Angola: Towards peace and democracy (2002-2007)

Updated May 2008

With the death of Jonas Savimbi in February 2002 UNITA found itself in a difficult position. It was internationally isolated and UN sanctions were becoming increasingly effective. It had lost much ground on the battle field and it had split twice. Its charismatic leader, Savimbi, was dead and its vice-president died shortly thereafter. Thus when the government made a unilateral truce and offered to resume negotiations the UNITA generals seized the opportunity. In April 4, 2002 an agreement, the Luena Memorandum of Understanding, was signed. In October UNITA declared itself a democratic party, by August its armed wing was disbanded. In December 2002 UN sanctions against UNITA were lifted and the organisation was reunited under, Isaias Samakuva, who was elected leader in June 2003 (Timelines of History 2007).

While peace had come to Angola proper, the war in Cabinda between the government and the various factions of the Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda (FLEC) continued. The enclave supplied more than half the oil revenue, or a quarter of Angola's export earnings; it was therefore critical to Angola's financial well-being. Cabinda was colonized by the Portuguese in 1885 and until 1956 was administered as a separate territory from Angola. In 1974 FLEC was permitted to establish itself in the territory, but aspirations for independence were thwarted in 1975 when the MPLA occupied the territory. As a result a third of the population lives in exile, mainly in the neighbouring Congos; from there a low intensity guerrilla war against Angolan occupation was waged by FLEC. When the Angolan civil war ended the government used the breathing space to attempt to crush FLEC (GlobalSecurity.org 2006).

In 2002 the government increased troop levels in the enclave to 30 000 soldiers and in October launched a massive assault that was marked by allegations of human rights abuses. According to GlobalSecurity.org (2005) Angolan human rights activists released a report that accused government troops of "summary executions, murders, disappearances, arbitrary detention, torture, rape and looting". Despite government successes and a decline in activity by separatist groups, the government came to recognize that a negotiated solution would have to be found if an enduring peace was to be established (Accord 2004, Meijer & Birmingham 2004, GlobalSecurity.org 2006).

In January 2003 exploratory talks between the government and the FLEC-FAC faction began, with the government expressing willingness to grant a measure of autonomy, but not independence, to the territory. An agreement on a ceasefire and general amnesty, Memorandum of Understanding for Peace and Reconciliation in Cabinda Province, was signed between the government and a coalition of FLEC factions, Cabindan Forum for Dialogue, on 1 August 2006 (GlobalSecurity.org 2006; History Central Undated). The agreement provided for a degree of autonomy for the province and the economic security of FLEC troops (History Central Undated). Fighting continued on a lower degree of intensity for a time, since not all of the FLEC factions were party to the deal, but a framework for enduring peace had been established (History Central Undated; Angus Reid Global Monitor 2008).

For the better part of forty years Angola had been the site of a bloody conflict that cost the lives of between 500 000 and a million people, led to the internal displacement of over four million people and the exile of a further 400 000 refugees; the latter primarily in Zambia (46%) and the DRC (42%) (Human Rights Watch 2003, 5; Angus Reid Global Monitor 2008; UNHCR 2005, 1). By November 2002, while 5 000 UNITA soldiers were integrated into the national army, a further 80 400 UNITA troops and their 300 000 family members awaited resettlement at 41 assembly points throughout the country (Institute for Security Studies 2002). The infrastructure of the country was shattered, the economy crippled, the people reduced to penury and the land rendered unsafe and unusable by millions of land mines scattered across the country. It was these challenges, and that of national reconciliation, that faced the government and people of Angola.

In May 2003 the UN began the repatriation of 150 000 Angolan refugees and by December 2004 three-quarters had returned to Angola, many prior to the formal repatriation effort and without assistance (Accord 2004; Meijer & Birmingham 2004; LWB Undated). By 2005 most of the internally displaced people had returned home, although in 2007 450 000 remained displaced (UNHCR 2005, 1, 2; AfDB/OECD 2007, 119). The returnees faced huge challenges and Human Rights Watch (2005) reported: "Most families have returned to locations with minimal social services, such as health care and education, and few economic opportunities. Few former combatants have received the vocational assistance mandated by the Luena MOU. All returnees face challenges in the agricultural sector - although access to land is widespread, much of that land has lain fallow for years and is difficult to cultivate productively (Human Rights Watch 2005).

