Even though,it is a beautiful one.Keep them coming Fro Freedom saiks >===== Original Message From The Gambia and related-issues mailing list <[log in to unmask]> ===== >I hope this is not stale news. > >Momodou Camara >**************** > >VICTORY FOR ANGOLA: U.S.-PUPPET SAVIMBI BITES THE DUST >By G. Dunkel > >When the news spread on Feb. 22 that Jonas Savimbi had been shot dead >in an ambush by the army in southeastern Angola, the general reaction >in Angola and the rest of Africa was one of jubilation. Savimbi was >the most hated and despised man in Angola. > >His death was seen as a major victory in the 41 years of armed >struggle that the Angolan people have waged against imperialism. It >was hoped that peace--at least the end of armed conflict--could be >near. > >The big corporate media--New York Times, BBC, CNN, Financial Times, >the Washington Post--have called Savimbi "charismatic," "a leader in >the struggle against Portuguese colonialism," "one of the contenders >in a three-way tribally based struggle" for control of Angola, and so >on. They claim he had ties to China, admired Che Guevara and had >adopted "people's war." > >It is all spin. In reality, Savimbi was a puppet of U.S. imperialism >in a war against the Angolan revolutionary government that left at >least 500,000 dead, tens of thousands crippled for life by U.S.-made >land mines, billions upon billions of dollars of material destruction, > vast misery and a debt that Angola will spend decades paying. > >Capitalist accounts of Savimbi's life are full of distortions. For >example, he was not an opponent of Portuguese colonialism, which was >financed, armed and supported by the United States, a NATO ally. > >By the early 1970s, Savimbi's organization, UNITA, had a formal >agreement with the Portuguese army for military cooperation in the >struggle against the MPLA, which was leading the struggle against the >Portuguese and currently leads the Angolan government. (See William >Minter's book "Operation Timber: Pages from the Savimbi Dossier" for > detailed documentation.) > >This is not just an interesting but minor historical footnote--it >foreshadowed Savimbi's military and political agreements with the >apartheid South African regime, the CIA and the most reactionary >Reaganite wing of the U.S. ruling class. > >The MPLA, with significant aid from revolutionary Cuba, defeated an >invasion by the apartheid South African army in 1975 that had been >intended to put UNITA in power in Luanda. After that defeat, the CIA >took over the care and construction of UNITA, while apartheid South >Africa supplied the military muscle. > >The role of the CIA in Angola until 1978 is detailed in John > Stockwell's book "In Search of Enemies." Stockwell was the CIA >station chief in Angola but turned against the agency. While the >connection of Savimbi to the CIA is well documented, neither the New >York Times nor the Washington Post mentioned it in their recent >articles on Savimbi's death. > >The struggle continued with ups and downs until the Angolans, >Namibians and Cubans decisively defeated the South Africans at the >battle of Cuito Cuanavale in 1988. This defeat led to an agreement >that involved the withdrawal of Cubans from Angola in return for the >independence of Namibia and the end of South African invasions. > >After Cuito Cuanavale, the U.S., acting under the auspices of the >United Nations, managed to put together two peace/election agreements. >But every time UNITA lost the election, even when international >monitors asserted they were basically free and fair, Savimbi cried >fraud and went back to fighting. The only solution he was willing to >accept was one that left UNITA in complete control of Angola. > >WHERE IS ANGOLA HEADED? > >Angola is a desperately poor, war-wracked, deeply indebted country >with one of the poorest living standards in the world. Some 4 million >people--one-third of its population-- are internal refugees. Yet it >still supplies 8 percent of all the oil the United States consumes. >This is a bit surprising but indicates one reason for the sustained >and intense U.S. interest in Angola. > >Ever since 1992, when Savimbi pulled out of the election/peace process >and restarted the civil war, the U.S. has followed a two-pronged >strategy. It gave Savimbi enough money, or enough access to the world >diamond market, to keep on fighting. At the same time it offered the >MPLA government diplomatic recognition, development aid, access to >U.S. markets for goods other than oil, and loans if it would make a >deal with UNITA that Savimbi would accept. > >Of course, everyone knew that the only deal Savimbi would really >accept was the MPLA's capitulation, but while this process was going >on, UNITA had time and opportunity to regroup and rearm itself. > >Since the U.S. and the CIA were so closely and openly linked with >Savimbi, a good deal of the political maneuvering that took place in >Angola was carried out through the auspices of the UN. > >With the U.S. taking a two-pronged approach, two groups developed >within the Angolan movement. One felt that an agreement with Savimbi >was possible. The other--especially strong in the Angolan army (FAA)-- >felt that the only possible solution was to crush UNITA. After the >last agreement with Savimbi broke up in 1996, the government adopted >a "two-track approach" of offering dialog while maintaining military >pressure on UNITA. > >Late in 2001, the FAA began a powerful offensive that swept UNITA out >of traditional strongholds it had occupied for years and forced its >armed units to begin retreating toward the Zambian border in >southeastern Angola. As the success of the offensive became clear, a >propaganda campaign was begun to blunt it in the name of peace. > >On Feb. 6, the UN press service IRIN ran an interview with Abel >Chivukuvuku, a former political adviser to Savimbi. This interview >gave Chivukuvuku the forum to propose a two- month peace process for >the Angolan government and the UN to follow, premised on the >recognition that a solution to the country's problems could not be >military. > >The U.S., remember, is right now preparing to wage high- intensity war >all over the globe, ostensibly because 3,000 people were killed here >on Sept. 11. But Angola, which has lost half a million people in a war >created and financed by the U.S., must allow its foes into the >government in the name of peace. By this logic, George W. Bush should >be inviting Osama bin Laden into his cabinet. > >IRIN reported Feb. 13 that the Irish development agency GOAL condemned >what it called the "FAA's scorched earth policy." It didn't discuss >how the MPLA government could protect its people against UNITA >atrocities. > >The same day that the news of Savimbi's death broke, IRIN reported on >a national conference of Angola's traditional leaders that called for >an immediate cease-fire and the creation of a sovereign national >conference to discuss the country's political future. This conference >was sponsored by the Open Society Foundation, which is a creation of >George Soros, the international financier, Wall Street tycoon and > currency speculator. > >Angolan President Jose Eduardo dos Santos is due in Washington Feb. 26 >to talk to President George W. Bush, along with the presidents of >Mozambique and Malawi, about regional security. Obviously, the >direction of Angola after the death of Savimbi is going to be a major >topic of discussion. > >Even if Angola can wrap up a 27-year-old civil war without any more >major fighting, it is going to face major problems-- a completely >devastated economy that needs IMF approval to borrow the funds it >needs to start rebuilding. But the political price the IMF is >currently demanding is a price that no poor country should have to >pay. > >The armed struggle might possibly be over, but the general struggle >will still continue. As the heroes of the African revolution against >Portuguese colonialism put it, a luta continua. > >- END - > >(Copyright Workers World Service: Everyone is permitted to copy and >distribute verbatim copies of this document, but changing it is not >allowed. For more information contact Workers World, 55 W. 17 St., NY, >NY 10011; via e-mail: [log in to unmask] For subscription info send >message to: [log in to unmask] Web: http://www.workers.org) " JC > >~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ > >To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface >at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html >To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to: >[log in to unmask] > >~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to: [log in to unmask] ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~