11th October 2002

Vol 43 N0 20

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Angola ANGOLA

Neutering UNITA

President Dos Santos' ruling MPLA is glad of victory in the war against UNITA but resists other kinds of change

Eight months after the violent death of Jonas Malheiro Savimbi, the oil-financed élite of the ruling Movimento Popular de Libertação de Angola is neutering his União Nacional para a Independência Total de Angola (AC Vol 43 Nos 8 & 12). The UNITA-Renovada splinter group, formed by Eugenio Manuvakola in 1998 to rival Savimbi's UNITA, was badly weakened when Manuvakola stepped down on 30 July. His successor, Jorge Alicerces Valentim, has a big mouth, little charisma and no real support. The MPLA has put most other UNITA leaders into a gilded cage. Mainstream UNITA still has strong popular support, mainly but not entirely among the highland Ovimbundu people ­ although its interim leader, General Paulo Lukamba 'Gato', does not command the same fear-filled affection as his late predecessor. A party congress, possibly in mid-2003, will elect a new leader. There is talk of links with smaller parties, including the northern, Bakongo-dominated, Frente Nacional para a Libertação de Angola, whose veteran chief, Holden Roberto, is old, tired and undermined both by state propaganda and by his aspiring successor, Lucas Ngonda. Another possible ally is the Partido do Renovação Social (PRS), strong in the north-eastern diamond regions....

(This article contains approximately 1603 words)

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Keywords:

 Jonas Malheiro Savimbi, Eugenio Manuvakola, Jorge Alicerces Valentim, Paulo Lukamba 'Gato', Holden Roberto, Lucas Ngonda, Vicente Pinto de Andrade, Lopo Fortunato Ferreira do Nascimento, Don't forget Cabinda, Marcolino Moco, Luis Paulino dos Santos, Flávio Fernandes, Isaías Henrique Ngola Samakuva, Abel Epalanga Chivukuvuku, Jerónimo Wanga, Jaka Jamba, Adalberto da Costa Junior, Domingos, Jardo Muekalia, Carlos Morgado, Isaac Wambembe, Ernesto Mulato, Azevedo Kanganje, João Vahekeny, Fatima Roque, Norberto de Castro, Honório Van Dunem, A passion for secrecy, José Eduardo dos Santos, Carlos Feijó, France, Pierre Falcone, Arkady Gaidamak, Geraldo Abreu 'Kamorteiro', Apolo Felino Yakuvela, Samuel Capinhala 'Samy', Domingos Kananay, United States, Chris Dell, Ibrahim Gambari, Nigerian, Kofi Annan, Cape Verde, Canada, India, Mexico, Poland, Julio Bessa, Marcial Dachala, Fernando da Piedade Días dos Santos, Nando, Helder Vieira Dias 'Kopelipa', Portugal, Russia, Maurice Tempelsman, Lev Leviev, Eric de Mul, Movimento Popular de Libertação de Angola, União Nacional para a Independência Total de Angola, Renovada, Frente Nacional para a Libertação de Angola, Partido do Renovação Social, Frente para a Libertação do Enclave de Cabinda, Forças Armadas Angolanas, Hotel Trópico, Governo de Unidade e Reconciliação Nacional, Sociedade Geral das Minas