Orphan of the Cold War:The Inside Story of the Collapse of the Angolan Peace Process, 1992-93

601 Pages·1996·10.97 MB·English

by  Margaret Joan Anstee

Orphan of the Cold War
The Inside Story of the Collapse of the Angolan
Peace Process, 1992–93
Margaret Joan Anstee
ORPHAN OF THE COLD WAR
Also by Margaret Joan Anstee
AFRICA AND THE WORLD (co-edited with R.K.A. Gardiner and
C. Patterson)
GATE OF THE SUN: A Prospect of Bolivia
THE ADMINISTRATION OF INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT AID
Orphan of the Cold War
The Inside Story of the Collapse of the Angolan
Peace Process, 1992-93
Margaret Joan Anstee
pal rave
mac illan
© Margaret Joan Anstee 1996
Map of Angola © 1994 Michael S. Miller
All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of
this publication may be made without written permission.
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the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988,
or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying
issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, 90 Tottenham Court
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Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this
publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil
claims for damages.
First published 1996 by
MACMILLAN PRESS LTD
Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS
and London
Companies and representatives
throughout the world
ISBN 10: 0-333-66445-0 hardcover
ISBN 10:0-333-66446-9 paperback
ISBN 13: 9780333664452 hardcover
ISBN 13: 9780333664469 paperback
A catalogue record for this book is available
from the British Library.
This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling
and made from fully managed and sustained forest
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Printed and bound in Great Britain by
CPI Antony Rowe, Chippenham and Eastboume
Published in the United States of America 1996 by
ST. MARTIN'S PRESS, INC.,
Scholarly and Reference Division
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010
ISBN 0-3 12-16015-0
For Basil Davidson, who first opened my eyes to the
forgotten tragedy of Angola in October 1966, and against
whose advice I went to see for myself a quarter of a
century later
'Better is wisdom than weapons of war'
(Inscription on a banner embroidered by students of Newnham College, Cambridge, and
carried in a procession of the National Union of Women's Suffragtte Societies on 13 June
1908.)
Contents
List of Plates ix
Foreword xi
Acknowledgements xiii
Dramatis Personae XV
List of Abbreviations xxiv
Map of Angola XXVI
PART I THE CONTEXT: PERSONAL, NATIONAL AND
INTERNATIONAL
A Late-Night Telephone Call 3
2 The Background 7
3 First Mission to Angola 15
4 A 'Small and Manageable' Operation, or Making Bricks
without Straw 30
PART II THE MILITARY AND SECURITY SITUATION-
FEBRUARY TO SEPTEMBER 1992 45
5 The Military Conundrum 47
6 The Formation of the New Angolan Armed Forces 64
7 The Police Imbroglio 69
8 Alarms and Excursions 79
PART III THE PREPARATION AND ORGANISATION OF THE
ELECTIONS -MARCH TO SEPTEMBER 1992 85
9 The Prelude: March to May 1992 87
I 0 The Registration of Voters and the Electoral Campaign 99
II Politics, Pride and Personalities 127
PART IV DAY TO DAY LIVING 159
12 Life in Luanda I61
13 Vignettes from the Field 173
PART V THE ELECTIONS AND THEIR AFTERMATH 185
I4 The Moment of Truth 187
15 The Aftermath 199
16 The Debacle 239
vii
Vlll Contents
PART VI OVER THE BRINK 263
17 The Bloodbath 265
18 The Slide into the Abyss 292
19 Cry Havoc ... 328
PART VII CONFLAGRATION AND MEDIATION 355
20 ... And Let Slip the Dogs of War 357
21 Peace Talks in Ethiopia 380
22 From Addis Ababa to Abidjan 415
23 The Abidjan Marathon 447
PART VIII MY FAREWELL TO ARMS 491
24 Going the Last Mile ... and the End of the Road 493
25 Lessons of the Forgotten Tragedy of Angola 527
Epilogue 543
Notes 545
Index 548
List of Plates
1. A 'bairro popular' (shanty town) in Luanda
2. A view of the UNA VEM headquarters in Vila Espa, outside Luanda: 'con
tainer city'
3. The author inspecting FALA assembled troops with Major-General Unimna
of Nigeria, February, 1992
4. Boy soldiers (UNIT A)
5. The CCPM, photographed just before the elections in September1992.
6. The author meeting with Jonas Savimbi, Head of UNIT A (also in atten
dance are Gilberto Rizzo and Ebrima Jobarteh)
7. The crucial meeting between President dos Santos and Dr Savimbi on
26 September 1992, three days before the elections
8. A Soviet-made Ilyushin helicopter being unloaded from a giant Antonov
cargo plane at Luanda Airport, to join the makeshift airforce hurriedly
assembled for the elections.
9. Francisco Domingo, the sole survivor of a UNAVEM II helicopter accident,
in which 15 people died, including four Russian aircrew, is carried off a
rescue plane at Luanda Airport.
10. Onofre dos Santos, Director-General of the elections, and Dr Holden
Roberto, Head of FNLA, during electoral registration
11. Angolan youth before the election, Luanda, September 1992
12. Women waiting in line to cast their votes in the Sumbe hinterland on
30 September 1992.
13. A cartoon of the author which appeared in the Jornal de Angola on
26 September 1992.
14. A UN medals' parade in UNAVEM Headquarters
15. Refugees fleeing from the fighting which erupted again after the elections
16. Inauguration of Abidjan negotiations, April 1993 (the author with Foreign
Minister Essy of Cote d'Ivoire).
IX