Angola commits to freeing Portuguese hostages

The Angolan government said it was committed to securing the release of seven Portuguese nationals taken hostage by separatists in Cabinda, an oil-rich enclave in Angola, news reports said on Monday. “The government re-affirms its firm intention to do everything to liberate all foreign citizens taken hostage on our national territory ... and will continue to try to resolve this serious problem so that similar situations do not arise,” a government statement was quoted as saying. In the statement, the Luanda government also said it regretted that Portuguese media and several political figures had spoken as if Cabinda was not part of Angola. Seven Portuguese citizens remain in custody after having been kidnapped by factions of the Cabinda Enclave Liberation Front (FLEC), one hostage has just been released. Five of the foreign nationals were kidnapped in early March, while the three others were captured in May 2000. In Strasbourg on Wednesday, European Union deputy Mario Soares said the question “whether Cabinda is, or not, an Angolan territory,” should be discussed “in a democratic manner” by authorities in Luanda and Cabinda.