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UN To Contact Savimbi

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News 24
December 18, 2001

Angola's government has agreed for the United Nations to resume contact with Jonas Savimbi, the nation's main rebel leader, to "facilitate" possible talks, the Jornal de Angola said on Tuesday.

"The government made a concession in allowing the UN, supported by civil society and churches, to initiate contact with Jonas Savimbi," the paper said.

Savimbi heads the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (Unita), which has battled the army in an almost non-stop civil war since 1975.

During a visit to Angola, UN deputy secretary for African affairs Ibrahim Gambari said last Thursday that the world body could renew its contact with Unita in a bid to relaunch the peace effort.

Angola's government severed all formal contact with Unita shortly after all-out warfare resumed in 1998.

The United Nations brokered the 1994 Lusaka peace accord, which sought to end the fighting and pave the way for multi-party elections. That process broke down after the rebels refused to recognise their electoral loss.

Now the only UN presence in Angola is an office of about 30 people who co-ordinate humanitarian work and monitor the human rights situation.

At least 500 000 people have died in Angola's civil war, with another 100 000 maimed and four million forced from their homes.



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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 § 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.