[Peace-discuss] Fwd: Angola: Updates/Commentary, 2

[Al Kagan]

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>Date: Sat, 2 Mar 2002 11:19:24 -0500
>Subject: Angola: Updates/Commentary, 2
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>Angola: Updates/Commentary, 2
>Date distributed (ymd): 020302
>Document reposted by Africa Action
>
>Africa Policy Electronic Distribution List: an information
>service provided by AFRICA ACTION (incorporating the Africa
>Policy Information Center, The Africa Fund, and the American
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>
>+++++++++++++++++++++Document Profile+++++++++++++++++++++
>
>Region: Southern Africa
>Issue Areas: +political/rights+ +economy/development+
>  +security/peace+
>
>SUMMARY CONTENTS:
>
>This series of two postings contains a number of short documents
>concerning the prospects for peace in Angola after the Feb. 22
>death of Jonas Savimbi.
>
>In this posting:
>(1) a brief excerpt from a Feb. 27 speech in Washington by
>Mozambican President Joaquim Chissano, (2) an article from
>allafrica.com reporting on the Feb. 26 meeting of Presidents
>Chissano, dos Santos, and Mogae with President Bush, (3) a
>statement from Angolan traditional leaders at a Feb. 20 meeting in
>Luanda hosted by the Open Society Institute, and (4) a UN press
>briefing on the humanitarian situation in Angola.
>
>In another posting sent out today: (1) a brief introductory note by
>Africa Action senior research fellow William Minter, (2) excerpts
>from the most recent issue of the Angola Peace Monitor, reporting
>on Savimbi's death and international reaction, and (3) a report
>from the Jesuit Relief Service on the reaction to Savimbi's death
>and the current situation in Luena, Moxico province, Angola.
>
>+++++++++++++++++end profile++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
>
>Excerpt from speech by Joaquim Alberto Chissano, President of the
>Republic of Mozambique, at the Woodrow Wilson Center, Washington,
>February 27, 2002.
>
>[The full text of President Chissano's speech is available at:
>http://usinfo.state.gov/regional/af/a2022702.htm
>For more coverage of President Chissano's visit to Washington, see
>http://allafrica.com/stories/200202260002.html]
>
>Mozambique's experiences in peace building and national
>reconciliation teach us some lessons fro a successful transition
>from war to peace and development, some of which I would like to
>briefly mention:
>
>* The adoption of an inclusive and comprehensive approach
>comprising military, economic, and social dimensions in the peace
>building process is one of the keys to success;
>
>* The recognition that the search for peace and reconciliation are,
>per se, a permanent process; thus it is important to promote a
>culture of peace and tolerance.
>
>* Preservation of a permanent dialogue is a condition to build up
>confidence;
>
>* Permanent learning is important for monitoring new and modified
>problems;
>
>* The strengthening of the civil society and community
>organizations and encouragement of their participation in domestic
>affairs are an important factor to avoid sentiments of exclusion;
>
>* Development of partnership with donors based on co-responsbility
>and recipient ownership is vital;
>
>* The establishment of a permanent interaction between development,
>poverty reduction and eradication strategies, and peace building is
>crucial so as to address the main problems of the country.
>
>This is not a recipe, but rather an attitude we have adopted to
>raise hope among our people, and make them feel that a better
>future lies primarily in their hands.
>
>**************************************************************
>
>'Seize the Moment', Bush Urges Southern African Leaders
>
>http://allAfrica.com February 27, 2002
>
>By Charles Cobb Jr., Washington, DC
>
>[reposted with permission of allAfrica.com; an additional article
>reporting on President dos Santos' speech to the Corporate Council
>on Africa is at: http://allafrica.com/stories/200202270245.html]
>
>Events in Angola, particularly the death of Unita leader Jonas
>Savimbi five days ago, dominated an hour-long meeting between
>President George W. Bush and Angolan President Jose Eduardo Dos
>Santos, Mozambican President Joaquim Alberto Chissano, and Botswana
>President Festus Mogae on Tuesday.
>
>The charismatic but tyrannical Unita leader ruled his guerrilla
>movement, the Union for the Total Independence of Angola, with a
>rod of iron for 35 years. He repeatedly abandoned peace agreements
>with the MPLA government and went back to fighting a war against
>the MPLA government which, some estimates say, has claimed a
>million lives. Most analysts believe Savimbi's death presents the
>best chance so far, to reach a lasting agreement.
