|
Algeria
Angola
Benin
Botswana
Burkina Faso
Burundi
Cameroon
Cape Verde
Central Afr. Rep.
Chad
Comoros
Congo (Brazzaville)
Congo (Kinshasa)
Côte d'Ivoire
Djibouti
Egypt
Equatorial Guinea
Eritrea
Ethiopia
Gabon
Gambia
Ghana
Guinea
Guinea-Bissau
Kenya
Lesotho
Liberia
Libya
Madagascar
Malawi
Mali
Mauritania
Mauritius
Morocco
Mozambique
Namibia
Niger
Nigeria
Rwanda
São Tomé
Senegal
Seychelles
Sierra Leone
Somalia
South Africa
South Sudan
Sudan
Swaziland
Tanzania
Togo
Tunisia
Uganda
Western Sahara
Zambia
Zimbabwe
|
Get AfricaFocus Bulletin by e-mail!
Print this page
|
Note: This document is from the archive of the Africa Policy E-Journal, published
by the Africa Policy Information Center (APIC) from 1995 to 2001 and by Africa Action
from 2001 to 2003. APIC was merged into Africa Action in 2001. Please note that many outdated links in this archived
document may not work.
|
Angola: Peace Monitor II, 3
Any links to other sites in this file from 1995 are not clickable,
given the difficulty in maintaining up-to-date links in old files.
However, we hope they may still provide leads for your research.
Angola: Peace Monitor II, 3
Date Distributed (ymd): 951204
Angola Peace Monitor Volume II, Issue 3, 30 November 1995
Troop confinement begins
On the occasion of the first anniversary of the signing of
the Lusaka Protocol, the Quartering Area at Vila Nova in
Huambo Province received the first 150 UNITA troops. The
opening of the first Quartering Area at Vila Nova, on 20
November, was witnessed by the UN Secretary-General's
Special Representative, Alioune Blondin Beye, and other
members of the Joint Commission.
Although the confinement of UNITA troops has fallen
seriously behind schedule, it is now hoped that 150 soldiers
can be confined daily at the camp, until it reaches a
maximum of 5,000.
Progress has also been reported from two other Quartering
Areas, at Piri in Bengo Province, and N'gage in Uige
Province. However, according to the United Nations
Humanitarian Assistance Co-ordination Unit (UCAH) in Luanda,
there were further delays in the establishment of the
Quartering Areas following a security incident near Quibaxe,
Bengo Province, on 24 October involving UN and NGO staff.
This led to NGOs suspending their activities pending safety
assurances from UNITA. Subsequently, UNITA gave a verbal
apology to the Special Representative of the
Secretary-General of the UN, Alioune Blondin Beye.
The total number of identified Quartering Areas by the end
of October was 13, following the creation of further sites
at Caiundo and Licua, Kuando Kubango Province. It is also
reported that the Government's Rapid Intervention Police
have already moved to their barracks, as required under the
Lusaka Protocol.
Government Minister Higino Carneiro on 29 November
criticised UNITA and the UN for the slow pace of quartering
UNITA troops. He said that by 27 November only 500 had so
far entered the camps, less than half the scheduled number.
Peace grows in Cabinda despite clashes
The London based journal +Southscan+ reported on 24 November
that the Angolan Government and the Cabinda Democratic Front
(FDC) separatist movement held talks in Congo the previous
week, but failed to reach agreement. The talks follow a
successful agreement between the Government and the Flec
Renovada organisation.
In a more positive reading of the talks, +ANGOP+, the
official Angolan News Agency, report that on 21 November a
truce was agreed between the Government and the FDC to allow
for the free movement of people in areas controlled by the
FDC, with a view to creating a climate conducive to a
definitive solution to the problems of Cabinda.
In a further move to strengthen the peace process, the
Governor of Cabinda Province, Jose Amaro Tati, has signed a
security and co-operation agreement with its northern
neighbour, Congo.
However, the +South African Press Association+ (SAPA)
reported on 2 December that government troops had taken over
the town of Sumba, 20km east of Soyo. The report states that
UNITA soldiers had been using Sumba as a base for attacks on
Soyo, which is the site of key onshore oil facilities.
