Angola: UNITA arms smuggler linked to Taliban
A report by the Centre for Public Integrity has linked UNITA's principal arms trafficker, Victor Bout, with smuggling millions of dollars worth of arms to the Taliban in Afghanistan. According to the report, Bout earned $50 million in profit from selling the weapons in the late 1990s. One intelligence source used by the Centre stated that the arms were sent "on behalf of the Pakistan government".
Commenting in the article, Peter Hain, Britain's Foreign Minister for Europe stated that "the murder and mayhem of UNITA in Angola, the RUF in Sierra Leone and groups in the Congo would not have been as terrible without Bout's operations".
-----Original Message-----
From: [email protected] On Behalf Of ACTSA
Sent: 26 February 2002 15:47
To: Undisclosed-Recipient:;
Subject: Angola Peace Monitor no.6 vol.VII
Angola Peace Monitor
Published by ACTSA
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Issue no.6, Vol. VIII
26th February 2002
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Jonas Savimbi killed
UNITA leader Jonas Savimbi was killed on 22 February following a fierce battle between his rebel troops and the Angolan army (FAA). The battle took place in the locality of Lubuei in Moxico province, some 100 km away from the Zambian border.
Jonas Savimbi died on the same day as some of his most senior generals, including Brigadier "Big Joy" and Brigadier Mbula. The Angolan army states that they ambushed Savimbi's military column. During the fighting around 25 UNITA people from his platoon were killed. Fighting is also reported to have taken place between FAA and other UNITA forces who had the task of diverting military attention away from their leader, led by Mbula and Big Joy.
To allay the cynicism of some foreign journalists, the government put the body of Savimbi on show to journalists at the nearby town of Lucusse. The Angolan news agency, ANGOP, reported that following this the body was buried in the nearby cemetery.
The decisive battle took place following several major FAA victories over UNITA, including a large-scale ambush on a column of UNITA fighters who were attempting to flee to Zambia earlier in the week. During fierce fighting many senior UNITA generals were captured or killed.
On 18 February FAA announced that it had killed UNITA's national political commissioner General Galiano da Silva e Sousa "Bula Matadi" and captured Brigadier Arlindo Catuta, Brigadier Faustino Pelembe and General Rodrigues. Also captured was the column's leader General Almeida Ezequiel Chissende "Buffalo Bill". Buffalo Bill had been the leader of UNITA's urban guerrilla warfare unit - the Service for Clandestine Intelligence.
In late January this same column had been attacked by FAA, resulting in the capture of the former chief of staff of UNITA's troops, Brigadier Ilidio Paulo Sachiambo, along with General Elizeu Catumbela and Colonel Tiago Bernado Chingui.
The wives of several senior UNITA figures were also arrested at this time, including Dores Chipenda (wife of UNITA vice-president Antonio Dembo), Beatriz Marcolino (wife of General Bock), Tita Miranda (wife of General Numa) and Amelia Isabel Dachala (wife of Marcial Ndachala).
Dores Chipenda told journalists on 17 January that her husband's health was in a critical situation. There has so far been no news on his whereabouts. Some commentators have previously suggested that Dembo is a possible candidate for the leadership of UNITA. She also stated that a former UNITA parliamentarian Celestino Mutuyakevela Kapapelo had starved to death in the bush (other reports state that Kapapelo was killed with Savimbi on 22 February). Kapapelo was one of the few UNITA deputies that did not take up their posts in the Angolan parliament. Instead, he stayed with Savimbi who placed him in charge of a commission to reorganize UNITA's security services, administer justice in UNITA-controlled areas and head UNITA's disciplinary committee.
Sources indicate that fierce fighting is continuing in Moxico, where many of Savimbi's top troops - including his "presidential guard" - remain under siege.
Several senior UNITA figures are reportedly still alive including vice-president Antonio Dembo, secretary-general Paulo Lukamba Gato, chief of staff General Geraldo Abreu "Kamorteiro", General Esteves "Kamy" Pena and General Camalata Numa.
