From: barnhart@gagme.chi.il.us (Aaron Barnhart)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.african
Subject: IPS: ANGOLA: U.S. announces election, de
Date: 21 Aug 92 22:57:37 GMT
Organization: Gagme Public Access UNIX, Chicago, Illinois.
Originator: @gagme

Reference: North America
Title: ANGOLA: U.S. announces election, demobilisation aid


washington, aug 18 (ips) -- the u.s. government announced here
tuesday that it has deployed four transport planes to angola to
help prepare for this fall's elections and return demobilised
soldiers to their homes.

pentagon spokesperson pete williams told reporters that about
40,000 demobilised troops and their family members are currently
awaiting transportation home at assembly points around the
country.

he said the u.s. c-130 transports began transporting them
several days ago and will also be used to move election officials
and their equipment to polling centres for the sept. 29-30
elections.

the pentagon's announcement coincides with increasing concern
here about rising tensions in angola between government forces and
the opposition unita movement, headed by jonas savimbi.

the state department last friday raised questions about the
''neutrality'' in the elections of a newly created anti-riot
police perceived by washington as loyal to the government of
president eduardo dos santos.

state department spokesperson richard boucher charged that the
new unit has ''acted in ways which appear to violate both the
letter and spirit of the (peace) accords'' signed last year by dos
santos and savimbi.

one official told ips the unit has broken up unita rallies,
particularly one addressed by savimbi himself in huambo several
weeks ago.

''we think it's a very real possibility that this unit is
trying to provoke unita into a violent response,'' he said, adding
that washington has obtained assurances from luanda that this is
not the intent.

boucher also accused unita of acting ''overzealously, bringing
armed security personnel into urban areas and limiting the
activities and movement of some of the civilian population.''

fierce fighting -- the worst since the end of the 16-year civil
war last year -- was reported last week in the northern province
of malange where armed unita militants tried to set up an office
in a traditional government stronghold.  details of the fighting,
which reportedly resulted in nine deaths, have been sketchy.
(more/ips)

angola: u.s. aid (2)

last year's accord, which was mediated by portugal, the soviet
union, and the u.s., ended 16 years of civil war which began in
1975 when unita and another rebel group, backed by south african
armoured forces, tried to sweep into luanda following independence
from lisbon.

in addition to south africa, the rebels were also backed by the
u.s. central intelligence agency (cia) which, however, was forced
by the u.s. congress to cut off its aid in early 1976.

in 1986, however, president reagan persuaded congress to
reverse itself, and the cia renewed its support for savimbi, who
was a regular visitor to washington during the 1980s.

earlier this year, however, two top-level unita officials
defected from the group and publicly endorsed charges by several
international human rights groups, that savimbi had ordered the
executions of close aides, including the former unita's popular
former ambassador here in washington.

as a result, u.s. enthusiasm for savimbi appears to have cooled
in recent months, and he has not visited washington yet this year.
(ends/ips/ai/jl/jemg/92)


-- 
Aaron (Barnhart@gagme.chi.il.us) -- posting from Evanston, Illinois
Newsgroups: soc.culture.african