Angola-South Africa relations
Encyclopedia
Angola-South Africa relations refer to the current and historical relationship
between Angola
and South Africa
. Relations in the post-apartheid era are quite strong as the ruling parties in both states, the African National Congress
in South Africa
and the MPLA in Angola
, fought together during the Angolan Civil War
and South African Border War
. They fought against UNITA
rebels, based in Angola, and the apartheid-era government in South Africa which supported them. Nelson Mandela
mediated between the MPLA and UNITA during the final years of the Angolan Civil War.
The South African government informed rebel leaders Jonas Savimbi
and Holden Roberto
in early November 1975 that the South African Defence Force
(SADF) would soon end operations in Angola
despite the coalition's failure to capture Luanda
and therefore secure international recognition at independence. Savimbi, desperate to avoid the withdrawal of the largest, friendly, military force in Angola, asked General Constand Viljoen
to arrange a meeting for him with South African Prime Minister John Vorster, Savimbi's ally since October 1974. On the night of November 10, the night before independence, Savimbi secretly flew to Pretoria
, South Africa and the meeting took place. In a remarkable reversal of policy, Vorster not only agreed to keep troops through November but promised to withdraw the SADF troops only after the OAU meeting on December 9. The Soviets, well aware of South African activity in southern Angola, flew Cuban soldiers into Luanda the week before independence. While Cuban officers led the mission and provided the bulk of the troop force, 60 Soviet officers in the Congo
joined the Cubans on November 12. The Soviet leadership expressly forbid the Cubans from intervening in Angola's civil war, focusing the mission on containing South Africa.
In 1975 and 1976 most foreign forces, with the exception of Cuba, withdrew. The last elements of the Portuguese military withdrew in 1975 and the South African military withdrew in February 1976. On the other hand, Cuba's troop force in Angola increased from 5,500 in December 1975 to 11,000 in February 1976. FNLA
forces were crushed by Operation Carlota, a joint Cuban-Angolan attack on Huambo on January 30, 1976. By mid-November, the Huambo government had gained control over southern Angola and began pushing north.
On July 5, 1979, Angolan President Agostinho Neto
issued a decree requiring all citizens to serve in the military for three years upon turning the age of eighteen. The government gave a report to the UN estimating $293 million in property damage from South African attacks between 1976 and 1979, asking for compensation on August 3, 1979. The Popular Movement for the Liberation of Cabinda
, a Cabindan separatist rebel group, attacked a Cuban base near Tshiowa on August 11.
In the 1980s, fighting spread outward from southeastern Angola, where most of the fighting had taken place in the 1970s, as the National Congolese Army (ANC) and SWAPO increased their activity. The South African government responded by sending troops back into Angola, intervening in the war from 1981 to 1987, prompting the Soviet Union
to deliver massive amounts of military aid from 1981 to 1986. In 1981, newly elected United States President Ronald Reagan
's U.S. assistant secretary of state for African affairs, Chester Crocker
, developed a linkage policy
, tying Namibia
n independence to Cuban withdrawal and peace in Angola.
The South African military attacked insurgents in Cunene Province on May 12, 1980. The Angolan Ministry of Defense accused the South African government of wounding and killing civilians. Nine days later, the SADF attacked again, this time in Cuando-Cubango, and the MPLA threatened to respond militarily. The SADF launched a full-scale invasion
of Angola through Cunene and Cuando-Cubango on June 7, destroying SWAPO's operational command headquarters on June 13, in what Prime Minister Botha
described as a "shock attack". The Angolan government arrested 120 Angolans who were planning to set off explosives in Luanda, on June 24, foiling a plot purportedly orchestrated by the South African government. Three days later, the United Nations Security Council
convened at the behest of Angola's ambassador to the UN, E. de Figuerido, and condemned South Africa's incursions into Angola. President Mobutu of Zaire also sided with the MPLA. The Angolan government recorded 529 instances in which South African forces violated Angola's territorial sovereignty between January and June 1980.
Cuba increased its 35,000-strong troop force in Angola from 35,000 in 1982 to 40,000 in 1985. South African forces tried to capture Lubango
, capital of Huíla province, in Operation Askari
in December 1983.
On June 2, 1985, American conservative activists held the Democratic International
, a largely symbolic meeting of anti-Communist militants, at UNITA
's headquarters in Jamba, Angola
. Primarily funded by Rite Aid
founder Lewis Lehrman
and organized by anti-Communist activists Jack Abramoff
and Jack Wheeler, participants included Savimbi, Adolfo Calero
, leader of the Nicaragua
n Contras
, Pa Kao Her
, Hmong
Laotian
rebel leader, U.S. Lieutenant Colonel
Oliver North
, South Africa
n security forces, Abdurrahim Wardak
, Afghan
Mujahideen
leader, Jack Wheeler, American conservative policy advocate, and many others. While the Reagan administration
, though unwilling to publicly support the meeting, privately expressed approval. The governments of Israel
and South Africa
supported the idea, but both respective countries were deemed inadvisable for hosting the conference.