Meanwhile, in Bocoio municipality Major Cano Americano and 24 UNITA soldiers recently surrendered to government forces.
The Angolan government is now relieved and relaxed following the clashes in Moxico province. A source stated that there will be no immediate cease-fire but that efforts were being made to persuade the remnants to lay down their weapons.
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Prospects for peace brighter
Jonas Savimbi had centralised power within UNITA to such an extent that the main military, political and financial aspects of the organisation were handled primarily by him. His death has considerably improved prospects for peace in Angola as UNITA is no longer an insurrectionary force threatening the survival of the state.
Jonas Savimbi led UNITA in a war against the Angolan government since the country gained independence in 1975. Relying heavily on the American CIA and the apartheid South African regime for protection and support, he denied Angola the opportunity to flourish.
Today, two generations of children have known nothing but conflict. Angola is now ranked one of the worst places in the world to be a child - nearly one in three die before their fifth birthday because of war and war-induced poverty. More than half a million people have died, and millions have been forced to flee their homes.
There have been lulls in the fighting. In 1991, negotiations led to a cease-fire and the following year United Nations-supervised elections were held. Rejecting the results, Savimbi led his troops back into war, seizing much of the country. It was not until the Angolan army managed to recover much of the lost ground that Jonas Savimbi allowed his organisation to enter into another peace agreement - the Lusaka Protocol - in 1994. This time he used the peace process as a breathing space to rearm his organisation under the noses of the United Nations using funds from his conflict diamonds. Eventually UNITA led the country back into full-scale war in 1998, using its new conventional army to try and seize the country. However, this effort failed, leading to the Angolan government's determination to destroy Savimbi's fighting force.
Whilst UNITA's military structure is still capable of banditry against civilians - and we may well see isolated retaliatory actions by UNITA - there is no clear successor to Savimbi capable of keeping up any military pressure. Sources with close connections with UNITA warn that the two obvious candidates, vice-president Antonio Dembo and secretary-general Paulo Lukamba Gato are fierce rivals.
It should also be noted that even with Jonas Savimbi at the helm, UNITA's army had been reduced to a bandit organisation not capable of facing down the Angolan army. Indeed, it is hard to understand political commentators who have until last week been talking about a military stalemate in Angola.
Some commentators fear that UNITA military hard-liners will continue the war at any cost. However, it should be noted that "hard-liner" was a role assigned by Jonas Savimbi to countless people in an attempt to make himself look reasonable. Previous "hard-liners" include Abel Chivukuvuku, Jorge Valentim and Fatima Roque.
Abel Chivukuvuku is now a leading UNITA parliamentarian, where he commands a lot of support. He stated in an interview with the UN news agency IRIN on 6 February that "if UNITA wants to play a role it will have to reconcile itself. You cannot be a serious player in reconciling the larger Angolan family if you don't succeed in reconciling your own particular family".
Jorge Valentim is a founding member of UNITA Renovada and is Minister of Hotels and Tourism in the Government of Unity and National Reconciliation. Fatima Roque is now a professor of economics in Lisbon, Portugal.
Previously, the conflict between UNITA and the Angolan government had led to regional insecurity, affecting Namibia, Zambia, Republic of Congo and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The conflict also had important ramifications for Botswana and South Africa. It now looks likely that the conflict will be reduced to an internal law-enforcement issue.
The Angolan government has moved quickly to call for the end to conflict. In a statement on 23 February the government appealed to "all those, that voluntarily or involuntarily, were associated to these terrorist practices to consider their options and reintegrate themselves in the normal life of the country, contributing in this way to the consolidation of the democratisation and national reconciliation process". It continued that it will soon issue "a communiqué containing a detailed programme to cease all hostilities in Angola".