According to the report, Sumba became a base for UNITA
operations after UNITA forces retreated from Cabinda
following the recent peace treaties signed in the area.
UNITA's radio station, +Voice of the Resistance of the Black
Cockerel+, VORGAN, stated that UNITA troops were heading
eastwards towards a Quartering Area in Negage. However, the
+SAPA+ report states that UNITA +has been reportedly moving
troops out of, rather than into, the UN camps, casting a
pall over peace hopes+.
The +SAPA+ report ends by stating that +UNITA threatened to
suspend quartering all its troops in the Soyo region if the
Government did not withdraw from Sumba+.
It has also been reported that there has been fighting
recently between UNITA and Flec-FAC in the northern Belize
district. The Angolan Minister of the Interior, Santana
Andre Pitra +Petroff+ has called for UNITA troops to leave
Cabinda, which does not host a troop confinement area.
Problems have also been reported between Government troops
and the United Nations in Cabinda. According to a report
from UNITA radio +VORGAN+ at least one UN soldier was
injured in Cabinda during a shoot out with Government
troops.
Government to give green light to NGOs
Angolan Minister for Assistance and Social Integration,
Albino Malungo, announced on 27 November that the Government
will waive import duties on international donations, to help
NGOs. He stated that it had been agreed that all
international donations will now go through the state
dispatching house, Angodespatchos.
Vital railway link to be reconstructed
The London based magazine +West Africa+ reports that the
Angolan Government has allocated over 100 million US dollars
for the renovation of the Benguela-Lobito railway. The
railway is expected to be operating by March 1996.
President dos Santos invited to meet President Clinton
The President of Angola will be visiting the United States
in December, where a number of vital issues are to be
discussed with leading political and economic figures. The
President has been invited to meet with US President Bill
Clinton in the White House on 8 December. The visit was
announced by US Assistant Secretary for African Affairs,
George Moose, during his visit to Angola in November.
This will be the first official visit to the US by an
Angolan President, and follows a very significant
improvement in relations between the two countries since the
election of Bill Clinton.
The change in the official attitude to Angola is apparent
from a document published by the US Agency for International
Development on 23 October regarding the situation in Angola,
and efforts by the US government to assist in the peace-
process.
The report focuses on problems faced by Angola in the coming
year. It states that:
+The existence of a tentative peace throughout the country,
in the wake of the Lusaka Protocol, has led to a gradual
resumption of normalcy in select zones in Angola. Although
nationwide food needs are expected to increase until the
1996 harvest, some food assistance programs are being scaled
back in areas as the populace becomes better able to take
care of its own nutritional needs. As access throughout the
country increases for relief agencies, new pockets of needy
populations are encountered. As displaced populations in
some provinces slowly begin returning to their areas of
origin, targeted assistance programs have been shifted to
assist the returnees and help them to rebuild their lives.
+Overland transportation in the western half of the country
is gradually increasing, as roads are being re-opened for
both peacekeeping and humanitarian purposes. The major
obstacle to this process, however, is the continued presence
of large numbers of unexploded mines, destroyed bridges, and
general insecurity in many parts of the countryside. With
funds provided by the US Department of Defense, USAID/OFDA
has completed the procurement of 13 Bailey bridges to be
transported to Angola to facilitate humanitarian transport
operations and the return of displaced persons and refugees
to their places of origin.
+Angola is at a challenging point in its development. Civil
war has wreaked extensive damage on the country's
infrastructure. Consumer prices are rising by more than
1,000 per cent per year and approximately 20 per cent of all
citizens receive humanitarian assistance. Many of the
displaced are still not returning home ten months after the
signing of the Lusaka Protocol, due to a lack of security in
their areas of origin. +
The report quotes a UNHCR survey of refugees, which reveals
that 20 per cent were ready to return to Angola in 1995
after the maize harvest, more than 40 per cent said they
would be likely to return in 1996, and 30 per cent thought
that they would return in 1997.
