Funds needed for demobilisation, reintegration

Angola's peace agreement hinges on the success of the demobilisation and reintegration of rebel troops over the course of this year, UN Special Adviser on Africa, Ibrahim Gambari told the UN Security Council. Briefing the Council on Tuesday after a two-week mission to Angola, Under-Secretary-General Gambari said that the signing of a memorandum of understanding on 4 April between the government and UNITA rebels formally brought to a close almost three decades of hostilities, the UN's news service reported. In the memorandum, the government undertook to provide assistance to UNITA soldiers in designated quartering areas where they would be demobilised under the supervision of a joint commission. The process was estimated to take 262 days from 4 April. Some 5,000 former fighters would be reincorporated into the national army and police force. The government was also committed to assisting the families of UNITA soldiers - about 300,000 people - and providing vocational training and reintegration of the former combatants into civilian life. Gambari said that the peace process was predicated on the success of the quartering operation and the ability of the government to provide assistance to the ex-soldiers and their families. He added that at the national level, conditions had to be created for the promotion of national reconciliation, with UNITA emerging as a united and credible political party. "The peace process is working, I don't think there is a danger of the war resuming," UNITA spokesman Jaka Jamba told IRIN on Wednesday. "Our concern is that it is necessary to provide the basic needs in each of the quartering areas, otherwise the guys will abandon them and the process can derail." On 15 April the Angolan government wrote to UN Secretary General Kofi Annan requesting United Nation's technical and material support for the demobilisation and reintegration process in a recently expanded 33 quartering sites. Luanda is also planning a donor conference scheduled for October. The official Jornal de Angola said this week that the US government had offered assistance, but the US embassy told IRIN they were unable to confirm the report. The South African government has also reportedly offered help. Officially UNITA's troop strength has been put at 50,000, but some estimates suggest the figure is much lower. The Portuguese news agency Lusa reported this week that in the northern province of Malange, mixed government army and UNITA demining teams were clearing routes to cantonment sites that were expected to receive 4,762 UNITA soldiers with 11,330 family members. In Kwanza Sul, the report said, preparations were underway to quarter 7,000 soldiers and 13,000 family members. On sanctions against UNITA, Gambari told the Security Council there was apparent consensus in Angola that the lifting of a travel ban on officials would facilitate the peace process and the reunification of UNITA. He noted that the government accepted in principle the suspension of the ban, but had urged a selective approach. Leader of the breakaway UNITA-Renovada faction, Eugenio Manuvakola, said that he would like to see the suspension only apply to UNITA leaders that endorsed the peace process. He added that a proposed meeting of UNITA officials under interim leader Paulo Lukambo Gato scheduled for May, as yet did not include his Luanda-based group. "That's their date, not ours," he told IRIN. "We've tried to make contacts, they need to agree a compromise with us."