The United States House of Representatives
voted 236 to 185 to repeal the Clark Amendment on July 11, 1985. The Angolan government began attacking UNITA later that month from Luena towards Cazombo along the Benguela Railway, taking Cazombo on September 18. The government tried unsuccessfully to take UNITA's supply depot in Mavinga
from Menongue
. While the attack failed, very different interpretations of the attack emerged. UNITA
claimed Portuguese-speaking Soviet officers led government troops while the government said UNITA relied on South African paratroopers to defeat the government. The South African government admitted to fighting in the area, but said its troops fought SWAPO militants.
UNITA forces attacked Camabatela in Cuanza Norte
province on February 8, 1987. ANGOP alleged UNITA massacred civilians in Damba in Uíge Province later that month, on February 26. The South African government agreed to Crocker's terms in principle on March 8. Savimbi proposed a truce regarding the Benguela railway on March 26, saying MPLA trains could pass through as long as an international inspection group monitored trains to prevent their use for counter-insurgency activity. The government did not respond. The Angolan and American governments began negotiating in June 1987.
UNITA and South African forces attacked the MPLA's base at Cuito Cuanavale
in Cuando Cubango
province from January 13 to March 23, 1988, in the second largest battle in the history of Africa
, after the Battle of El Alamein
, the largest in sub-Saharan Africa since World War II
. Cuito Cuanavale's importance came not from its size or its wealth but its location. Capturing the city would open the path for the Cubans and MPLA to UNITA's headquarters at Jamba. UNITA and South Africa retreated after a 15-hour battle on March 23.
The Cuban government joined negotiations on January 28, 1988, and all three parties held a round of negotiations on March 9. The South African government, weakened from its decisive loss at Cuito Cuanavale, joined negotiations on May 3 and the parties met in June and August in New York
and Geneva
. All parties agreed to a ceasefire on August 8. Representatives from the governments of Angola, Cuba, and South Africa signed the Tripartite Accord, granting independence to Namibia
and ending the direct involvement of foreign troops in the civil war, in New York City
, United States
on December 22, 1988. The United Nations Security Council
passed Resolution 626 later that day, creating the United Nations Angola Verification Mission, a UN peacekeeping force. UNAVEM troops began arriving in Angola in January 1989.
On August 23, 1989 Angolan President José Eduardo dos Santos
complained that the U.S. and South African governments continued to fund UNITA, warning such activity endangered the already fragile ceasefire. The next day Savimbi announced UNITA would no longer abide by the ceasefire, citing Kaunda's insistence that Savimbi leave the country and UNITA disband. The government responded to Savimbi's statement by moving troops from Cuito Cuanavale, under government control, to UNITA-occupied Mavinga. The ceasefire broke down with dos Santos and the U.S. government blaming each other for the resumption in armed conflict.
Anti-communist activist Jack Abramoff
wrote and co-produced the film Red Scorpion
with his brother Robert in 1989
. Dolph Lundgren
played Nikolai, a Soviet
agent sent to assassinate an Africa
n revolutionary in a country modeled on Angola. The film has a strongly anti-Communist message, and goes to great lengths to depict the sadism and violence of the Soviets, including a scene in which chemical weapons
are used. The South African government financed the film through the International Freedom Foundation
, a front-group chaired by Abramoff, as part of its efforts to undermine international sympathy for the African National Congress
.
's declaration of independence, internationally recognized on April 1, eliminated the southwestern front of combat as South African forces withdrew to the east.
Then, in a series of stunning victories, UNITA regained control over Caxito
, Huambo
, M'banza Kongo, Ndalatando, and Uíge
, provincial capitals it had not held since 1976, and moved against Kuito, Luena, and Malange. Although the U.S. and South African governments had stopped aiding UNITA, supplies continued to come from Mobutu in Zaire. UNITA tried to wrest control of Cabinda from the MPLA in January 1993. Edward DeJarnette, Head of the U.S. Liaison Office in Angola for the Clinton Administration, warned Savimbi that, if UNITA hindered or halted Cabinda's production, the U.S. would end its support for UNITA. On January 9, UNITA began a 55-day long battle over Huambo, the War of the Cities. Hundreds of thousands fled and 10,000 were killed before UNITA gained control on March 7. The government engaged in an ethnic cleansing
of Bakongo, and, to a lesser extent Ovimbundu
, in multiple cities, most notably Luanda, on January 22 in the Bloody Friday
massacre. UNITA and government representatives met five days later in Ethiopia
, but negotiations failed to restore the peace. The United Nations Security Council
sanctioned UNITA through Resolution 864
on September 15, 1993, prohibiting the sale of weapons or fuel to UNITA. Perhaps the clearest shift in U.S. foreign policy emerged when President Clinton issued Executive Order 12865 on September 23, labeling UNITA a "continuing threat to the foreign policy objectives of the U.S.". By August 1993, UNITA had gained control over 70% of Angola, but the government's military successes in 1994 forced UNITA to sue for peace. By November 1994, the government had taken control of 60% of the country. Savimbi called the situation UNITA's "deepest crisis" since its creation.
