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The Angolan government has said Togo should not host the summit meeting of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) this year because the Togolese government was named in a UN report for breaching sanctions against the UNITA rebel movement.
According to a report in the Portuguese daily, ‘Diario de Noticias’, President Jose Eduardo dos Santos, is “conducting an intensive diplomatic campaign to prevent at all costs the next OAU summit in June from being held in Lome, Togo”.
It said Eduardo dos Santos wanted to prevent President Gnassingbe Eyadema of Togo being elected OAU president because of the sanctions issue. It said the Angolan leader had started sending letters two weeks ago to the current OAU president, Abdelaziz Bouteflika of Algeria, the OAU Secretary-General, Salim Ahmed Salim, and to Luanda-based African ambassadors.
The Togolese president is accused by Luanda of being friendly towards UNITA leader Jonas Savimbi and his election as OAU president could strengthen the idea of those in Africa who defend negotiations between the government and UNITA, the newspaper said.
Meanwhile, a Mozambique radio report monitored by the BBC last week quoted Foreign Minister Leonardo Simao as saying the Southern African Development Community (SADC) should persuade other african nations to endorse Luanda’s initiative and stop Togo hosting the summit.
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