Monitoring Policy Making at the United Nations |
| ||||||||||||
Top UN Adviser on Angola Says There's "A Real Chance For Peace" - Security Council - Global Policy Forum Top UN Adviser on Angola
Says There's "A Real Chance For Peace"By Edith Lederer
Associated Press
March 21 , 2002The top U.N. adviser on Angola says there's "a real chance for peace" in the war-shattered southwest African nation following the death of rebel leader Jonas Savimbi if all parties seize the opportunity. One important step is to help Savimbi's splintered UNITA rebel group reorganize so it can respond to the government's peace proposals outlined last week, Undersecretary-General Ibrahim Gambari told a news conference Wednesday after briefing the U.N. Security Council.
"So far the response has been cautiously optimistic and positive on the part of UNITA," he said. The war first began after Angola's 1975 independence from Portugal and is believed to have killed at least 500,000 people. Three peace deals have failed. The government appealed to UNITA to surrender after Savimbi was killed in a gunbattle with the army on Feb. 22. Gambari said there were talks in Angola Wednesday between generals from the government and UNITA on how to make a truce which is generally holding stick, how that can lead to a cessation of hostilities, to a cease-fire, and to the preparation of peace talks.
"The problem is there are many UNITAS at this point," Gambari said, explaining that there are UNITA rebels fighting in the country, UNITA parliamentarians who are close to the government, UNITA parliamentarians who were close to Savimbi, and UNITA officials outside Angola. "It's very important to get them to organize so there can be a single voice of UNITA," he said.
Gambari said he told council members that UNITA's external wing has welcomed the government's decision on the cease-fire but wants its members to be able to travel freely so they can meet and establish a new leadership. The Security Council has imposed a travel ban on UNITA, but Gambari said he recommended that the council suspend it. The council is considering the request and the United States has circulated a draft presidential statement which is expected to be adopted soon.
It says the council would remove from the travel ban any UNITA member who renounces the armed struggle in word and action. Gambari said he also told the council about some of "the very positive developments" in Angola starting with the government's March 13 peace plan which includes a cessation of hostilities and a commitment to the repeatedly broken 1994 peace accord signed in Lusaka, Zambia.
He said the United Nations has a critical role to play following Savimbi's death because under the Lusaka agreement both sides accept the United Nations as a mediator, with the United States, Portugal and Russia as observers. Gambari, who is Secretary-General Kofi Annan's special adviser on Angola, said the U.N. chief is sending him back to Angola to assess the situation on the ground in view of the rapidly changing events "and to seek clarification from the government of Angola and other stakeholders on the role of the United Nations as mediator in the conflict."
Annan also wants him "to be on hand to assist in whatever way possible the peace process," he said. "For the first time, there's a real chance for peace but it depends on how everybody behaves," Gambari said. "The removal of Dr. Savimbi creates a new and changed circumstance to push the peace process forward."
While the military situation has improved, however, Gambari said 4.1 million people - about one-third of the population - have been driven from their homes by the fighting, and every month about 50,000 people join the ranks of the displaced. "There is an enormous need for the government to do more to provide assistance and for the international community to be more generous," he said.
The Security Council issued a brief statement welcoming recent political developments including the government's March 13 peace plan, expressing concern at "the difficult humanitarian situation," and supporting Gambari's upcoming visit to Angola.
More Information on Angola FAIR USE NOTICE: This page contains copyrighted material the use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. Global Policy Forum distributes this material without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. We believe this constitutes a fair use of any such copyrighted material as provided for in 17 U.S.C ß 107. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond fair use, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.