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe
and South African President Nelson Mandela
met in Lusaka on November 15, 1994 to boost support symbolically for the Lusaka Protocol
. Mugabe and Mandela both said they would be willing to meet with Savimbi and Mandela asked him to come to South Africa, but Savimbi did not come.
Savimbi met with South African President Nelson Mandela
in May. Shortly after, on June 18, the MPLA offered Savimbi the position of Vice President under dos Santos with another Vice President chosen from the MPLA. Savimbi told Mandela he felt ready to "serve in any capacity which will aid my nation," but he did not accept the proposal until August 12.
By 1998, the UN had identified the role of conflict diamonds in the financing of UNITA's ongoing war, and passed a number of resolutions imposing sanctions with the object of targeting this illicit trade; United Nations Security Council Resolutions 1173
, 1176
, 1237
and 1295
followed.
led a delegation of 11 cabinet ministers to Angola. It was the new President's first official State Visit and was seen by experts as very important to the strengthening of relations between the two countries.
Bilateralism
Bilateralism consists of the political, economic, or cultural relations between two sovereign states. For example, free trade agreements signed by two states are examples of bilateral treaties. It is in contrast to unilateralism or multilateralism, which refers to the conduct of diplomacy by a...
between Angola
Angola
Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...
and South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
. Relations in the post-apartheid era are quite strong as the ruling parties in both states, the African National Congress
African National Congress
The African National Congress is South Africa's governing Africanist political party, supported by its tripartite alliance with the Congress of South African Trade Unions and the South African Communist Party , since the establishment of non-racial democracy in April 1994. It defines itself as a...
in South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
and the MPLA in Angola
Angola
Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...
, fought together during the Angolan Civil War
Angolan Civil War
The Angolan Civil War was a major civil conflict in the Southern African state of Angola, beginning in 1975 and continuing, with some interludes, until 2002. The war began immediately after Angola became independent from Portugal in November 1975. Prior to this, a decolonisation conflict had taken...
and South African Border War
South African Border War
The South African Border War, commonly referred to as the Angolan Bush War in South Africa, was a conflict that took place from 1966 to 1989 in South-West Africa and Angola between South Africa and its allied forces on the one side and the Angolan government, South-West Africa People's...
. They fought against UNITA
UNITA
The National Union for the Total Independence of Angola is the second-largest political party in Angola. Founded in 1966, UNITA fought with the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola in the Angolan War for Independence and then against the MPLA in the ensuing civil war .The war was one...
rebels, based in Angola, and the apartheid-era government in South Africa which supported them. Nelson Mandela
Nelson Mandela
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, and was the first South African president to be elected in a fully representative democratic election. Before his presidency, Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist, and the leader of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing...
mediated between the MPLA and UNITA during the final years of the Angolan Civil War.
1970s
The South African government informed rebel leaders Jonas Savimbi
Jonas Savimbi
Jonas Malheiro Savimbi was an Angolan political leader. He founded and led UNITA, a movement that first waged a guerrilla war against Portuguese colonial rule, 1966–1974, then confronted the rival MPLA during the decolonization conflict, 1974/75, and after independence in 1975 fought the ruling...
and Holden Roberto
Holden Roberto
Holden Álvaro Roberto founded and led the National Liberation Front of Angola from 1962 to 1999. His memoirs are unfinished.-Early life:...
in early November 1975 that the South African Defence Force
South African Defence Force
The South African Defence Force was the South African armed forces from 1957 until 1994. The former Union Defence Force was renamed to the South African Defence Force in the Defence Act of 1957...
(SADF) would soon end operations in Angola
Operation Savannah (Angola)
Operation Savannah was the name given to the South African Defence Force's 1975–1976 covert intervention in the Angolan Civil War.-Background:...
despite the coalition's failure to capture Luanda
Luanda
Luanda, formerly named São Paulo da Assunção de Loanda, is the capital and largest city of Angola. Located on Angola's coast with the Atlantic Ocean, Luanda is both Angola's chief seaport and its administrative center. It has a population of at least 5 million...
and therefore secure international recognition at independence. Savimbi, desperate to avoid the withdrawal of the largest, friendly, military force in Angola, asked General Constand Viljoen
Constand Viljoen
General Constand Viljoen SSA SD SOE SM is a former South African military commander and politician. He is partly credited with preventing the outbreak of armed violence by disaffected Afrikaners prior to the 1994 elections.-Military service:Viljoen received a degree in military science in 1955...
to arrange a meeting for him with South African Prime Minister John Vorster, Savimbi's ally since October 1974. On the night of November 10, the night before independence, Savimbi secretly flew to Pretoria
Pretoria
Pretoria is a city located in the northern part of Gauteng Province, South Africa. It is one of the country's three capital cities, serving as the executive and de facto national capital; the others are Cape Town, the legislative capital, and Bloemfontein, the judicial capital.Pretoria is...
