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News on Angola
The first article below and the one starting "Heavy clashes" preceded by **** are quite interesting.
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US Investment in Angola Reached Four Billion
Wire Sources on July 23, 1998
Millard Arnold, the United States Commerce Department envoy responsible for Southern African business affairs, stated yesterday while visiting Luanda that US investment to Angola has reached $4 billion. While US investment in Angola is primarily in the petroleum industry, Arnold stated that investment could be increased in other sectors, such as agriculture, coffee plantation, and tourism.
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Parliament Approves Resolution Against UNITA
Televisao Popular de Angola on July 21, 1998
The National Assembly today requested the government to take legal action to prevent the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola [UNITA] from returning to war. A resolution approved today notes that UNITA has launched military operations throughout the country, violating the Lusaka protocol. The UNITA parliamentary bench was the only one to vote against the resolution presented by Norberto dos Santos, a Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola [MPLA] deputy.
The resolution follows last week's address to parliament by Territorial Administration Minister Faustino Muteka and Social Reintegration Minister Albino Malungo on the seriousness of the political, social and humanitarian situation in the country. During the debate a number of deputies leveled more accusations against UNITA, supporting the government's statements. UNITA has recovered 68 areas, causing 150,000 new displaced people, and re-equipped itself.
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UNITA Troops Reportedly Intensify Attacks on Civilians in Benguela Province
Radio Nacional de Angola on July 21, 1998
The National Union for the Total Independence of Angola [UNITA] military forces have intensified their attacks on civilians in Benguela Province. In recent days, UNITA reoccupied seven communes and dozens of villages in the province. Our colleague Santos Alberto has further details.
The military tension in Benguela Province is heightening. UNITA forces have reoccupied seven communes and dozens of villages. UNITA reoccupied the communes of Banga, Chila, Chicuma, Caiave, Capopo, Casseque and Xangongo. The Xangongo and Capopo administrators and their staff were kidnapped after intense attacks. More than eight civilians were killed in these attacks, including the traditional chief of [word indistinct] commune.
A communiqu‚ issued by the Benguela provincial government reveals that in recent days UNITA carried out more than five attacks in Canoquele [phonetic], Calanga, Passe, and Cateque. The communiqu‚ also reveals the movement of troops and concentration of war materiel in Balombo, Bocoio and Ganda. The provincial government is concerned with the intensification of military actions in the province and has called for the international community's firm support.
Security Council Committee Concerning Situation in Angola Adopts Revised Consolidated Guidelines
United Nations Security Council, July 21, 1998
The following was issued today by the Security Council Committee concerning the situation in Angola:
The Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 864 (1993) concerning the situation in Angola adopted, on 17 July 1998, revised consolidated guidelines for the conduct of its work, which incorporate the relevant provisions contained in resolutions 1173 (1998) and 1176 (1998), adopted by the Council on 12 and 24 June 1998, respectively.
The Committee also decided to transmit these guidelines to all States and requested them to provide the Committee with information on the measures they have adopted to implement the provisions of paragraphs 11 and 12 of resolution 1173 (1998), no later than 22 July 1998. The Committee is required to report to the Council by 7 August 1998 on the actions taken by States to implement these measures.
It may be recalled that the Security Council, acting under Chapter VII of the Charter, imposed a series of additional measures which requires all States, except Angola, to freeze funds of the Uniao Nacional para a Independencia Total de Angola (UNITA) within their territory, and all persons and entities within their own territories holding such funds and financial resources to freeze them and ensure that those funds are not made available directly or indirectly to or for the benefit of UNITA as an organization or of senior officials of UNITA or adult members of their immediate families designated pursuant to paragraph 11 of resolution 1127 (1997).
It also requires States, in areas of Angola to which State administration has not been extended to take the necessary measures to prevent all official contacts with UNITA leadership except for those by representatives of the Government of Unity and Nations Reconciliation (GURN), of the United Nations and of the Observer States to the Lusaka Protocol and to prohibit import of diamonds from Angola that are not controlled through the Government's Certificate of Origin.
States are further requested to prohibit the sale or supply to persons or entities in areas of Angola to which State administration has not been extended, by their nationals or from their territory, or using their flag vessels or aircraft, of equipment used in mining or mining services, as well as motorized vehicles or watercraft or spare parts for such vehicles, or ground or waterborne transportation services. In this connection, to facilitate the implementation of these measures, the Committee has prepared a non-exhaustive list of embargoed items which are incorporated in the revised consolidated guidelines.
