UNITA, Give up

Feb 24, 2002

Once the Congo stabilises and is capable of securing its vast land area and assuring its neighbours of their security, Zimbabwe, Rwanda, Burundi and Uganda will have no reason to maintain forces in the DRC.

Africa’s longest enduring rebel leader Angola’s Jonas Savimbi is dead. Savimbi, the leader of the Union for the total liberation of Angola (UNITA) was killed by Angolan troops on Friday. News of Savimbi’s death was understandably greeted by wild celebrations on the streets of Luanda with most commentators saying that with Savimbi gone, Angola stands the best chance of lifting itself out of the shadow of war. It is Savimbi who has been a stumbling block to peace efforts in Angola. The Angolan war that has claimed nearly a million people since 1975 has reduced that otherwise richly-endowed nation to ruins and untold poverty. At a wider level, the death of Savimbi, and the political developments unfolding in Zimbabwe and elsewhere in the region herald a new dawn for peace in Africa. UNITA, through its dirty diamonds money, has been intricately involved in all the major conflicts in the great lakes region, particularly the DRC, Zambia and more recently Uganda. Now that Savimbi is gone and the possibility of UNITA using Congolese territory for their operations taken care of, Luanda is likely to pull out of the DRC altogether. This will give the Congolese people more space to chart out their own destiny. Once the Congo stabilises and is capable of securing its vast land area and assuring its neighbours of their security, Zimbabwe, Rwanda, Burundi and Uganda will have no reason to maintain forces in the DRC. Savimbi will not be missed because he clearly chose his destiny. He was a relic of the long-past cold war rivalry, who has no place in the new emerging Africa. UNITA should now come out and join the rest of the Angolans in rebuilding their war-impoverished country.

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