CONTENTS | ANB-BIA HOMEPAGE | WEEKLY NEWS
by ANB-BIA, Brussels, March 1999
THEME = An ANB's DOSSIER
Open war has once again broken out between UNITA and the
government of Angola.
The following is a short overview of this country's tempestuous history
Angola is one of Africa's largest countries with an area of some 1,246,000 sq. km. Today its population is about 11.5 million, with several large ethnic groups and about one hundred tribal sub- groups, the most important ethnic group being the Ovimbundu (35%), occupying the central plateau. There's also a large mixed-race population, mostly living in the towns.
Main exports are diamonds, crude oil, gas and derivatives. After Nigeria, Angola is Africa's second largest oil producer but it is likely to outpace the former in coming years.
Angola experienced the earliest and most backward form of European colonialism. First contacts with the Portuguese explorers dates back to the 15th Century. A first settlement was established in Luanda in 1575. For centuries, military campaigns were conducted with the aim of capturing slaves or in the hope of discovering valuable minerals.
After Africa's partition at the l885 Berlin Conference, the Portuguese were obliged to show effective occupation of colonial claims. The slave trade died out during the late 19th century and was replaced by a kind of forced labour in the various plantations. The colonial economy was mainly based on agriculture. Diamond mining started in 1913 and petroleum extraction in 1956, but Portugal always put brakes on the country's industrialisation in order to protect its own industry.
Resistance movements - Modern nationalism in Angola has its immediate roots in a cultural revival in the late 1940s, but this intellectual movement took place against a background of enormous popular resentment against the forced labour system. Two separate revolts took place in 1961. The first against colonial repression was launched in Luanda by the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) which had been founded in December 1956. The second, against the European planters and some of the mixed-race population in northern Angola, was launched by a mainly Bakongo group, which had grown out of the Union of Populations of North Angola (UPNA), which was to become part of the National Front for the Liberation of Angola (FNLA) in March 1962. Both revolts were countered militarily by the Portuguese army and both took to guerilla warfare, first in the north of the country and in Cabinda, and later, in the east. In 1964, several southerners broke away from the FNLA, which they accused of tribalism, and in March 1966, formed the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA).
Practically all three movements had the same programme, but in their political practices, they differed on several fundamental respects. The MPLA which advocated Marxist-Leninism, was linked with Guinea-Bissau's African Party for Independence in Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC), and with the Mozambican Liberation Front (FRELIMO), and also had the support of the USSR and its allies. It committed itself to an armed liberation struggle, based on mobilising the population. Its leaders, some of whom were of mixed race, stressed the importance of transcending racism and tribalism. The FNLA, on the other hand, appealed to tribal allegiance in the north of Angola and quickly became the tool of Zairian and Western politics, pursuing above all, the destruction of the communist MPLA. UNITA, whose main support was among the Ovimbundu, sought to reach an accommodation with the right-wing Portuguese. At the same time, UNITA wanted to exploit Chinese-Soviet rivalry by encouraging support from China. Its leader, Jonas Savimbi, finally allied himself with South Africa, which was angry at the MPLA's sympathies for the South West African People's Organisation (SWAPO), the Namibian liberation movement. (At that time, Namibia was still occupied by South Africa).
In Portugal, the fascist regime was overthrown on 25 April 1974, and the new leaders took the necessary measures to grant independence to its colonies.
A transition government was formed in Angola, composed of Portuguese nationals and members of the three liberation movements. Independence was set for 11 November 1975.
Before the election could take place, however, the transitional government broke down and open fighting started between the three parties, each of them relying on support from abroad. Zairian troops were moved over Angola's northern borders in support of the FNLA, along with financial support from the American CIA. South African troops were moved over Angola's southern borders to back UNITA. The MPLA received military support, mainly from Cuba and equipment from Mozambique, Nigeria and Algeria.
The MPLA and its allies emerged victorious. In February 1976, the Zairian troops were forced back home. One month later, the South African troops had to withdraw. The remaining FNLA and UNITA fighters sought asylum in Zaire and Namibia respectively, from where they kept up sporadic incursions into Angola.
In the meantime, independence had been proclaimed on the date set from the start, i.e. 11 November 1975. MPLA's leader, Augustinho Neto became Angola's first President. When he died in 1979, he was replaced by the present President, José Eduardo Dos Santos.
The war, however, continued throughout the 1980s until the early 1990s.
The Angolan government succeeded in securing its northern border by signing a treaty with Zaire on 9 February 1985.
In the south, however, the situation worsened. In 1979, there was a dramatic increase in military incursions into Angolan territory by the South African and Rhodesian armies. This did nothing to improve Angola's already desperate economic situation. Between 1981 and 1983, South Africa launched a series of attacks in Angola to raid SWAPO bases, taking care all the while to help UNITA, which had once again entered the country, operating mainly in south- eastern Angola. The movement had a tidy income from the sale of diamonds and finally controlled a considerable part of the country. UNITA still availed itself of US support and, in February 1986, the US Congress even voted direct military assistance to UNITA.
