“Amin’s reign of terror”

Press, 12 April 1979, Page 16

“Amin’s reign of terror”

Sir, — David Martin's article ("The Press,” April 10) on the atrocities perpetrated under the regime of Idi Amin draws attention not only to the sufferings of Ugandans but also to a world problem — torture. The brutal treatment of political dissenters is not just an aberration of a few corrupt governments; it is, according to estimates of the human rights organisation, Amnesty International, routine practice in more than 70 countries. This number is constantly growing while at the same time increasingly sophisticated arid cruel methods are being employed to silence real or imagined dissent. Electric shocks applied to sexual organs and psychological assault through the use of drugs are now commonplace tools of repression. It is up to us in countries such as New Zealand, at present fortunate enough to be without these horrors, to make our opposition to torture internationally felt. — Yours, etc., CORAL BROADBENT. April 10, 1979.