganda to communicate directly to the rest of the world. He predicted that the western mass media would try to obstruct the establishment of a Pan-African news agency 'to stifle the voice of the people'. But the wanted this agency to work in close co-operation with other media. Initials 0145 Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
  • Embargoed: 23rd November 1977 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: ARUA, UGANDA
  • Country: Uganda
  • Reuters ID: LVA795ZR55NDRVXDCWR8I9BNL5U3
  • Story Text: President Idi Amin of Uganda has called for the establishment of a Pan-African news agency and suggested it set up headquarters in Uganda. Speaking at the opening of conference of Organisation of African Unity Information Ministers on Monday (7 November), President Amin also attacked the Western and 'Zionist' mass media. He said the delay in establishing a Pan-African news agency had exposed Africa to the 'unscrupulous machinations' of the 'imperialist and Zionist mass media". President Amin added that many of the conflicts among African states had been caused by false mass media reports.

    SYNOPSIS: The conference was held at Arua, about 220 miles (352 kilometres) north-west of Kampala, the Ugandan capital, and close to the Zaire/Sudan borders. Kololo Hill at Arua is the site of a new earth satellite station, which President Amin was officially to open the same day. Alur tribal dancers greeted the delegates.

    Among the delegates that President Amin greeted was the assistant secretary general of the Organisation of African Unity, Mr Peter Onu. The Arua station, supervised by United States personnel, is equipped for television radio telex and telephone transmissions. It has two dishes, one-linked with a satellite over the Indian Ocean, and the other for television transmissions throughout Uganda. Among the guests were President Amin's wife, Sarah, and son Moses.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2015. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register