Date Of Article: 10/16/2002
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Angolans waiting for genuine peace
By: Raphael Mweninguwe
‘We have the resources but the war has disturbed everything’ When the Uniao Nacional para a Independencia Total de Angola (Unita) leader Jonas Savimbi died in the hail of bullets on February 22, this year, some Angolans welcomed the news of his death with optimism while others did not. Not, because Unita has been fighting the Movimento Popular de Libetacao de Angola (MPLA) government since independence from Portugal in 1975 and has failed to implement the 1994 Lusaka agreement. The Lusaka Protocol provides the basis for transition to peace but Unita did not comply to this peace process. Roberto Guimas said he was optimistic that the war in Angola would come to an end. “After all these years people are now tired of war. Many innocent lives have been lost and this is the time that political leaders should bury their differences,” he said. Guimas who lost his father during the protracted war five years ago, said many people have had their limbs amputated because of landmines. “Even when one travels in the country, he or she is not sure whether the day will end without stepping on a landmine,” he said. The death of Savimbi was followed the signing of peace agreement between Unita and MPLA in April. After the signing of the agreement the Angolan Parliament approved a blanket amnesty to cover “all civilians and soldiers, Angolan and foreign, who committed crimes against the security of the Angolan state”. The peace deal blueprint memorandum among other things details the responsibilities of the Angolan national army and those of the Unita forces for observation of the ceasefire; the quartering of Unita soldiers and families at selected areas where government undertook to provide assistance; and that the Unita soldiers are to be integrated into the national army and police. The implementation of this agreement is supposed to take almost a year, according to government officials in Angola. The stabilisation process that is taking place in Angola manifested itself early this month when the Southern African Development Community (Sadc) held its 22nd summit in Luanda. This was the first time Sadc held a summit in Angola. Everyone in Angola agrees that the war has brought untold suffering and misery and has reversed the economic trend. Angola has one of the highest volumes of exports in the region and its main export is oil. The country has diamond and fish in addition to other natural resources, most of which are under utilised due to lack of investment. Angola’s active oil depos-its account for about 54.5 percent of the growth domestic product (GDP) and 90 percent of exports. Oil also provides 83.5 percent of the government revenue. Director of programmes at the Angolan Radio Jose Nendonca said had it not been for the war, Angola would have been one of the richest nations in the Sadc region, and Africa as a whole. “We have a lot of resources. But the war has disturbed everything,” he said. Nondenca said with the signing of ceasefire in April, he was optimistic that the country will develop as many investors would be encouraged to “come to Angola and invest”. He said the war had devastating effects on the lives of the 13 million people. It is estimated that over 1.5 million Angolans have died in the war in 17 years. Angolan president Jose Eduardo dos Santos who is current chairman of Sadc said the 14-nation grouping faces great challenges, both socio-economic and political. “Security and stability remain our priority,” he said. Dos Santos took over the leadership of both the country and the ruling MPLA party in 1979, after the death of Agostinho Neto. He said the conflict in Angola has created conditions not suitable for investment. The former Sadc chair, Malawi’s President Bakili Muluzi, said he was happy that the war in Angola was coming to an end and called on the international community to help the country develop. On its part, Unita said it was ready to implement the April ceasefire. The party’s deputy secretary general Manuel Savihenda said his party was working closely with government on the integration of the rebel army into government. He said Unita has embarked on programmes aimed at helping the country recover from the effects of the war. Savihenda admitted that the war has had a bad effect on the country’s development, but he said both parties (Unita and MPLA) were to blame for it. The integration of the Unita fighters might take sometime because of lack of resources. Government said it will have to organise a donor meeting before end of this year to help in the integration process. So far about 570,000 internally displaced persons have been resettled or returned to their homes over the past five months. For the time being people of Angola are holding their breath until such a time when peace becomes a complete reality.
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