>
>Bush said he supports calls for a ceasefire and, in a statement
>issued after the White House meeting with the African leaders, he
>urged Angola's president to "seize the moment... President Dos
>Santos has it within his power to end 26 years of fighting by
>reaching out to all Angolans willing to lay down their arms."
>
>In a wide-ranging interview with allAfrica.com after the meeting,
>Mozambique's President Joaquim Chissano said Dos Santos told Bush
>that "the situation now brings about a better prospect for peace
>and reconciliation." However, the Angolan President also cautioned
>that, while he hopes quickly to achieve a ceasefire, it will depend
>heavily "on the will of those who are fighting."
>
>Unita has continued fighting and says the government must adopt a
>unilateral ceasefire. In the first reported Unita attack since
>Savimbi's death nine people were killed on Monday and 15 wounded,
>according to Portugal's Lusa news agency.
>
>The Washington meeting was planned before Savimbi's death and is
>the second "mini summit" President Bush has held with African heads
>of state. In addition to discussing Angola, said Chissano, the
>leaders pressed for more help with the Aids crisis besieging
>Africa, and raised issues of poverty and development, and
>"capacity-building" in Africa. For his part, Bush said that his
>policy "was to put Africa as a priority," according to Chissano.
>
>Both U.S. officials and the African Presidents characterized the
>meeting, which ran for 15 minutes longer than scheduled, as "good."
>But when asked if Bush had made any specific commitments, Chissano
>said, "No. We didn't go into details. We spoke of principles."
>
>**************************************************************
>
>The role and the voice of traditional authorities
>
>Presented by by His Majesty King Muatchissengue wa Tembo  Lunda-
>Tchokw, (Eastern Provinces of Lunda-Sul and  Lunda-Norte), and
>signed by 65 other chiefs from  provinces including Uige, Moxico,
>Lunda Sul, Lunda Norte, Bie, Malange, Huambo, Kuanza Norte, and
>Kuanza Sul.
>
>At a conference on "The role of the international community and of
>civil society in the  resolution of the Angolan conflict," hosted
>by the Open Society Institute Angola, in  Luanda, Hotel Tropico, 20
>February 2002
>
>Fundacao Open Society, Alameda do Principe Real 41, Miramar,
>Luanda, Angola; tel/fax: 244-2-343667; e-mail:
>osisangola at netangola.com
>
>Excellencies
>Members of the National Assembly
>Government representatives
>Religious entities
>Representatives of the diplomatic community
>Representatives of political parties
>Distinguished members of civil society
>Representative of the Open Society Initiative in Angola
>
>Esteemed colleagues
>
>We would like, first of all, to thank Mr Rafael Marques, Open
>Society  representative in Angola, for the opportunity he has given
>us to express  the ideas of the traditional authorities who met at
>the headquarters of the  Angolan Forum of Traditional Authorities.
>
>Time does not allow us to make a longer input, so we will
>concentrate on  the matter of the armed conflict.
>
>The war in Angola has already touched everyone, and much effort has
>already  been put into the search for a solution. Yet the war never
>seems to stop.  Because the interests and hidden agendas of those
>who wage and who support  the war continue to complicate the
>process of building a real and lasting  peace.
>
>The traditional authorities and local communities are witness, more
>disgusted on each occasion, to the destruction of peace, to the
>squandering  of their natural resources and the killing of the
>Angolan people.
>
>The majority of the population has been and continues to be forced
>to  abandon their homelands, their fields - all that they possess.
>
>Angola today is a land of displaced people, people live in inhumane
>conditions in displaced peoples' camps on the edges of the big
>cities.
>
>With much sadness, we see that there is little or no political will
>to  transcend this situation. This lack of will is reflected in the
>behaviours  of the parties at war, of the international community
>and even by some of  the Angolan people.
>
>This is all because the interests of particular individuals are, at
>the  moment, still stronger than the will of the people. Why? More
>than anything  else, the international community and the Angolan
>political parties have  done their best to divide and weaken the
>people. Today, the Angolan people  lack direction.