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Defense Minister Says UNITA Troops Rearming
Radio Nacional de Angola on July 20, 1998
Angolan Defense Minister General Pedro Sebastiao has described the military situation in the country as tense. Pedro Sebastiao is in Lisbon attending the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries defense ministers' meeting. He told the meeting that the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola [UNITA] was carrying out a movement and rearmament of UNITA troops.
[Sebastiao - recording] We are registering, particularly in northeastern Angola, a movement and rearmament of UNITA troops at Cuango Basin. There have also been clashes with the national police. There is still no direct intervention from the armed forces to halt UNITA actions. The Angolan Armed Forces are however very attentive [words indistinct].
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Dos Santos Welcomes Lusophone Group's Stand on UNITA
Televisao Popular de Angola on July 20, 1998
President Jose Eduardo dos Santos praised the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries' [CPLP] action and stance concerning Angola. In a brief assessment of the CPLP summit, President dos Santos said measures must be taken to force the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola [UNITA] to comply with UN Security Council decisions.
[Dos Santos - recording] I think the summit achieved the aims we had intended.
[Reporter] Are you happy with your CPLP partners' support?
[Dos Santos] Yes, I think so, especially with regard to their stance on UNITA. [Passage indistinct].
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UN Staff Withdrawn From Remote Areas for Security Reasons
Radio Nacional de Angola on July 20, 1998
The Joint Commission met today to discuss certain ideas concerning state authority restoration to National Union for the Total Independence of Angola [UNITA]-controlled areas of Andulo, Bailundo, Mungo and Nharea. Nothing concrete was said in this regard, but the UN Observer Mission in Angola, UNOMA, is closing some observation posts in the Angolan hinterland for security reasons. Joint Commission acting head Kofi Obeng said this:
[Obeng - recording, in English, with passage-by-passage translation to Portuguese] The fact is that we must place our men in areas where we can protect them. We have removed our staff from remote areas because it would have been difficult to defend them. Thus, these transfers do not mean we have abandoned those areas. Rather, we are protecting our personnel.
[Unidentified reporter] Have the government and UNITA given any guarantees that UNOMA personnel will be protected?
[Obeng] Yes, of course. The agreement clearly spells out that government and UNITA must offer protection to UNOMA personnel, and I think this is happening.
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MPLA Official on Need to Restore Peace "Regardless of Cost"
Radio Nacional de Angola on July 17, 1998
Joao Lourenco, head of the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola [MPLA] bench in the National Assembly, told parliament yesterday that the country is going through difficult political times, adding that vigorous action is needed to settle these problems.
Lourenco emphasized that this is not a time for words that hide the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola's [UNITA] warmongering aims.
[Lourenco - recording] With the Lusaka Protocol's stagnation, the country has fallen into deep political crisis. We have to act vigorously now. This is not the time for grandiose speeches, especially misleading speeches that have nothing to do with the country's actual situation. In 1994, we signed the Lusaka Protocol with a political force called UNITA. Today, the United Nations is aware that UNITA has become a gang of armed bandits, despite all efforts to demilitarize it. This is not the time to ask whether the government must treat UNITA as an assembly of criminals, and put in place constitutional mechanisms to deal with illegal private armies in our country. Angolans want peace so that they can live in happiness, move freely, till their fields, and benefit from foreign investment. I hereby repeat that it is the state's duty to restore peace to this country by whatever means, and regardless of cost.
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President Addresses Lusophone Summit, Blames UNITA for "New War"
Radio Nacional de Angola on July 16, 1998
President Jose Eduardo dos Santos today addressed the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries, CPLP, summit in the city of Praia, Cape Verde. The Angolan head of state said Angola is at present faced with a war situation, noting that since the signing of the Lusaka Protocol a definite peace has not yet been achieved.
[Dos Santos - recording] Unfortunately, we are faced with a new war situation. The Lusaka Protocol was signed four years ago but we have not yet achieved a definite peace [word indistinct] security, so as to rebuild the country. After some successes in the implementation of the Lusaka Protocol, the military situation is deteriorating in view of attacks carried out by National Union for the Total Independence of Angola [UNITA] in all provinces. For instance, over the past two months UNITA launched about 70 attacks in which more than 200 civilians and soldiers were killed, and more than 72 areas were attacked, displacing people in the central plateau and the north of the country, which led to about 15,000 refugees taking refuge in neighboring countries.