The report points out that the total US government
assistance to Angola for 1995 and 1996 is planned to reach
103,859,289 US dollars. In 1995 this includes 4.5 million US
dollars for UN mine clearance operations, 1.8 million US
dollars for the UNHCR programme for Angolan refugees, and
1.5 million US dollars for the UNICEF demobilised soldiers
quartering aid programme.
Mine action summary
Namibia supports demining
The Namibian Defence Minister, Philemon Malima stated on 21
November that 200 Namibian soldiers will travel to Angola to
assist in landmine clearing operations.
Mine survey
CARE is conducting a basic mine survey in support of their
programme in areas around Menongue, Kuando Kubango Province.
Mine training
SCF-US has begun recruitment of former FAA/UNITA soldiers as
students for their Mine Training Programme which will be
based in Sumbe, Kwanza Sul Province. 120 students are
required during this phase.
Mine awareness
World Vision International (WVI) in close collaboration with
Norwegian People's Aid, continues to train instructors and
supervisors to create awareness among the local population
on the dangers of mines. As of 20 October 83 people have
graduated, and have gone on to teach mine awareness to
47,000.
UNAVEM landmine school
UCAH has reported that the UNAVEM Central Mine Action
Training School has benefited from the recruitment of
demobilised FAA and UNITA troops. This has been beneficial
in releasing technical information on mine-laying by both
parties.
UN personnel under attack
United Nations peace-keepers have been accused by a
Portuguese radio report of profiteering.
According to the report, relayed in +West Africa+ (27
November - 3 December) +people living in Zaire and Uige
provinces accused UN peace-keepers of collaborating with
UNITA. They said that the UN soldiers were doing nothing to
promote the free movement of people and goods agreed under
the Lusaka Protocol+.
The report continued that +residents of these regions have
seen the Blue Helmets acting as real businessmen who are
only interested in making money rather than the peace
process+.
Ukraine added to countries contributing to UNAVEM III
The UN Secretary-General, Dr Boutros Boutros-Ghali, wrote to
the Security Council on 1 November, proposing that Ukraine
be added to the list of countries contributing military
personnel to UNAVEM III.
Angolan Independence celebrated
Friends of Angola and Mozambique met in London on 11
November to mark Angola Independence Day and to discuss the
future of the country.
The one-day conference was organised by the Mozambique
Angola Committee (MAC), and incorporated MACs annual
conference - A Luta Continua. The well attended conference
heard from Francisco Assis of the Angolan Embassy, Victoria
Brittain of the Guardian newspaper, and the Director of
ACTSA - Ben Jackson.
The afternoon had workshops on Demobilisation and
Demilitarisation, Landmines, and Reconstruction and Economic
and Social Development.
The internationally acclaimed Angolan musician, Andre Mingas
performed at the conference before going on to play at the
Southbank Centre as part of the London International Jazz
Festival.
The Angola Peace Monitor is produced every month by ACTSA -
Action for Southern Africa, the successor organisation to
the British Anti-Apartheid Movement. It is produced as our
contribution towards the work of the Angola Emergency
Campaign, which seeks to highlight the need for
international action in support of peace and democracy in
Angola.
A years subscription to the Angola Peace Monitor is
available at a cost of 10 pounds sterling in Britain and 15
pounds sterling elsewhere. Please indicate whether you wish
to receive the Angoa Peace Monitor by post, fax, or e-mail.
A full set of back issues is available at an additional cost
of 2 pounds sterling. Payment should be made in pounds
sterling. If you wish to pay in any other currency, you must
add the equivalent of 6 pounds sterling to cover our bank
charges.
ACTSA, 28 Penton Street, London N1 9SA, e-mail:
actsa@geo2.poptel.org.uk, fax: +44 171 837 3001, telephone:
+44 171 833 3133.
*******************************************************
This material is being reposted for wider distribution
by the Africa Policy Information Center (APIC). APIC's
primary objective is to widen the policy debate in the
United States around African issues and the U.S. role
in Africa, by concentrating on providing accessible
policy-relevant information and analysis usable by a
wide range of groups and individuals. APIC is
affiliated with the Washington Office on Africa (WOA),
a not-for-profit church, trade union and civil rights
group supported organization that works with Congress
on Africa-related legislation.
*******************************************************
|
