From: barnhart@ddsw1.MCS.COM (Mr. Aaron Barnhart)
Subject: IPS:ANGOLA: Seeking international support to avert civil war
Date: Thu, 19 Nov 1992 23:16:50 GMT
Organization: Evanston, Illinois, U.S.A.

Copyright Inter Press Service 1992, all rights reserved.  Permission to re-
print within 7 days of original date only with permission from 'newsdesk'.

Title: ANGOLA: Seeking international support to avert civil war /RELATE/


an inter press service feature

by moyiga nduru

attn editors: please relate the following item to 'angola:
government denounces unita's secret coup plans' moved from lisbon
earlier.

london, nov 11 (ips) -- embattled angola feels the international
community is not doing enough to avert a looming civil war which
is threatening the former portuguese colony, says an angolan
diplomat.

''we hope that the british government, which has said nothing
since the beginning of the crisis in october, would now say
something,'' said amoral silva on wednesday.

''as current president of the european community (ec) the british
government has a major role to play in order to restore peace in
angola,'' added the diplomat.

''we also hope that u.s. president-elect bill clinton will make
his voice heard over the issue,'' he added. ''we hope that clinton
will persuade jonas savimbi, the leader of national union for the
total independence of angola (unita), to resort to peace.''

the problem in angola heightened after savimbi rejected the
results of general elections, claiming that the vote on sept. 29
was rigged.

unita's main rival, the popular movement for the liberation of
angola (mpla), led by incubent president jose edwardo de santos,
won the parliamentary elections, but fell only a hair's breath
short of a win of 50 percent to avoid a run-off election with
savimbi in the race for the presidency.

savimbi, who had all along been championing the cause of multi-
party democracy during unita's 16-year guerilla war against the
mpla, which ended last year, left the capital luanda soon after
the voting.

he threatened to renew the civil war if the mpla went ahead with
its plan to announce the results of the elections.

this resulted in street battle between the unita forces and the
police-backed government-armed civilian militias, leaving an
estimated 2,000 people dead in luanda.

according to silva: ''the military situation in angola is now
very bad. it has been made worse by the involvement of south
africa in the country. (more/ips)

angola: seeking international support to avert civil war /relate/(2-e)

angola: seeking international support (2)

''south african planes have been violating angolan air space,
supplying unita with military hardware,'' he added. but this has
been denied by a south african embassy official in london who
described the allegations as a propaganda campaign against
pretoria by the luanda goverment.

the relations between unita and south africa, which has interest
in this oil-rich and diamond-rich southern african nation, began
in 1975 when unita rebelled against the then mpla marxist
government soon after it won independence from portugal.

later, the united states joined in, lending support to unita,
following luanda's decision to seek military assistance from,
washington's arch enemy, cuba.

''now the usa and south africa are reappearing, ostensibly as
'mediators' between unita and the angolan government, with talk of
pressure for power-sharing deals rather than the continued
implementation of the electoral process and peace agreements
signed between the mpla governemnt and unita last year,'' peter
brayshaw of the london-based 'mozambique angola committee' said.

brayshaw urged the british government to ''support mandatory
sanctions, an arms embargo and bans on any support for unita'' in
order to pressure savimbi to accept the democratic verdict of the
angolan people.

this is unlikely to happen as no foreign power seems to have
leverage over unita and savimbi. even the un influence on savimbi
is limited, according to patrick smith of the london publication
'africa confidential', who covered the elections in angola.

indeed, it took marrack goulding, the un under-secretary-general
for peacekeeping operations several days to get the go-ahead to
meet savimbi in huambo, angola's second largest city.

the situation is compounded by the fact that unita, which
originally controlled 20 percent of the country, has now extended
its domain to 50 percent.

''unless the international community intervenes'' warned ama
annon of christian aid ''innocent people who have not called for
the war will be the losers''.

annon, who visited angola recently, said about 800,000 refugees
who had returned from zaire, were optimistically looking forward
to start a new life in the country of their origin.

''i am not sure whether some of those who had been refugees twice
in their lives, first in 1961 and later in 1975, would think of
returning to angola, if they flee again,'' she said.

already a number of british ngo's have written to the foreign
minister douglas hurd urging him to help rescue the situation in
angola. (end/ips/ad/mn/mf/92)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.african