The civilian population in Cabinda, Angola's northern enclave between Democratic Republic of Congo and ex Zaire, continues to suffer serious abuses at the hands of the government armed forces, members of the local Catholic Church have said. Since Angolan independence from Portugal in 1975, Cabinda has been theatre to an armed separatist fight that has claimed at least 30,000 lives. Father Raul Tati, Vicar General of the diocese of Cabinda, has told 'Radio Ecclesia' that the soldiers continue to go unpunished: "We have been reporting flagrant human rights violations since the start of this war, and not once have the perpetrators been incriminated." The religious added that the tension in the region grows with the "significant increase in the armed forces: this means that the war is continuing in Cabinda, contrary to what official statements by the government like to suggest." His claims are corroborated by Father Jorge Casimiro Congo, of the Parish of the Immaculate Conception of Cabinda. In an interview to Lisbon's 'Radio Renascença', the priest said: "the Angolan government keeps quiet before the international community, but it maintains an iron fist over the people of Cabinda". These accusations coincide with the release by the New York-based organisation 'Human Rights Watch' (HRW) of a report denouncing the 'disappearance' from state coffers of over four billion dollars in oil revenues in the period 1997 to 2002. In a statement released today, Luanda has firmly denied these charges: "The government cannot be held responsible for revenues estimated on the basis of unreliable sources", as "no international financial institution has yet ascertained these accusations". It defines the HRW report as the "latest crusade against the good name of Angola and of its leaders". The region of Cabinda is rich in oil, with a daily production of 700,000 barrels. In economic terms, this represents two thirds of the total State income. Last year the foundation 'Help the suffering Church' launched a campaign in Portugal entitled 'Indifference is a crime', denouncing the situation in Cabinda, were "summary executions, violence and torture, destruction and looting" continue. To fully understand the scenario in Cabinda, it is necessary to go back to 1885, the year in which the territory became a Portuguese protectorate under the Simulambuco Treaty. The liberation movements in the region - led by Flec-Fac (Cabinda enclave liberation front-Cabinda armed forces) - have conducted an open war against the government of Angola in the name of this special status. For its part, Luanda does not recognise the historic legitimacy of the treaty. Overshadowed by the bloody civil war in Angola, which ended in April 2002, the armed conflict in Cabinda continues to the indifference of the international mass media. [LC]
     



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"And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall march ahead. We cannot turn back. There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, 'When will you be satisfied?' We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities (.) No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream". (Martin Luther King, 1964 Nobel Peace prize laureate, assassinated for his struggle)

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