by Phyllis Johnson
Angola expects to swear in a Government of National Unity and Reconciliation (GNUR) on 25 January, a harbinger of the last phase of the peace process in the transition from 35 years of war.
The government announced a four~ week timetable for the incorporation of Unita military into the National
Anned Forces and its political integration in the Parliament and Government, following a declaration by Unita that “it has completed its demilitarization by quartering all its military personnel and handing over all its military equipment.” This declaration was later discussed by the Joint Commission and publicly confirmed by the Special Representative of the UN Secretary~General.
The Angolan government said that, as a result, it considered the first phase of implementation of the peace process completed, which comprises the demilitarization of Unita.
To date, 11 Unita generals have assumed their duties in the National Anned Forces. Although two of the proposed generals were substituted, and not all Unita generals have returned to Luanda, the government has accepted this as a completed stage in order to move ahead.
Over 100 high-ranking officers of Unita have also been sworn into the unified national forces, and 18,000 of the agreed 26,300 Unita soldiers have been identified for incorporation into the national forces, with 4,000 – 5,000 already in barracks.
Although state administration now covers most of the country, Unita still controls two major mining zones as well as its headquarters around Bailundo. Government has also agreed to proceed and national forces are moving into positions along the border with Zaire.
Essentially, this completes the military stage of the transition from war to peace, and enables the winding up of the UN Angola Verification Mission (Unavem III), by its February deadline.
The political agenda remains complex. Although remaining Unita members of the National Assembly who were elected in 1992 but did not take up their seats, have yet to be sworn in as scheduled, many of them are already in Luanda.
President dos Santos has invited a high-powered group of friends and colleagues to witness the ceremony in Luanda on Saturday. All leaders of Southern African Development Community (SADC) member states have been invited, as well as the leaders of other neighbouring countries (Zaire, Congo and Gabon). In consideration of the UN Secretary-General and his Special Representative, their countries (Ghana and Mali) have also been invited.
The United States government has indicated that it could a high-level representation, as have the other members of the “troika”: Portugal and Russia.
Southern African News Features 22 January 1997
The Unita leader, Jonas Savimbi, has been invited to attend the swearing in and to come to Luanda one or two days in advance, to meet the President and discuss any outstanding problems.
There is no confirmation that he will accept this invitation, and sources in the region recall that, when SADC heads of state met in Luanda in October in a summit of the Organ on Politics, Defence and
Security, Savimbi kept them and a plane waiting for several hours but did not appear.
That summit agreed to send a team of five foreign ministers to New York to present the regional position on the Angolan peace process to the Security Council. This they did, and Council passed Resolution 1075 on 11 October which condemned Unita’s activities in the strongest language to date, including interference with landmine clearance. The resolution expresses readiness to impose measures approved in previous resolutions ( ie sanctions) against Unita, if there had not been substantial progress by 20 November last year.
This persuaded Unita to move towards completion of the military process, albeit with delays and postponements. The pressure was significantly increased by the US President’s directive to Congress on 16 September, declaring that: “The actions and policies of Unita pose a continuing unusual and extraordinary threat to the foreign policy of the United States.”
The Unita congress held last August in Bailundo had confirmed that the Lusaka agreement should be implemented, but this was followed by delays. The congress said officially that Savimbi would not accept the post of Vice4 President of Angola, and would remain in the party as leader of Unita.
He has made it clear, however, that his status is still an issue, citing protocol and security considerations, although these have already been discussed and agreed in the Joint Commission. Savimbi has made several contradictory demands in this regard. He wants to be leader of the Opposition but also Advisor to the President, and to have executive powers over government-related rural development.
Sources in Luanda note that these were mooted previously in 1992, after Savimbi rejected the outcome of the elections and resumed the conflict; and that these proposals originated from Pik Botha, former foreign minister of South Africa, and Sean Cleary, a former South African diplomat turned security advisor.
It caused some surprise, therefore, when similar proposals were resurrected by the new South African government after Savimbi called on President Nelson Mandela in early January. Another proposal with echoes from the “ancien regime” is that of “linkage”.
During the 1980s, “linkage” was used by the US administration to tie Namibia’s independence to the withdrawal of Cuban forces from Angola. In the present circumstance, the proposed “linkage” intends to tie up the status of Savimbi to the implementation of the Lusaka protocol.
These South African proposals have been rejected by the Angolan government, which expressed “irritation and dismay” at their involvement in this issue without any mandate or discussion with other players or colleagues.
The Deputy President of South Africa, Thabo Mbeki, has gone to Angola with a message that they wish to play a constructive role. After meeting the Angolan Prime Minister, he was due to travel to Bailundo to meet Savimbi.(SARDC)
