Ugandan President Idi Amin opened a meeting of the Organisation of African Unity's (OAU) Foreign Ministers in Kampala, capital of Uganda, on Monday (1 April), with an appeal to the 42 members to take positive action "To rescue our brothers in Africa who are still under the oppression of minority racist regimes".

General Amin said that the "enemies of Africa" possessed sophisticated weapons, but that these could be overcome with determination. This re-inforced his earlier statement at Entebbe Airport that the DAU should form a combined military force under a joint high command to fight white minority rule.

Among the other topics the General touched on in his opening speech were the lessons to be learned from Uganda's struggle for economic independence, and the energy crisis. He said that he had sent a note to the oil-producing states asking them to examine the position of the developing African countries. He commended Egypt's decision to re-open the Suez Canal because it would benefits Africa's trade.

The Chairman of the current session is Burundi Foreign Minister Artemon Simbaniya. The meeting is the first important DAU event to held in Kampala and continues a session broken off in Addis Ababa last month due to unrest in Ethiopia.