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Letters & Opinions

Angolan government was foolhardy to host tournament

Sonia Maria

2010-01-21, Issue 466

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/letters/61633

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It does not take a political scientist to infer that it was foolhardy of the Angolan government to agree to host a tournament of this magnitude in a country that has been at war for more than three decades, writes Sonia Maria, a lawyer and civil rights activist from Belo Horizonte, Brazil.

The actions of Cabindan separatists were predictable in the face of such a great opportunity to make a point. A football tournament in the same continent that is hosting the World Cup, not to mention the universality of the sport, and the fact that Africa produces many of the sport’s superstars. Needless to say, the world’s attention would be focused on Africa.

Until now, the separatist struggle of Cabinda has gone on unbeknownst to the Western world – nothing more than another ethnic conflict. Now, Angola has given them all the publicity they ever needed. Up to now, few had ever heard of Minga Rodrigues, much less the cause for which he has been fighting. Today, he is front-page news, speaking about his cause, getting the kind of publicity he has not had for thirty years.

The attitude of the Angolan government has been to try and kill two birds with one stone – keeping the Cabindans quiet, while emphasising its sovereignty to the rest of Africa. At the same time, it is trying to show the rest of the world that all is well and that it is in control. The net result of this has been the loss of innocent lives in a country still fragile after thirty years of civil war.

I hope that Angola and other governments of the continent will change their attitudes, and realise that it is time to end the dictatorship, the corruption and the suffering. That the continent known as the Cradle of Mankind, and strong in its diversity, can fulfil its role and save Humanity.

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