Negotiations between Angola and South Africa dragged on throughout the 1980s but came up against Angola's support for Namibia on the one hand, and the presence of an estimated 25,000 Cuban troops in the country on the other. South African intervention in Angola continued until Namibia became independent in March 1990. It was only then that South Africa and Cuba recalled their troops, leaving UNITA and the MPLA to confront each other.
From 1990, there were various efforts made to mediate in Angola's internal conflict, especially by Portugal. In June 1990, the MPLA, which had been ruling the country as a single-party state, accepted the principle of multi-party politics, and in October of the same year, formally abandoned its Marxist-Leninist ideology. In March 1991, the MPLA convened a People's Assembly to revise the Constitution and to announce multi-party elections for November 1992. Peace negotiations started in Portugal on 1 May 1991 and ended on 31 May with the Bicesse Peace Accord in Lisbon. The last Cuban troops left the country on 25 May. Both parties, nevertheless, continued their efforts to discredit each other.
In August 1992, Dos Santos and Savimbi made a joint announcement, promising that they would form a coalition government, whatever the outcome of the election. Elections took place in September 1992 with the following results: Dos Santos won the presidential election with 49.57% of votes cast, as against Savimbi's 40.07%. The MPLA won the parliamentary election, winning 129 of the 230 seats and 57.85% of the vote. UNITA won 70 seats and 31.39% of the vote. But Savimbi did not accept his defeat and returned to the bush. The war started again.
New peace negotiations followed in January-February 1993 in Addis- Ababa, Ethiopia, and in April-May 1993 in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, but without success. For four months, President Clinton tried in vain to reach a peace agreement between the two sides. When this failed, the USA changed policy and in May 1993, recognised the Angolan government. The UN imposed a weapons and oil embargo on UNITA, but Zaire ignored it and continued selling oil to UNITA in exchange for Angolan diamonds.
Peace negotiations resumed under UN auspices, while the war continued and seemed to turn in favour of the government forces. Finally, in November 1994, the two parties signed the Lusaka Protocol, which provided for a ceasefire, the formation of a Government Of National Unity, the disarming of UNITA troops part of whom were to be integrated into the national Angolan army, and new elections. Areas occupied by UNITA were to pass under central administration control. The UN sent an Observer Mission called MONUA.
Attempts at implementing this agreement proved painful and the Lusaka Protocol finally only allowed for a short-lived period of relative peace from 1994 to 1998. Setting up a centralised administration in a number of areas was achieved with a great deal of victimization. On the other hand, it can't be denied that it was first and foremost UNITA who openly proved unwilling to live up to its promises. Savimbi's position in the country (Vice-President, presidential adviser, leader of the opposition) was the object of endless discussions. Above all, UNITA strongly resisted disarming its forces and never accepted to cede to the government the territory it occupied in the centre of the country, in spite of increasing insistence and pressure brought to bear by the international community (freezing UNITA accounts, an embargo on the sale of diamonds, etc.). Facts today prove that UNITA took advantage of the few years of lull to rearm.
In March 1998, sporadic fighting resumed in both northern and southern Angola. UNITA re-occupied a number of places it had ceded to the government. On 4 September 1998, President Dos Santos announced that he had completely suspended talks with Savimbi, and fighting flared up again.
In early December 1998, the government troops, in an attempt to deliver a fatal blow to the rebellion, launched an offensive against UNITA strongholds in Bailundo and Andulo in central Angola, but they were pushed back. The army had to admit it had underestimated UNITA's fighting capacity, with its tanks and heavy artillery. UNITA had even re-opened the fighting on several fronts in most provinces. On 29 January 1999, President Dos Santos granted himself «full powers» to take personal charge of the war, and appointed as Defence Minister a general known for his determination. He invited MONUA to leave the country at the end of its mandate, i.e. at the end of February.
Even if the government troops are superior in numbers and have high-tec weapons, Savimbi's forces appear to be more determined and disciplined and, more importantly, they understand the terrain better and use extremely efficient guerilla techniques. Even though UNITA has experienced a number of drawbacks, they've always been able to bounce back.
«Twenty years of continuous war, have resulted in over 40 million dollars damages and cost 30 billion dollars in war effort, not to speak of hundreds of thousands of casualties, tens of thousands of disabled and millions of displaced people», wrote C. Ouazani in the weekly Jeune Afrique (15 September 1998).
The government's income almost entirely derives from oil production, but it is seriously handicapped by today's low oil prices. On the other hand, two-thirds of the state's second source of income, diamonds, flows into UNITA pockets, as the rebels control most of the diamond mining areas.
Agricultural production has been going down and down. The introduction of state farms, following the Soviet model, has doubtlessly something to do with it. But war remains the main cause. The workforce has abandoned many areas, fields have been mined and people have fled. War has also destroyed 75% of the roads and thus made it extremely difficult to get goods to and from the main commercial centres. Angola has to rely on imports for 80% of its consumption.
«But», adds Mr. Ouazani, «the consequences of the war are worst seen on the psychological level. This conflict, to which people see no end, has broken the Angolans' spirits. Every single Angolan has been displaced at least once in his/her life. Most of them are embittered, not to say shattered. It's hard for them to keep on hoping for better days.»
NOTA - Main source: New African Yearbook 1997/1998, IC Publications Ltd
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