, South Africa and the meeting took place. In a remarkable reversal of policy, Vorster not only agreed to keep troops through November but promised to withdraw the SADF troops only after the OAU meeting on December 9. The Soviets, well aware of South African activity in southern Angola, flew Cuban soldiers into Luanda the week before independence. While Cuban officers led the mission and provided the bulk of the troop force, 60 Soviet officers in the Congo
Republic of the Congo
The Republic of the Congo , sometimes known locally as Congo-Brazzaville, is a state in Central Africa. It is bordered by Gabon, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo , the Angolan exclave province of Cabinda, and the Gulf of Guinea.The region was dominated by...
joined the Cubans on November 12. The Soviet leadership expressly forbid the Cubans from intervening in Angola's civil war, focusing the mission on containing South Africa.
In 1975 and 1976 most foreign forces, with the exception of Cuba, withdrew. The last elements of the Portuguese military withdrew in 1975 and the South African military withdrew in February 1976. On the other hand, Cuba's troop force in Angola increased from 5,500 in December 1975 to 11,000 in February 1976. FNLA
National Liberation Front of Angola
The National Front for the Liberation of Angola was a militant organization that fought for Angolan independence from Portugal in the war of independence under the leadership of Holden Roberto. The FNLA became a political party in 1992....
forces were crushed by Operation Carlota, a joint Cuban-Angolan attack on Huambo on January 30, 1976. By mid-November, the Huambo government had gained control over southern Angola and began pushing north.
On July 5, 1979, Angolan President Agostinho Neto
Agostinho Neto
António Agostinho Neto served as the first President of Angola , leading the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola in the war for independence and the civil war...
issued a decree requiring all citizens to serve in the military for three years upon turning the age of eighteen. The government gave a report to the UN estimating $293 million in property damage from South African attacks between 1976 and 1979, asking for compensation on August 3, 1979. The Popular Movement for the Liberation of Cabinda
Popular Movement for the Liberation of Cabinda
The Popular Movement for the Liberation of Cabinda is a militant separatist group fighting for the independence of Cabinda from Angola. The MPLC split off from the Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda in June 1979....
, a Cabindan separatist rebel group, attacked a Cuban base near Tshiowa on August 11.
1980s
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
to deliver massive amounts of military aid from 1981 to 1986. In 1981, newly elected United States President Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
's U.S. assistant secretary of state for African affairs, Chester Crocker
Chester Crocker
Chester Arthur Crocker is an American diplomat who served as Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs from 1981 to 1989 in the Reagan administration. Crocker, architect of the U.S...
, developed a linkage policy
Linkage (policy)
Linkage was a policy pursued by the United States of America, championed by Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger, during the 1970s period of Cold War Détente which aimed to persuade the Soviet Union and Communist China to co-operate in restraining revolutions in the Third World in return for...
, tying Namibia
Namibia
Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia , is a country in southern Africa whose western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east. It gained independence from South Africa on 21 March...
n independence to Cuban withdrawal and peace in Angola.
The South African military attacked insurgents in Cunene Province on May 12, 1980. The Angolan Ministry of Defense accused the South African government of wounding and killing civilians. Nine days later, the SADF attacked again, this time in Cuando-Cubango, and the MPLA threatened to respond militarily. The SADF launched a full-scale invasion
Operation Sceptic
Operation Sceptic was the largest anti-SWAPO sweep during the South African Border War up to that point. This operation followed Operation Safraan and preceded Operation Klipklop.-External links:*...
of Angola through Cunene and Cuando-Cubango on June 7, destroying SWAPO's operational command headquarters on June 13, in what Prime Minister Botha
Pieter Willem Botha
Pieter Willem Botha , commonly known as "P. W." and Die Groot Krokodil , was the prime minister of South Africa from 1978 to 1984 and the first executive state president from 1984 to 1989.First elected to Parliament in 1948, Botha was for eleven years head of the Afrikaner National Party and the...
described as a "shock attack". The Angolan government arrested 120 Angolans who were planning to set off explosives in Luanda, on June 24, foiling a plot purportedly orchestrated by the South African government. Three days later, the United Nations Security Council
United Nations Security Council
The United Nations Security Council is one of the principal organs of the United Nations and is charged with the maintenance of international peace and security. Its powers, outlined in the United Nations Charter, include the establishment of peacekeeping operations, the establishment of...
convened at the behest of Angola's ambassador to the UN, E. de Figuerido, and condemned South Africa's incursions into Angola. President Mobutu of Zaire also sided with the MPLA. The Angolan government recorded 529 instances in which South African forces violated Angola's territorial sovereignty between January and June 1980.
