Cabinda mothers protest against conscription/CORRECTION

A group of about 300 mothers in the northern province of Cabinda, protesting against the forced conscription of their sons into the Angolan army, were last week violently dispersed by the paramilitary Rapid Intervention Police. "The police arrested four women thought to be leaders and violently dispersed the demonstrators," a resident in Cabinda told IRIN on Friday. "The next day the women went to the streets again to demand the freedom of their colleagues and a response to their demands. Again, the police whipped the demonstrators and dispersed them violently." According to the source, the arrested women were then released by the local authorities to prevent any further disturbances. The 21 April demonstration by the Cabinda mothers is believed to be the first public protest against the compulsory military draft for all able-bodied men born in 1978, declared recently by the hard-pressed Angolan government in the renewed war against the UNITA rebel movement. Oil-rich Cabinda is home to the separatist rebel group FLEC, which is calling for the province's independence from Angola. "People don't identify themselves with the Angolan conflict and refuse to join the army," the resident said.