Government denies starving former rebels

The Angolan government has denied allegations it is deliberately starving ex-UNITA soldiers in quartering camps, saying poor infrastructure has hampered the delivery of emergency food aid. "There are not any shortages of food or medicines. We face transport difficulties because of the poor state of the roads. We can only deliver aid by air," Angolan President Jose Eduardo dos Santos told the Portuguese news agency, LUSA, on Thursday. Dos Santos comments followed accusations by the former rebel group that the government was "creating famine in the camps" in order to create divisions between its leadership in the capital, Luanda, and ex-combatants in the country's 38 quartering areas. "The situation is worse than before. Some [quartering areas] have no supplies, people are dying there, and hundreds have run away. The government is creating famine in the camps so they could then say: 'Look, your leaders are in Luanda, where they're living well. They have forgotten you'," LUSA quoted UNITA leader Paulo "Gato" Lukamba as saying. There are about 400,000 former rebel soldiers and family members in demobilisation camps across Angola as a result of a ceasefire agreement signed in April - far more than was originally envisaged. "I don't think the government is deliberately starving the soldiers in the quartering areas as some kind of political strategy. The government is trying everything it can but is overwhelmed by the complexity of the situation like everyone working to make this peace process work," Swedish ambassador, Roger Gartoft, told IRIN. "Everybody underestimated the enormous challenges of providing food, shelter and medicine for the ex-combatants and their family members," he said. With the demobilisation process complete, attention is beginning to focus on the next phase of the peace agreement - the reintegration of thousands of ex-combatants into civil society. So far details of the government's plans are vague. "On 2 August, [demobilisation] was completed. What happens afterward doesn't interest them. It's not foreseen in government's plans. How can we have peace and stability in these conditions?" Lukamba said. The government has pointed out it has spent US $22 million on assistance to the former rebels, and has promised to disburse a further $23 million in the coming months. Also a National Reconstruction Service has been set up to help provide employment. It has also asked for UN support to host an "urgent" donor conference to support the social reintegration programme. The reintegration of former rebels and thousands of displaced civilians is seen as key to lasting peace after 27 years of civil war. "This ceasefire agreement was just the beginning, it's just the military aspect of the conflict. The real challenge begins after the implementation of the Lusaka agreement. Then there is the monumental task of dealing with reconciliation, forgiveness and how people at the grassroots move on with their lives," a senior researcher at the Pretoria-based Institute for Security Studies told IRIN.