Cuba increased its 35,000-strong troop force in Angola from 35,000 in 1982 to 40,000 in 1985. South African forces tried to capture Lubango
Lubango
Lubango is the capital city of the Angolan province of Huíla. Its last known population was 100,757. Until 1975, the city's official name was Sá da Bandeira.-Portuguese rule:...
, capital of Huíla province, in Operation Askari
Operation Askari
Operation Askari was a military operation by the South African Defence Force during the South African Border War and Angolan Civil War....
in December 1983.
Democratic International
On June 2, 1985, American conservative activists held the Democratic International
Democratic International
The Democratic International, also known as the Jamboree in Jamba, was a 1985 meeting of anti-Communist militants held at the headquarters of UNITA in Jamba, Angola....
, a largely symbolic meeting of anti-Communist militants, at UNITA
UNITA
The National Union for the Total Independence of Angola is the second-largest political party in Angola. Founded in 1966, UNITA fought with the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola in the Angolan War for Independence and then against the MPLA in the ensuing civil war .The war was one...
's headquarters in Jamba, Angola
Jamba, Angola
Jamba is a town in Angola, located in the southeastern province of Cuando Cubango, just north of the Namibian border along the Caprivi Strip....
. Primarily funded by Rite Aid
Rite Aid
Rite Aid is a drugstore chain in the United States and a Fortune 500 company headquartered in East Pennsboro Township, Pennsylvania, near Camp Hill. Rite Aid is the largest drugstore chain on the East Coast and the third largest drugstore chain in the U.S....
founder Lewis Lehrman
Lewis Lehrman
For the Texas judge, see Debra Lehrmann.Lewis E. "Lew" Lehrman is an investment banker who actively supports the ongoing study of American history from a conservative perspective. He was presented the National Humanities Medal at the White House in 2005 for his scholarly contributions...
and organized by anti-Communist activists Jack Abramoff
Jack Abramoff
Jack Abramoff is an American former lobbyist and businessman. Convicted in 2006 of mail fraud and conspiracy, he was at the heart of an extensive corruption investigation that led to the conviction of White House officials J. Steven Griles and David Safavian, U.S. Representative Bob Ney, and nine...
and Jack Wheeler, participants included Savimbi, Adolfo Calero
Adolfo Calero
Adolfo Calero Portocarrero was a Nicaraguan businessman, and leader of the Nicaraguan Democratic Force, which was the largest contra rebel group opposing the Sandinista government. In the contra leadership, Calero was responsible for managing the bank accounts into which money was deposited and...
, leader of the Nicaragua
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
n Contras
Contras
The contras is a label given to the various rebel groups opposing Nicaragua's FSLN Sandinista Junta of National Reconstruction government following the July 1979 overthrow of Anastasio Somoza Debayle's dictatorship...
, Pa Kao Her
Pa Kao Her
Pa Kao Her was the leader of the Hmong Chao Fa movement in Laos after the communist Lao People's Revolutionary Party took power in 1975.He was assassinated in 2002 in Thailand. His brother Zong Zoua Her now leads the movement....
, Hmong
Hmong people
The Hmong , are an Asian ethnic group from the mountainous regions of China, Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand. Hmong are also one of the sub-groups of the Miao ethnicity in southern China...
Laotian
Laos
Laos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...
rebel leader, U.S. Lieutenant Colonel
Lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel is a rank of commissioned officer in the armies and most marine forces and some air forces of the world, typically ranking above a major and below a colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence...
Oliver North
Oliver North
Oliver Laurence North is a retired U.S. Marine Corps officer, political commentator, host of War Stories with Oliver North on Fox News Channel, a military historian, and a New York Times best-selling author....
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
n security forces, Abdurrahim Wardak
Abdurrahim Wardak
General Abdul Rahim Wardak is the Defense Minister of Afghanistan. He was appointed on December 23, 2004 by Afghan President Hamid Karzai. Before this appointment, Wardak was the deputy Defense Minister to the former minister, Mohammed Fahim...
, Afghan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
Mujahideen
Mujahideen
Mujahideen are Muslims who struggle in the path of God. The word is from the same Arabic triliteral as jihad .Mujahideen is also transliterated from Arabic as mujahedin, mujahedeen, mudžahedin, mudžahidin, mujahidīn, mujaheddīn and more.-Origin of the concept:The beginnings of Jihad are traced...
leader, Jack Wheeler, American conservative policy advocate, and many others. While the Reagan administration
Reagan Administration
The United States presidency of Ronald Reagan, also known as the Reagan administration, was a Republican administration headed by Ronald Reagan from January 20, 1981, to January 20, 1989....