The government reiterated its "intention to completely implement the Lusaka Protocol and also considers that all Angolan political parties are essential for Angola's democratisation". It called for the nation to remain calm and tranquil, "respecting law and order, particularly the right to differences and peaceful co-existence of all Angolans".
During a visit to Portugal on 25 February Angolan President Jose Eduardo dos Santos expressed hope that the prospects for dialogue would improve. He stated that "we have to look to the future and Angolans from all quarters have to be able to pardon, pave the way for rapid national reconciliation and establish bridges to define as rapidly as possible a cease-fire conducive to the demilitarisation of UNITA".
On the question of elections, which have not been held since 1992, the President stated that "if we rapidly advance this year to conclude a cease-fire and the demilitarisation of UNITA it may be that in one to two years elections will be held in Angola".
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Luanda celebrates news
Spontaneous celebrations were held in the Angolan capital, Luanda, following the government's announcement that Savimbi was dead.
Red tracer bullets were reportedly fired from members of the presidential guard on the outskirts of the city. In the city itself people hooted their horns and waved Angolan flags.
The Secretary General of the ruling MPLA, Joao Lourenco, stated on television on 23 February that "Savimbi was obsessed with power. The people who followed him can return to a normal life since there are no more reasons for fear once the causer of terror does not exist anymore".
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International reaction to Savimbi's death
Leaders of states and international organisations have united in hope that the death of Jonas Savimbi will provide an opportunity for Angola to finally achieve peace.
Namibia's foreign minister Theo-Ben Gurirab told the Namibia Broadcasting Corporation that Savimbi "chose to live by the sword and inevitably he died by the sword".
Uganda's Defence Minister Amama Mbabaza was more blunt in his comments, when he told AFP on 23 February that "there are no regrets. He was trouble maker for Angola, and Uganda never supported his cause". He continued that "Savimbi represented the reactionary forces in African politics, we think that if it is true that he is dead, it would be good for the region and the world".
The South African president, Thabo Mbeki, was far more reticent. According to the South African Press Association, President Mbeki said on 24 February that he would prefer not to comment on Unita leader Jonas Savimbi's death until he had had a chance to apply his mind properly to the matter. Deputy foreign minister, Aziz Pahad, said that Savimbi's death will "affect the capacity of UNITA to sustain itself".
Mozambique's president, Joaquim Chissano, on 24 February regretted that Savimbi's life "ended in this way, which he could easily have avoided if he had cooperated with the government". What was important now, he added, was for all Angolans, regardless of whether or not they were UNITA sympathisers, "to look ahead, and commit themselves to national reconciliation, and the consolidation of democracy, to end the suffering imposed by the war".
Savimbi had been a major obstacle to peace, said President Chissano, because of his excessive pride, and his failure to keep his promises.
President Chissano recalled that after independence, Savimbi allied himself with the mortal enemy of African nations, the apartheid regime which then ruled South Africa, which provided him with massive military support.
The United Nations Secretary General, Kofi Annan, stated his support for the peace process. His spokesperson, Stephane Dujarric, said that "as far as the secretary general is concerned, it has created a new situation and he hopes that all stakeholders will take advantage of it to take the peace process forward".
The representative of the European Union to the Great Lakes Region, Aldo Ajello, said on 23 February in Luanda that the death of Jonas Savimbi was an "appropriate time for a definite peace in Angola". He continued that "the death of a man is always sad news, but at the same time, and in this case, it is an opportunity for peace and peace concerns all people of Angola".
UNITA's representative in Portugal, Carlos Morgado stated on Portuguese television "from now on, the scenario has changed, we'll have to find new paths. But this will never mean a military surrender. There'll be no military victory [for the government]".
However, UNITA Renovada, a group of leading UNITA figures that have decisively broken away from Jonas Savimbi's orbit, called on all of Savimbi's followers to "reject any option that seeks the continuation of the armed rebellion begun by Jonas Savimbi".