>
>We, the chiefs, have already taken account of the fact that this
>war is  contrary to the interests of Angolan communities. On the
>contrary, the  continuation of the war is destroying lives and
>cultural identities -  customs and costumes - particular to each
>community, not to mention the  dehumanisation to which displaced
>people have fallen victim.
>
>This war is being fueled by leaders or commanders who appear to be
>interested in creating a "new man", a new kind of Angolan citizen,
>with new  cultural values and morals unfamiliar to the majority.
>
>Is this the vision that our politicians have for Angola? Doing away
>with  Angolans so as to invent a new people? Are they going to kill
>all the  people, in order to hand over Angola to someone else? Are
>they going to  kill all the people because they hate the people so
>much, or because they  do not identify with the cultural values of
>Angola?
>
>  From the Bible, one of the Proverbs of King Solomon, chapter 11,
>verse 14,  says that "Where no counsel is, the people fall: but in
>the multitude of  counselors there is safety."
>
>We, the heirs of the kingdoms that make up Angola, are treated as
>miserable, backward people who do not know the meaning of
>civilisation.
>
>So, we the chiefs ask our children, the politicians who govern us
>or who  seek to govern us: To be civilised, does that mean to order
>and to oversee  the death of one's own people? To loot the riches
>of the country? To  destroy one's own country in the name of the
>enemy? But who is the enemy  who deserves the honour of such a
>sacrifice, the sacrifice of an entire nation?
>
>A father who has no bread to offer his own children, invites the
>neighbours  and their children to a banquet. Can we say that such
>a father is civilised?
>
>Whenever we have a problem, the first thing we do is to call on a
>foreigner  to solve our problems. So it was at independence, so it
>was during the  various peace processes. So let us consider: We
>have a snake in the  hen-house which is Angola, and we call on a
>fox to chase the snake away.  Let us ask, will the fox be more
>interested in chasing after the chickens  to eat them, or will he
>be just as concerned about the snake? And if there  are not one but
>three foxes what are they going to do?
>
>We, the chiefs, as the the true heirs to the cultures, the
>traditions and  the riches of our people, do not accept our
>political leaders' view of  themselves as civilised.
>
>Therefore
>
>We call on all Angolan communities, the youth, the elders, men and
>women,  representatives of the churches and other social
>institutions, to join  together with their traditional leaders in
>order to devise ways of  defending their rights and protecting
>their cultural heritage in all its  diversity, protecting the
>people's natural resources and their lands.
>
>We, the chiefs, demand the recognition of and respect for the
>cultural  identity of all Angolans.
>
>We, the chiefs decree that peace must be discussed at the level of
>communities (by means of consultation and debate), in order that
>all  Angolans may make known their ideas on the future of the
>country. Peace is  more than just an order to lay down weapons.
>What happens after that?
>
>To begin with, we call on communities to cease handing over their
>sons to  those who wage war, for such people are only destroying
>the country and the  people, while they hide their own sons away in
>Europe or America. And it is  also in Europe and America that these
>gentlemen hide the wealth of Angola  and receive support for their
>policies, which are against the interests of  the children of
>Angola.
>
>But there are also communities who feed the war by feeding their
>own  children: the soldiers of the Angolan Armed Forces, the police
>officers,  the UNITA guerrillas - all of them children of
>communities. These same  communities are the main victims of the
>war, for they become reduced to the  state of third-class citizens.
>These are the communities who are suffering  in the displaced
>people's camps, subject to hunger, nakedness, misery and  death.
>
>Today, Angola has almost ceased to exist. The country is little
>more than  Luanda. Family has come to mean only those who live in
>Luanda, since those  who live in the provinces are condemned to
>isolation.
>
>This is why we believe that the peace process needs to start at the
>bottom  and not from the top down, so that those who are at the top
>may come to  understand that their position depends on those who
>are at the bottom.
>
>The leaves and the branches, however strong or impressive they may
>be, are  completely depending on the roots that support them.
>
>For the good of Angola and of all Angolans who are truly patriotic
>and who  love their nation, the chiefs, meeting in the Angolan
>Traditional Leaders'  Forum, call on the people to demand a
>sovereign national conference on  peace and the future of Angola.
>
>At this conference we must define the roles of the political
>parties, of  civil society, of traditional leaders and of the
>churches in the resolution  of the Angolan conflict. Such a
>definition will help in the creation of a  common understanding of
>the reconciliation process and of open and  patriotic government,
>and in the reconstruction of the country.
