UN to clarify role in peace initiatives

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has dispatched his Special Advisor on Africa, Ibrahim Gambari, to Angola to clarify what role the United Nations could play in the search for peace. Gambari had on Wednesday briefed the Security Council about the situation in Angola following the death of rebel leader Jonas Savimbi. Savimbi's UNITA has fought a 27-year civil war with the government of President Jose Eduardo dos Santos. Savimbi died on 22 February during a battle with government troops. UNITA and the government have begun talks aimed at bringing a lasting peace to Angola. Gambari, quoted in a UN press briefing, said the death of Savimbi "created new and changed circumstances to push the Angolan peace process forward". Gambari underlined the need for a re-unification within the fractured UNITA movement. Apart from the guerilla UNITA which had, under Savimbi, been waging a bush war against the government there exists other UNITA off-shoots, including UNITA representatives in the Angolan parliament. Gambari said there had been a number of very positive developments in Angola, including a statement by that country's government on 13 March outlining a 15-point peace plan. The plan includes a cessation of hostilities; a commitment to implement the outstanding features of the Lusaka Protocol; a massive emergency programme of humanitarian assistance; distribution of relief material without discrimination; and a programme of national reconstruction. Annan had decided to send Gambari back to Angola to assess the situation on the ground in view of the rapidly developing events, and to seek clarification from the Angolan government and other stakeholders on the role of the UN as a mediator in the conflict, the transcript said. Gambari would also be on hand to assist the peace process in whatever way possible and to reinforce the efforts of the United Nations Office in Angola (UNOA) in Luanda. While the world watches for positive signs from the peace talks happening in the eastern province of Moxico, Gambari had urged that more needed to be done to meet the humanitarian needs of the Angolan people. The humanitarian situation in Angola has been critical for some time. It has been estimated that there were 50,000 new cases of internally displaced persons (IDPs) every month. Over 4 million IDPs depend on the assistance of aid agencies to survive.