Glitches in resettlement of ex-UNITA soldiers

Angola's former rebel group called on the government to step up its assistance to ex-UNITA soldiers following reports that former combatants in the central province of Huambo had not received their salaries for the past two months. Angolan news agency Angop reported on Wednesday that the government had also suspended the distribution of resettlement kits to ex-soldiers because they had failed to produce the necessary demobilisation cards. But UNITA laid the blame squarely on the shoulders of the government. "The reason some of the soldiers do not have any papers now is because the government in some areas rushed to close the quartering areas. The soldiers and their families, who were last to leave the quartering areas, did not receive any documentation. This has created a problem, and will continue to do so, because identity documents are needed wherever you go in Angola," UNITA secretary for foreign affairs, Alcides Sakala, told IRIN. The Memorandum of Understanding signed in April 2002 between UNITA and the government included provisions to regulate the resettlement and reintegration of former combatants. Ex-UNITA soldiers were to receive benefits such as demobilisation and identity cards, five months of salary, an additional US $100 for travel expenses, resettlement kits with non-food items, and access to vocational training. In a recent report on Angola's reintegration and resettlement programme, Human Rights Watch (HRW) noted that ex-soldiers and their families lacking documents had not benefited from the demobilisation process. HRW remarked that in provinces where former combatants had chosen to stay, the demobilisation process was more efficient. However, where transportation to other provinces had been necessary, the process was less successful and "the distribution of demobilisation benefits less organised and less thorough". Some 80,000 UNITA former combatants, along with 300,000 family members, were disarmed, demobilised and quartered in 41 reception areas in the country. "The government must realise that the peace does come at a price. Without these promised salaries the soldiers cannot support their families. It will not surprise us should these frustrated soldiers resort to other means to make a living," Sakala said.