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Journalism of Courage
For years, Italian journalist Orizio prowled the globe looking for deposed dictators, several of whom proved somewhat elusive. Once he found his subjects, Orizio spent hours or days with them 8212; subject to availability, of course 8212; and tried to learn if forced retirement and the benefits of hindsight had any effect on their consciences. Finally, he came up with his fascinating book Talk of the Devil: Encounters With Seven Dictators.
None of Orizio8217;s ignominious seven was contrite. The Central African Republic8217;s Jean-Bedel Bokassa, Albania8217;s Nexhmije Hoxha and Uganda8217;s Idi Amin shrugged off any wrongdoing. Others 8212; Ethiopia8217;s Mengistu Haile-Mariam, Poland8217;s Wojciech Jaruzelski and Serbia8217;s Mira Markovic wife of Slobodan Milosevic 8212; insisted that history will prove them right. Jean-Claude Duvalier asked Orizio whether Haiti is really any better off today than it was during his rule. But what was surprising, says Orizio, is how much empathy he felt for his subjects.
Take, for example, Idi Amin, living in Saudi Arabia, where the Saudi government pays him a salary, reports Orizio, 8216;8216;in the name of 8216;Islamic solidarity8217;.8217;8217; Amin, responsible for more than 300,000 deaths during his reign, told Orizio that he is no longer interested in politics and now dedicates himself to religion. He fills his days by reading the Koran, playing the organ, swimming and fishing. Any remorse? 8216;8216;No. Only nostalgia.8217;8217; Orizio calls Amin the 8216;8216;craziest8217;8217; of the ex-dictators he interviewed. 8216;8216;His telex to the Queen says: 8216;Dear Liz, if you want to know a real man, come to Kampala,8217; or to Richard Nixon: 8216;I hear you have troubles with this problem called Watergate, but you know what, when a leader has problems with some politicians, they simply should be killed. That8217;s how you should deal with it. I know it8217;s a bit harsh, but believe me, that8217;s how we do things here and they work out quite well8217;.8217;8217; Orizio laughs.
Something else Orizio found surprising was that when talking with his 8216;8216;devils,8217;8217; he would occasionally find himself in unwinnable political debates. 8216;8216;Even if they8217;re monsters and they are unreasonable and have been unreasonable, they8217;re still able to make a political point,8217;8217; he says.
8216;8216;They talk about double standards. They say, 8216;You in the West8230; always need symbols. And you use my name in a highly symbolic way. But are you sure that I was the only one doing what you accuse me of doing? Why are you supporting other people that basically are doing or have been doing just what I did, and why don8217;t you label them as monsters and you label me as a monster8217;?8217;8217; LAT-WP