The communications and transport infrastructure that had not been destroyed in the war was dilapidated after years of neglect (Human Rights Watch 2003, 2). Destroyed bridges, roads and railway lines not only hobbled economic recovery, but fragmented the country and isolated the populations of vast swathes of the rural areas (Human Rights Watch 2005). Omnipresent landmines made movement and farming alike hazardous and added to the post-war misery (Human Rights Watch 2005). To raise loans to upgrade infrastructure the Angolan government by passed the Bretton Woods Institutions, with whom relations were strained, and negotiated more deals with China (US$6 billion) and, to a lesser extent, Portugal (US$643 million) and Brazil (US$580 million) (UKTI 2008; Corkin 2007).

References

ACCORD 2004 "Chronology" Accord 15, [www] http://www.c-r.org/our-work/accord/angola/chronology.php [opens new window] (accessed 15 May 2008).

AfDB/OECD 2007 "Angola" IN African Economic Outlook, [www] http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/26/16/38561655.pdf [PDF document, opens new window] (accessed 22 May 2008).

ANGUS REID GLOBAL MONITOR 2008 "Angola" IN Election Tracker, [www] http://www.angus-reid.com/tracker/view/30116/angola_2008 [opens new window] (accessed 15 May 2008).

CORKIN, L "Angola flexes newfound muscle", Business Day, 23 March 2007, [www] http://www.ccs.org.za/downloads/Angola%20flexes%20newfound%20muscle%20-% 20Business%20Day%20-%2023032007.pdf [PDF document, opens new window] (accessed 22 May 2008).

GLOBALSECURITY.ORG 2006, "Cabinda" [www] http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/war/cabinda.htm [opens new window] (accessed 15 May 2008).

HISTORY CENTRAL UNDATED "Angola History", [www] http://www.historycentral.com/nationbynation/Angola/History2.html [opens new window] (accessed 15 May 2008).

HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH 2003 "Struggling through Peace: Return and Resettlement in Angola", August, [www] http://www.hrw.org/reports/2003/angola0803/ [PDF document, opens new window] (accessed 15 May 2008).

HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH 2005 "Summary" IN Coming Home: Return and Reintegration in Angola, March, [www] http://hrw.org/reports/2005/angola0305/1.htm [opens new window] (accessed 22 May 2008).

LWB UNDATED "Angola: A Brief History", [www] http://www.lwb-online.org/projects/Brief%20History%20of%20Angola.pdf [PDF document, opens new window] (accessed 15 May 2008).

INSTITUTE FOR SECURITY STUDIES 2002 "Current Political and Security situation: The End of War in Angola", [www] http://www.issafrica.org/index.php?link_id=14&slink_ id=3361&link_type=12&slink_type=12&tmpl_id=3#top [opens new window] (accessed 22 May 2008).

MEIJER, G & BIRMINGHAM, D 2004, "Angola from past to present" Accord 15 [www] http://www.c-r.org/our-work/accord/angola/past-present.php [opens new window] (accessed 15 May 2008).

TIMELINES OF HISTORY 2007 "Timeline Angola", [www] http://timelines.ws/countries/ANGOLA.HTML [opens new window] (accessed 15 May 2008).

UKTI "Angola", [www] https://www.uktradeinvest.gov.uk/ukti/appmanager/ukti/ countries;jsessionid=LVtndLBJ2PMGVJVGn6WBpMcmGJTfsZTGMYtL94PZlWQhQYM77Lvs! 121785714!NONE?_nfpb=true&portlet_3_5_actionOverride=%2Fpub%2Fportlets%2Fgeneric Viewer%2FshowContentItem&_windowLabel=portlet_3_5&portlet_3_5navigationPageId=% 2Fangola&portlet_3_5navigationContentPath=%2FBEA+Repository%2F327%2F226057& _pageLabel=CountryType1 [opens new window] (accessed 15 May 2008).