A senior South African official this week urged the government and the UNITA rebel movement in Angola to negotiate an end to the country's devastating 25-year civil war.
In an address to the South African Institute for International Affairs (SAIIA), Sipho Pityana, Director General of the Department of Foreign Affairs, said everybody agreed that there could be no military solution to the crisis.
"However, war persists because UNITA has made it hard for anyone to believe that it is a trustworthy negotiating partner," he said. "Nonetheless, it remains doubtful that a true solution to that conflict can be found without their participation as well as (UNITA leader) Jonas Savimbi. It is for this reason that we believe that the search for a peaceful settlement as a
lasting solution is unavoidable."
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