>
>It is at this conference that we will be able, as Angolans, to draw
>up a  vision for the future of Angola, so that tomorrow, new
>generations may be  able to follow the paths of righteousness and
>prosperity.
>
>Many thanks for your attention
>
>************************************************************
>
>14 February 2002
>
>PRESS BRIEFING ON ANGOLA
>Erik de Mul, UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Angola
>
>(Excerpts; full briefing available on http://www.un.org)
>
>The humanitarian situation in Angola was dramatic, with shocking
>statistics that were similar to those of Afghanistan, Erik de Mul,
>United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator for that country told
>correspondents at a Headquarters press briefing this afternoon.
>
>Mr. de Mul said that currently in Angola, life expectancy was 44
>years, with 33 per cent of all households living below the poverty
>line.  Thirty per cent of all children died before they reached the
>age of five while one third of the total population--4 million out
>of 12 million--were displaced.  The displacement trend was
>continuing for two reasons; action by the National Union for the
>Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) that forced people to move;
>and military "cleaning" operations, which again made people decide
>to leave their places of origin.
>
>"We basically have an appeal to two parties," Mr. de Mul went on to
>say. One was to the international community, to try and impress
>upon them the need to do more, and to do it quickly.  The other was
>to the Government of Angola.  The efforts of the Government of
>Angola in trying to address the needs of the population had been
>"too little, too late".  That was the assessment of the United
>Nations, the non-governmental organizations, and the international
>community at large.
>
>That assessment, continued Mr. de Mul, was also shared by the
>Government and resulted in a meeting of the Angolan Cabinet last
>Monday, in which they admitted that the situation was bad.  The
>outcome was a statement with a list of actions, which would be
>undertaken immediately to help alleviate the situation in the
>country.
>
>When asked to elaborate more about who was most to blame for the
>present humanitarian disaster in Angola, Mr. de Mul said it would
>be difficult to be that specific.  "We are basically trying to deal
>with the consequences of actions taken by both UNITA and the
>Government and it is very difficult to say how many people are on
>the move as a result of one or the other," he said.  Activities by
>both entities resulted in increased numbers of displaced people.
>The problem was widespread and not limited only to certain
>provinces or areas of the country.
>
>When asked how the Government was responsible for the movement of
>people, Mr. de Mul said that, in principle, when it came to
>internally displaced persons, the Government should be the first
>one to respond.  But, that had not necessarily been the case and
>the international community had been trying to pick up the pieces.
>The point, nevertheless, was that all the non-governmental
>organizations and United Nations agencies were at the end of their
>rope.  There was no longer any flexibility.  "They can only do as
>much as they can," he said.  Hence the idea of appealing more to
>the donor community and the Angolan Government to do more and to do
>it fast", he said.
>
>When asked what percentage of the internally displaced persons had
>access to emergency assistance, Mr. de Mul said the problem was
>that, for security and logistical reasons, access by the
>international community to the displaced was limited.  The
>Government had been asked to try and develop systems to bring
>relief goods to the displaced, and not only military equipment and
>personnel, if they have access to them.
>
>When asked how many out of the 4 million displaced had access to
>relief assistance, Mr. de Mul said he would estimate that about
>half of that figure could be reached by the international
>community.  But, regarding the other half, "there are pockets of
>people that we think are not reached at all".  Others, who could
>also not be reached, were being held by the Angolan authorities.
>
>...
>
>Replying to another question about the movement of people, he said
>UNITA was in a guerilla warfare mode and was carrying out
>unpredictable actions in areas where it was difficult to judge
>where the action would take place.  Those actions resulted in the
>movement of people.  At the same time, the Government and the army
>were involved in trying to clean up areas where they thought UNITA
>elements were located.  In that process, people, for reasons of
>fear and insecurity, went on the move as well. ...
>
>************************************************************
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-- 


Al Kagan
African Studies Bibliographer and Professor of Library Administration
Africana Unit, Room 328
University of Illinois Library
1408 W. Gregory Drive
Urbana, IL 61801, USA

tel. 217-333-6519
fax. 217-333-2214
e-mail. akagan at uiuc.edu