, though unwilling to publicly support the meeting, privately expressed approval. The governments of Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
and South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
supported the idea, but both respective countries were deemed inadvisable for hosting the conference.
The United States House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
voted 236 to 185 to repeal the Clark Amendment on July 11, 1985. The Angolan government began attacking UNITA later that month from Luena towards Cazombo along the Benguela Railway, taking Cazombo on September 18. The government tried unsuccessfully to take UNITA's supply depot in Mavinga
Mavinga, Cuando Cubango
Mavinga is a town and municipality in the Cuando Cubango province of Angola. The area spans 44,347 km² and contains about 30,000 inhabitants. It comprises the communes of Mavinga, Cunjamba/Dime, Cutuile and Luengue....
from Menongue
Menongue
Menongue is a town and municipality in Cuando Cubango Province in Angola.It is the terminus of the southern railway from Namibe.-History:Menongue, formerly Serpa Pinto, was originally named for Alexandre Alberto da Rocha de Serpa Pinto, a late 19th-century Portuguese explorer of the interior of...
. While the attack failed, very different interpretations of the attack emerged. UNITA
UNITA
The National Union for the Total Independence of Angola is the second-largest political party in Angola. Founded in 1966, UNITA fought with the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola in the Angolan War for Independence and then against the MPLA in the ensuing civil war .The war was one...
claimed Portuguese-speaking Soviet officers led government troops while the government said UNITA relied on South African paratroopers to defeat the government. The South African government admitted to fighting in the area, but said its troops fought SWAPO militants.
UNITA forces attacked Camabatela in Cuanza Norte
Cuanza Norte
Cuanza Norte or Kwanza Norte is a province of Angola. N'Dalantando is the capital and it has an area of 24,110 km² and a population of approximately 400,000. According to 1988 US government statistics, the province has a population of 365,100, with just 18,000 living in urban areas. Manuel Pedro...
province on February 8, 1987. ANGOP alleged UNITA massacred civilians in Damba in Uíge Province later that month, on February 26. The South African government agreed to Crocker's terms in principle on March 8. Savimbi proposed a truce regarding the Benguela railway on March 26, saying MPLA trains could pass through as long as an international inspection group monitored trains to prevent their use for counter-insurgency activity. The government did not respond. The Angolan and American governments began negotiating in June 1987.
Cuito Cuanavale and New York City
Cuito Cuanavale
Cuito Cuanavale is a town and municipality in Cuando Cubango province in Angola. The names Kuito Kuanavale or Kwito Kwanavale are sometimes used, although this is a mutation of the original Portuguese name....
in Cuando Cubango
Cuando Cubango
Cuando Cubango is a province of Angola and it has an area of 199,049 km² and a population of approximately 140,000. Menongue is the capital of the province. The governor of the province is General Eusebio de Brito. According to 1988 US government statistics, the provincial population was...
province from January 13 to March 23, 1988, in the second largest battle in the history of Africa
History of Africa
The history of Africa begins with the prehistory of Africa and the emergence of Homo sapiens in East Africa, continuing into the present as a patchwork of diverse and politically developing nation states. Agriculture began about 10,000 BCE and metallurgy in about 4000 BCE. The history of early...
, after the Battle of El Alamein
Second Battle of El Alamein
The Second Battle of El Alamein marked a major turning point in the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War. The battle took place over 20 days from 23 October – 11 November 1942. The First Battle of El Alamein had stalled the Axis advance. Thereafter, Lieutenant-General Bernard Montgomery...
, the largest in sub-Saharan Africa since World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Cuito Cuanavale's importance came not from its size or its wealth but its location. Capturing the city would open the path for the Cubans and MPLA to UNITA's headquarters at Jamba. UNITA and South Africa retreated after a 15-hour battle on March 23.
The Cuban government joined negotiations on January 28, 1988, and all three parties held a round of negotiations on March 9. The South African government, weakened from its decisive loss at Cuito Cuanavale, joined negotiations on May 3 and the parties met in June and August in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
and Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
. All parties agreed to a ceasefire on August 8. Representatives from the governments of Angola, Cuba, and South Africa signed the Tripartite Accord, granting independence to Namibia
Namibia
Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia , is a country in southern Africa whose western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east. It gained independence from South Africa on 21 March...
and ending the direct involvement of foreign troops in the civil war, in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
on December 22, 1988. The United Nations Security Council
United Nations Security Council
The United Nations Security Council is one of the principal organs of the United Nations and is charged with the maintenance of international peace and security. Its powers, outlined in the United Nations Charter, include the establishment of peacekeeping operations, the establishment of...
passed Resolution 626 later that day, creating the United Nations Angola Verification Mission, a UN peacekeeping force. UNAVEM troops began arriving in Angola in January 1989.
