SON FIGHTS AMIN'S BLOODY LEGACY !
Amin proclaimed himself the last king of Scotland.
Former Ugandan leader Idi Amin Dada's son wants a truth and reconciliation commission to probe alleged atrocities committed during his father's rule.
Jaffar Amin has set up a website to put the record straight over his father's "misinterpreted legacy".
But the government says investigations have confirmed many atrocities committed by the former president.
Rights groups say 500,000 people were killed during Amin's eight-year rule.
Idi Amin died in 2003 in Saudi Arabia, where he had lived in exile after his ousting by Tanzanian-backed Ugandan rebels in 1979.
"All the evidence is there in a 15-volume report by the human rights commission and It is a well known fact how many people were killed," President Yoweri Museveni's advisor, John Nagenda, told the BBC.
Guilt
Mr Nagenda, who was also a member of the commission that investigated the former ruler's alleged crimes, said President Amin was given a chance to defend himself but failed to appear before them due to his guilt.
Amin expelled Uganda's Asian population in 1972
Thousands of Asian businessmen from Uganda in were also expelled in 1972 after President Amin accused them of milking the country's economy.
But his son, Jaffar, told the BBC's Network Africa programme that his father compensated the businessmen who had British passports.
Mr Amin first broke the family's 20-year silence when the award-winning portrayal of his father, The Last King of Scotland, was released last year.
He also disputes the numbers of people killed during his father's rule.
"If you bring a demographic expert here, the numbers don't add up," Mr Amin said.
Several films have been made about President Amin's regime which was symbolised by bloodshed and cannibalism.
"Our father had his faults. I do not see the period of his rule in Uganda with 'rose tinted glasses'. However, we need to counterbalance history with all the truth," Mr Amin said.
He insists that some people in Uganda have fond memories of his father and are ready to testify before a Truth and Reconciliation Commission similar to that set up in South Africa.
Jaffar Amin is also writing a book to try to counter his father's reputation as a brutal and murderous dictator.
BBC NEWS REPORT.
Jaffar Amin has set up a website to put the record straight over his father's "misinterpreted legacy".
But the government says investigations have confirmed many atrocities committed by the former president.
Rights groups say 500,000 people were killed during Amin's eight-year rule.
Idi Amin died in 2003 in Saudi Arabia, where he had lived in exile after his ousting by Tanzanian-backed Ugandan rebels in 1979.
"All the evidence is there in a 15-volume report by the human rights commission and It is a well known fact how many people were killed," President Yoweri Museveni's advisor, John Nagenda, told the BBC.
Guilt
Mr Nagenda, who was also a member of the commission that investigated the former ruler's alleged crimes, said President Amin was given a chance to defend himself but failed to appear before them due to his guilt.
Amin expelled Uganda's Asian population in 1972
Thousands of Asian businessmen from Uganda in were also expelled in 1972 after President Amin accused them of milking the country's economy.
But his son, Jaffar, told the BBC's Network Africa programme that his father compensated the businessmen who had British passports.
Mr Amin first broke the family's 20-year silence when the award-winning portrayal of his father, The Last King of Scotland, was released last year.
He also disputes the numbers of people killed during his father's rule.
"If you bring a demographic expert here, the numbers don't add up," Mr Amin said.
Several films have been made about President Amin's regime which was symbolised by bloodshed and cannibalism.
"Our father had his faults. I do not see the period of his rule in Uganda with 'rose tinted glasses'. However, we need to counterbalance history with all the truth," Mr Amin said.
He insists that some people in Uganda have fond memories of his father and are ready to testify before a Truth and Reconciliation Commission similar to that set up in South Africa.
Jaffar Amin is also writing a book to try to counter his father's reputation as a brutal and murderous dictator.
posted by jackaranda at 6:10 pm
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