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Heavy Clashes Between Police and UNITA Reported in Lunda Norte
Radio Nacional de Angola on July 19, 1998
Heavy clashes are taking place between UNITA [National Union for the Total Independence of Angola] military forces and the national police in Lunda Norte Province's Cuango District. Victor Inacungo, provincial police commander, says the situation is critical, but there are clear signs that by tomorrow it will turn in favor of his men. Inacungo noted that the situation was expected, thus the need for his visit to Cuango from where he has just arrived.
[Inacungo - recording] We had reports that UNITA was deploying forces from Bote, Gomela [phonetic], and the border areas with a view to attacking our positions in the Mussuco area, as well as Lorena [phonetic] village. At 0400 [local time] on 18th July, UNITA military forces [words indistinct] equipped with heavy artillery, attacked police positions in Mussuco, our unit deployed on the Mbuvo [phonetic] River bridge, and Pedro Bumba village. Obviously, clashes are continuing until this moment. Police forces are resisting, reacting to UNITA military forces. In view of the response from our gallant agents, clashes are now taking place north of Mbuvo River, that is, beyond Mussuco. So, clashes are now taking place near Lorena [phonetic], towards the border area. It is clear that by tomorrow the outcome of the clashes will be favorable to government forces, that is, the police.
One could ask what are UNITA's intentions. UNITA's plan for the Cuango region is to reoccupy positions that it held until recently [words indistinct] to secure its survival. I mean, illegal diamond mining. UNITA has not demobilized its forces in this area. It has been strengthening its military presence here, sending forces from Uige, Malanje, Bailundo and Andulo. Right now, UNITA has a strong presence in this area. I am, however, pleased to note that the situation is under the control of the police forces. Obviously, clashes have been [words indistinct].
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UN Accuses UNITA of Killing 24 People in Northern Province
Radio Mozambique on July 18, 1998
The political and military situation in Uige Province [northern Angola] is worsening. The UN Observer Mission in Angola, UNOMA, has confirmed the death of 24 people and the abduction of another 58 in a military operation carried out in Buengas District. UNOMA has blamed the incident on Jonas Savimbi's National Union for the Total Independence of Angola.
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UN Observers Withdrawn from Bie Area for Security Reasons
Radio Nacional de Angola on July 19, 1998
The UN Observer Mission in Angola, UNOMA, has withdrawn its personnel from Bie Province's Cuemba District for security reasons. UNOMA also closed its observation post in the area. UNITA's [National Union for the Total Independence of Angola] residual forces have been blamed for this state of affairs. UNOMA has concentrated its personnel in the city of Cuito, but left open an observation post in Andulo District.
A UNOMA source told our Cuito correspondent that as long as the unstable military situation continues, it will not be able to deploy its personnel in the field according to the terms of the Lusaka Protocol. The withdrawal of UNOMA observers and the closure of its observation posts have compromised relief operations carried out by non-governmental organizations because the latter no longer have information on security conditions in the province.
Meanwhile, a group of UNITA residual forces consisting of more than 20 men equipped with machine guns, attacked a Kamazi truck on the Leua-Luena road, Moxico Province, on 18th July. The truck driver and a passenger were seriously wounded in the incident, which occurred in the Loculo area.
In Cuanza Norte, more than 300 displaced persons are waiting for better living conditions in Cerca, Golungo Alto. They walked from Panga Aluquem, Bengo Province, fleeing UNITA's atrocities.
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SADC Finance Ministers Meet in Namibia to Discuss Debt, Reforms, and Investment
Wire Sources on July 16, 1998
Finance Ministers from the Southern African Development Community, which Angola is a member, met in Namibia last week. The Ministers discussed Africa's debt burden and examined methods to reduce it.
"Only one SADC member, Mozambique, was part of a debt-relief program," South African Finance Minister Manuel said. Minister Manuel also stated that there should be a softening of the criteria to allow more countries to participate. "They argue it's exceedingly hard to try to undertake development projects which we have to in southern Africa when the bulk of your resources are spent on debt servicing".
Namibian Finance Minister Nangolo Mbumba praised the United States' trade-not-aid policy, directed at rewarding countries that instituted economic reforms. "It can provide the necessary impetus to enhance the recently improved economic outlook for sub Saharan Africa, to strengthen the initiatives promoted by the SADC and to supplement the resources committed by other development partners," Mbumba stated.
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