On August 23, 1989 Angolan President José Eduardo dos Santos
José Eduardo dos Santos
José Eduardo dos Santos is an Angolan politician who has been the second and current President of Angola since 1979. As President, José Eduardo dos Santos is also the commander in chief of the Angolan Armed Forces and president of the MPLA , the party that has been ruling Angola since...
complained that the U.S. and South African governments continued to fund UNITA, warning such activity endangered the already fragile ceasefire. The next day Savimbi announced UNITA would no longer abide by the ceasefire, citing Kaunda's insistence that Savimbi leave the country and UNITA disband. The government responded to Savimbi's statement by moving troops from Cuito Cuanavale, under government control, to UNITA-occupied Mavinga. The ceasefire broke down with dos Santos and the U.S. government blaming each other for the resumption in armed conflict.
Red Scorpion
Anti-communist activist Jack Abramoff
Jack Abramoff
Jack Abramoff is an American former lobbyist and businessman. Convicted in 2006 of mail fraud and conspiracy, he was at the heart of an extensive corruption investigation that led to the conviction of White House officials J. Steven Griles and David Safavian, U.S. Representative Bob Ney, and nine...
wrote and co-produced the film Red Scorpion
Red Scorpion
Red Scorpion is a 1989 film directed by Joseph Zito starring Dolph Lundgren.-Plot:The plot centers on Lundgren's character Nikolai, a Soviet Spetsnaz-trained KGB agent who is sent to an African country where Soviet, Czechoslovakian and Cuban forces are helping the government fight an anti-communist...
with his brother Robert in 1989
1989 in film
-Events:* Batman is released on June 23, and goes on to gross over $410 million worldwide.* Actress Kim Basinger and her brother Mick purchase Braselton, Georgia, for $20 million...
. Dolph Lundgren
Dolph Lundgren
Dolph Lundgren is a Swedish actor, director, and martial artist. He belongs to a generation of film actors who epitomise the movie action hero stereotype including Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis, Chuck Norris, Steven Seagal and Jean-Claude Van Damme.A graduate in chemical...
played Nikolai, a Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
agent sent to assassinate an Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
n revolutionary in a country modeled on Angola. The film has a strongly anti-Communist message, and goes to great lengths to depict the sadism and violence of the Soviets, including a scene in which chemical weapons
Chemical warfare
Chemical warfare involves using the toxic properties of chemical substances as weapons. This type of warfare is distinct from Nuclear warfare and Biological warfare, which together make up NBC, the military acronym for Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical...
are used. The South African government financed the film through the International Freedom Foundation
International Freedom Foundation
The International Freedom Foundation , was a self-described anti-communist group established in Washington, D.C. founded in 1986 by former lobbyist Jack Abramoff. Its purported aim was to promote individual and collective freedoms worldwide: freedom of thought; free speech; free association; free...
, a front-group chaired by Abramoff, as part of its efforts to undermine international sympathy for the African National Congress
African National Congress
The African National Congress is South Africa's governing Africanist political party, supported by its tripartite alliance with the Congress of South African Trade Unions and the South African Communist Party , since the establishment of non-racial democracy in April 1994. It defines itself as a...
.
1990s
Political changes abroad and military victories at home allowed the government to transition from a nominally communist state to a nominally democratic one. NamibiaNamibia
Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia , is a country in southern Africa whose western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east. It gained independence from South Africa on 21 March...
's declaration of independence, internationally recognized on April 1, eliminated the southwestern front of combat as South African forces withdrew to the east.
Then, in a series of stunning victories, UNITA regained control over Caxito
Caxito
Caxito is a town and commune and capital of Bengo Province, Angola.The northern line of Angolan Railways passes through....
, Huambo
Huambo
Huambo, formerly Nova Lisboa , is the capital of Huambo province in Angola. The city is located about 220 km E from Benguela and 600 km SE from Luanda. The city's last known population count was 225,268...
, M'banza Kongo, Ndalatando, and Uíge
Uíge
Uíge is a provincial capital city in northwestern Angola located in the province of the same name. It grew from a small market centre in 1945 to becoming a city in 1956.-Name:...
, provincial capitals it had not held since 1976, and moved against Kuito, Luena, and Malange. Although the U.S. and South African governments had stopped aiding UNITA, supplies continued to come from Mobutu in Zaire. UNITA tried to wrest control of Cabinda from the MPLA in January 1993. Edward DeJarnette, Head of the U.S. Liaison Office in Angola for the Clinton Administration, warned Savimbi that, if UNITA hindered or halted Cabinda's production, the U.S. would end its support for UNITA. On January 9, UNITA began a 55-day long battle over Huambo, the War of the Cities. Hundreds of thousands fled and 10,000 were killed before UNITA gained control on March 7. The government engaged in an ethnic cleansing
Ethnic cleansing
Ethnic cleansing is a purposeful policy designed by one ethnic or religious group to remove by violent and terror-inspiring means the civilian population of another ethnic orreligious group from certain geographic areas....
of Bakongo, and, to a lesser extent Ovimbundu
Ovimbundu
The Southern Mbundu, now generally called Ovimbundu , are an ethnic group who lives on the Bié Plateau of central Angola and in the coastal strip west of these highlands. As the largest ethnic group in Angola, they make up almost 40 percent of the country's population...
