Call for all-inclusive peace talks

Angolan peace activists in South Africa have warned that military defeat of the UNITA rebel movement could threaten the future democratisation of the war-ravaged country. As a government offensive continues to score successes against UNITA, Daniel Ntoni-Nzinga, the Southern Africa representative of the Quaker International Affairs Programme, cautioned that Angola’s political process should not be an arena of winners and losers. “We still need both the MPLA (the ruling party) and UNITA to transform the country,” he said on Tuesday at the launch of a new NGO, Angola 2000, committed to easing the plight of Angola’s impoverished people. “It is not a question of crushing anybody but of engaging everybody,” Martinho Chachiua, a researcher at the Pretoria-based Institute for Security Studies told IRIN. “I fear what military success will mean for democracy.” The activists and Angolan analysts attending Angola 2000’s launch said they doubted a military solution would bring peace. They argued the government’s avowed intent to eliminate UNITA leader Jonas Savimbi, or bypass him in any future negotiations, would not solve the country’s insecurity. “I fear more the little Savimbis that would come after him, they will be more dangerous than him,” said Ntoni-Nzinga, who is also a representative of the recently launched Luanda-based Angolan Group for Reflection on Peace (GARP). “I would prefer that Savimbi becomes part of the peace process. He is a man who is a leader for many Angolans. You can’t ignore that.” The campaigners lamented the exclusion of civil society groups from the democratisation and peace process, and what they described as the sense of despair among ordinary Angolans that there will be any real transformation in the country. “The destiny of the country is only determined by those with guns in their hands,” Ntoni-Nzinga said. “Angolans will never enjoy peace unless they have the opportunity to make the peace themselves.” John Rocha, coordinator of Angola 2000, said Angolans must be given an alternative to war, through education, training and jobs. “We want to have access to the population,” he told IRIN. “Our main concern is the people and the need to reach them and make an impact on their lives.”