UNITA Renovada's spokesperson in the United States, Dinho Chingunji was more sanguine about the news. He announced "Savimbi is dead!!!"... For me this is definitely a cause to celebrate because of the genocide that Savimbi carried out against my family".
He continued that "people in UNITA, especially those in the bush who because of Savimbi security could not leave or make their feelings known in fear of their lives and that of their families, now are coming out in hundreds and the truth will come out".
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President dos Santos in United States
On 26 February President Jose Eduardo dos Santos arrived in Washington to meet with US President George W Bush. On his way to America he stopped in Lisbon to meet with President Jorge Sampaio of Portugal.
The meeting with Bush will also be attended by President Joaquim Chissano of Mozambique and President Festus Mogae of Botswana. The top agenda items will be on stability and development in southern Africa, the conflict in the Great Lakes region and the AIDS pandemic.
Angola is a strategically important country for the United States, providing it with roughly 8 percent of its crude oil.
President dos Santos is also reported to be due to meet with the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund to discuss Angola's economic reform programme.
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UNITA arms smuggler linked to Taliban
A report by the Centre for Public Integrity has linked UNITA's principal arms trafficker, Victor Bout, with smuggling millions of dollars worth of arms to the Taliban in Afghanistan.
According to the report, Bout earned $50 million in profit from selling the weapons in the late 1990s. One intelligence source used by the Centre stated that the arms were sent "on behalf of the Pakistan government".
Commenting in the article, Peter Hain, Britain's Foreign Minister for Europe stated that "the murder and mayhem of UNITA in Angola, the RUF in Sierra Leone and groups in the Congo would not have been as terrible without Bout's operations".
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Two Britons arrested in Angola
Two British subjects, John Davies and Reginald Weaver, have been arrested alongside South African Stanley Valentine on suspicion of diamond smuggling, after their light aircraft landed illegally in rural Angola.
In a separate move, Denmark has decided to cut aid to the west African state of Burkina Faso because of its role in the conflict diamond trade. Denmark is Burkina Faso's largest aid donor, and plans to cut aid from 30.5 million euros to 23.6 million euros.
Burkina Faso has been accused by the United Nations of playing a central role in the conflict-diamond trade which has funded rebels in Angola and Sierra Leone.
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Angolan government announces full withdrawal from DRC
The Angolan government on 31 January announced that it had removed its last soldiers from the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The Angolan army had assisted Laurent Kabila in ousting the late dictator, Mobutu Sese Seko in May 1997, in an attempt to halt UNITA using the country as a staging post for its insurrection. In 1998 Angolan forces were involved in fighting when they saved Kabila from being overthrown by Rwandan and Ugandan-backed rebels.
In its report on 13 November 2001, the United Nations Panel of Experts on the Illegal Exploitation of Natural Resources and Other Forms of Wealth of the Democratic Republic of Congo stated that it "believes that the involvement of Angola in the DRC is based on strategic concerns" and that "Angola is believed to be the only country that has not received any significant compensation for its military involvement in the DRC".
The fact that the Angolan army has not been engaged in economic activities in DRC is the main explanation why it has been so fast in pulling out of the country.
However, the peace process in the DRC is moving slowly. On 13 February UN Peacekeepers came under fire in rebel-held areas in eastern Congo. An aircraft delivering personnel from the UN's mission, MONUC, was hit by small-arms fire as it landed at Kindu.
On the diplomatic front, the long-delayed Inter-Congolese Dialogue, began in South Africa's Sun City on 25 February.
The meeting, which is due to last for 45 days, has been plagued by arguments over who should be allowed to attend. So far Jean-Pierre Bemba of the Movement of Liberation of Congo has boycotted the meeting. The budget for the conference is put at $4 million.
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The Angola Peace Monitor is produced every month by ACTSA - Action for Southern Africa.
ACTSA,
28 Penton Street,
London N1 9SA,
e-mail [email protected],
www.actsa.org/apm
fax +44 20 7837 3001,
telephone +44 20 7833 3133.
ends
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