, in multiple cities, most notably Luanda, on January 22 in the Bloody Friday
Bloody Friday
Bloody Friday can refer to various events in history that occurred on a Friday:*Bloody Friday , also known as the Battle of George Square.*Bloody Friday...
massacre. UNITA and government representatives met five days later in Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
, but negotiations failed to restore the peace. The United Nations Security Council
United Nations Security Council
The United Nations Security Council is one of the principal organs of the United Nations and is charged with the maintenance of international peace and security. Its powers, outlined in the United Nations Charter, include the establishment of peacekeeping operations, the establishment of...
sanctioned UNITA through Resolution 864
United Nations Security Council Resolution 864
United Nations Security Council Resolution 864, adopted unanimously on September 15, 1993, after reaffirming resolutions 696 , 747 , 785 , 793 , 804 , 811 , 823 , 834 and 851 , the Council noted the continuing situation in Angola and went on to condemn and place international sanctions on...
on September 15, 1993, prohibiting the sale of weapons or fuel to UNITA. Perhaps the clearest shift in U.S. foreign policy emerged when President Clinton issued Executive Order 12865 on September 23, labeling UNITA a "continuing threat to the foreign policy objectives of the U.S.". By August 1993, UNITA had gained control over 70% of Angola, but the government's military successes in 1994 forced UNITA to sue for peace. By November 1994, the government had taken control of 60% of the country. Savimbi called the situation UNITA's "deepest crisis" since its creation.
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe
Robert Mugabe
Robert Gabriel Mugabe is the President of Zimbabwe. As one of the leaders of the liberation movement against white-minority rule, he was elected into power in 1980...
and South African President Nelson Mandela
Nelson Mandela
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, and was the first South African president to be elected in a fully representative democratic election. Before his presidency, Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist, and the leader of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing...
met in Lusaka on November 15, 1994 to boost support symbolically for the Lusaka Protocol
Lusaka Protocol
The Lusaka Protocol, signed in Lusaka, Zambia on October 31, 1994, attempted to end the Angolan Civil War by integrating and disarming UNITA and national reconciliation. Both sides signed a ceasefire as part of the protocol on November 20.-Negotiation:...
. Mugabe and Mandela both said they would be willing to meet with Savimbi and Mandela asked him to come to South Africa, but Savimbi did not come.
Savimbi met with South African President Nelson Mandela
Nelson Mandela
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, and was the first South African president to be elected in a fully representative democratic election. Before his presidency, Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist, and the leader of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing...
in May. Shortly after, on June 18, the MPLA offered Savimbi the position of Vice President under dos Santos with another Vice President chosen from the MPLA. Savimbi told Mandela he felt ready to "serve in any capacity which will aid my nation," but he did not accept the proposal until August 12.
By 1998, the UN had identified the role of conflict diamonds in the financing of UNITA's ongoing war, and passed a number of resolutions imposing sanctions with the object of targeting this illicit trade; United Nations Security Council Resolutions 1173
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1173
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1173, adopted unanimously on June 12, 1998, after reaffirming Resolution 696 and all subsequent resolutions on Angola, particularly Resolution 1127 , the Council announced its intention to impose further sanctions against UNITA for non-compliance, unless...
, 1176
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1176
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1176, adopted unanimously on June 24, 1998, after reaffirming Resolution 696 and all subsequent resolutions on Angola, particularly Resolution 1173 , the Council suspended its intention to impose further sanctions against UNITA for non-compliance until...
, 1237
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1237
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1237, adopted unanimously on May 7, 1999, after reaffirming Resolution 696 and all subsequent resolutions on Angola, particularly resolutions 864 , 1127 , 1173 and 1229 , the Council established expert panels to investigate violations of measures imposed...
and 1295
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1295
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1295, adopted unanimously on April 18, 2000, after reaffirming Resolution 864 and all subsequent resolutions on Angola, particularly resolutions 1127 , 1173 and 1237 , the Council authorised a tightening of sanctions against UNITA and established a panel...
followed.
2000s
In 2009, South African President Jacob ZumaJacob Zuma
Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma is the President of South Africa, elected by parliament following his party's victory in the 2009 general election....
led a delegation of 11 cabinet ministers to Angola. It was the new President's first official State Visit and was seen by experts as very important to the strengthening of relations between the two countries.