UGANDA: 30 years after Israeli commandos freed hostages at Entebbe Airport, Uganda plans to preserve the old buildings as airport is refurbished for 2007 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM

Uganda's old Entebbe airport passenger terminal made famous by the dramatic Israeli raid to free hostages from a hijacked airliner is finally getting a facelift ahead of next years Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) to be held in Uganda in 2007, where dozens of presidents, VIPs and thousands of visitors are expected. On June 27, 1976 Air France flight 139 with 246 passengers travelling from Ben Gurion Airport to Paris via Athens was hijacked by terrorists who boarded during the Athens stopover. The hijackers, armed with guns and grenades, ordered the plane to divert to Benghazi, Libya for refueling. There one passenger, a young, pregnant worman, was allowed to leave the plane. The plane then took off again and flew south to Entebbe, Uganda, where it landed at 3:15 local time on the morning of June 28. The hijacking turned out to be a collaborative effort between Dr. Wadia Hadad's Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), a branch of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO), and the Ugandan dictator Idi Amin. Once at Entebbe, the passengers were moved to the Old Terminal building, guarded by Ugandan soldiers and local PFLP terrorist operatives in addition to the hijackers themselves. By the end of the day on June 29, a list of demands was received from the terrorists, via Paris, calling for release of 53 convicted terrorists held in Israel, France, Germany, Switzerland and Kenya. A second message from the terrorist hijackers set 14:00 hours, Israel time, on Thursday, July 1 as a deadline. If their demands were not met, the terrorists threatened to blow up the plane and its passengers. However a few days later, they released most of the hostages, leaving only Israelis and Jews still in the terrorists' hands, 105 men, women and children. The rescue operation was planned from Israel and at about 1.00AM (2200GMT) the commados landed and succesfully ended the hijack killing all eight hijackers and several of the Ugandan guards in the operation that took less than 40 minutes. The hostage passengers and crew of Air France 139 were evacuated, along with the Israeli dead and wounded. Three passengers were killed as well. The Old Terminal building was left deserted except for the dead bodies of the eight hijackers and as the planeload of hostages took off, the Israelis also destroyed Ugandan MiGs on the ground to prevent any pursuit. According to a retired Lieutenant General Moses Ali who was a serving officer in Amin's army, the Ugandan president was keen to help the Palestinisn cause. "Amin didn't care.. for him he was the champion of Palestinian trying to fight for the cause of Palestinians and therefore accepting the Palestinians to come with the hijacking here is a sign of his commitment to fight together with the Palestinians." said Moses Ali. In addition to human and material damage, Ali also says Uganda's perceived military credibility suffered as a result. "We lost about 27, these were the people who tried to resist Israelis coming in, they were trying to shoot and they were overpowered. So that time is a dark day for Uganda, it also marked the end of our pride. Of our impression that the Uganda army was the strongest army in Africa, that marked the end of it and it was rather a humiliation. We became a laughing stock throughout the world and in Africa." said Moses Ali. With recent stability in the country once referred to as "the pearl of Africa" investors and tourist visits have increased and the new wing of the airport has seen increased activity in recent days. Entebbe airport officials say that rehabilitation will remove most of the old buildings except the control tower where the hostages were kept. "We are preserving especially the control tower structure of the old airport where the Israeli raid took place in 1976, besides being a historical place - we also intend to develop in it an aviation museum so that we can help the generations to come to understand, appreciate and learn from the history of aviation in this country." said Ingie Igundura the Uganda Civil Aviations spokesman. Igundura says the old tower will be preserved at the request of former Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and turned into a Museum. Jonathan Netanyahu - the Commander of the Israeli rescue commando team was the only casualty among the rescuers. "Honourable Benjamin Netanyahu visited that very spot and actually placed a plaque on that control tower and in his discussion with his excellency the president there was an agreement also, they agreed with the CAA that we preserve that important structure." said Igundura. After this incident Amin cleaned out his security apparatus, torturing, jailing and murdering those deemed not be following his orders. Thousands of Ugandans were killed before Idi Amin was deposed in 1979 and he fled to exile in Saudi Arabia where he passed away.

ITN Source | November 2, 2006

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