Angola Weekly News Summary

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ANGOLAN AMBASSADOR MEETS WITH NEIi'J YORK .GROUPS

Op April . 3 Comrade Ar bassaeor Pascal Luvualu, a menber of theCen.traJ_' Corlr,i.ttee of the r1LA ; and Am_bassac'or at large for the People'sRepublic - of"epublic of Anola, amt in

York with representatives of variousr rovps in the 1'e' York area .:hlcn' have given ' support to the MPLA . Theatherin; as org r~ .z~c. by the MF,LA Solie.arity Committee . Luvualu was

in Iv ew York for the UN Security Council meetin , on the South Africaninvasion of AnEola . About 75 people, re}resenting- more than 20 organ-izationp , croded into a small meeting rook in the

Church Centerfor this first Knee tin y . vi th a . representative fron Anc ola since theMPLA military victory.

Luvualu spot:e . ;in French throuLh a translator, but his it andemphatic c'edication to the people of AnL .ola were so charismatic thathe seemed to be . comn.unicat ng ; directly with everyone in the room . Theguests responc{ec' p ith bursts of applause, calling, out "c est vrai"and "c.' accorc, " most easily translatable as "rig lat one' =

Luvualu began t ith, a brief statement on the history of the An[:olanliberation strule anc the problems facing the new government inLuanda . . rye than'rec the representatives of the supporto 'ups for theirhelp

mater.ial, roral anc' political - to the .PLA,

the support . of `rou s such as yourselves, . we would never have beenable to achieve our liberation "

He then described what he thouuht was An ;ola' s s Dccial situationin Africa . It is a country rich in natural resources v-hi ch are varyattractive . to . transnati.onal i nves tor,sI . It also has' -an important strat-e fic position : " Our Atlantic ports are the : atewa to Central Africa,"he said . This situation is both in..:ola s strenE tn -anc ' eakness e Ari olais very susceptible to economic threats ri ;ht now, and thereforeLuvualu beljevcs that econo tjc sanctions will' be the new direction ofo pposition' to the I TLA--1^d ';overnment, IAth 'a possibility of blockadesand boycotts 'oein insti ateoo by . tt o . m l tinationals in conjunctionwith Western gover nments,a

The economic strule . g ill be crucial to the future of the countryespecially since the 3outs African army and -the troops of FL IA andL~.:~ITA c, estroyed important sectors of the economy . Lesccil4n4 the cdam-ages inflicted by the defected enemy troops, Luvualu said, "The ;th,10th, and 11th of Fov enber u re the Yost decisive days in our strwi le.Forces . from the north came i~ltlhlih 15 . miles of-Luanda—It =7as here thatthe most important battle tool place . ., Fitt cr _th it defeat, as these forcesfled back to the north, they des;troyecl the bridges over rivers, looted11 t,1c stores and houses, and tool: our cattle bac2 to Zaire with them.

MPLA SOLIDARITY COMMITTEE, 825 WEST END AVE ., APT 14F, NEW YORK 10025

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"The sale thin, happened in the outho After the battles of Colaand ''ovo Redondo, the r ctr eatiri South African ar ies destroyed bric1 .etand looted their .v ay back to the southern border . They cestroyedbuildin's , took furniture from hotels, money from the banks . Theysank fishing boats and destroyed small airplanes . And they shot ourcattle . lore important, they slaughtered our people - killing old nen,.omen, and children , as well as executive members of the U LA CentralCommittee, some of whom had been in prison in the south ." ( :c10 note:a correspondent from Luanda says the eouth Africans also sabotages.small inc.ustries, especially the meat • parkin: plants, taking all themoveable machinery and spare parts, ncludin, , even hammers and nails .)

Thus, the principle tas' i 1 An:old . now is reconstruction . The:overl wont is also concerned with rearganitinE the administrative

ptructure in the : .lout , b'u lc?.ir political cadre in areas which wereoccupied by ' ou th African_ and U i .:I A forces . Fiore than 100 bridges mustbe rebuilt and communication noty orl s set up throuV~'hout the country.up

d

The i.ILA has called on all the AnEolan people, including thosewho were "deceived

.and' misled by the puppet f oarces of the FI LA and

UI .ITA to join in the reconstruction of a no ;: - AnLola e ".

Althou`;h reconstruction is the primary concern of the An`,olans,Luvualu noted that "everyone seems more concerned with our politicse are a non-aligned country . .eC arethe first African country to intro

cuco non-al .i:` nec.nont as an a tic o, in our constitution. We .':ant to

carry on relations with. all .countries of the 7orld on a basis of equal-ity anc non-interference in the soverei :n affairs of each nation . Anya ;reenents ~,Ta is a.:e vri th . other countries rust be concluded on a basisof reciprocity - that is, mutual acvantace for both sides

"As to the countries surroundin us, we seek peaceful coexist-ence

a ;ooc' 1 cihbor of c`T ;rhich includes Zambia and Zairc . Also,we 1ill carry out the same policy , hen the people of I'ahibia become,independent . 3ut for now, we don ' t reconize any of the South Africanclaims to i'fan-ibia . ~e don't : have a border with :y outh Africa, we havea border with Famibia . "

. luvualu `: ent on to discuss . runors, ; of "ar reements" having beenr11ac'.e rith the South Africa hovernriont prior to , their withdrawal fromthe border area of southern An ,b14,

'tide haven't 'entered into any .a:.reernents or made any promises to~rorster's Government . The dam .at Cunone is on our soil and belonus touse We are willin , to enter into a „reenents on how to . use the electri-city - but not with the 3overnment of South' Africa . It is not theirsto bar r :,in 'for .”

, Later on, durinL the cu,es .ti on anc ans\Ier period, he reiteratedthis . When as' ccl .f the An r o.lan overnmb-tt hadn't arced to protectCunene , ' L vt'.alu bald : "Protect it: f b l :.Thom Why protect the dam fromourselves? It_ bolonzs to us o There was no trade-off with South Africa.They are distortin,, the facts . : ::e `tuarantee that the dam won't bedestroyed, 'because it has an , eponoi c .rviportance` for aLriculturc andelectricity - . for us and the people. of, , rahibia . " .

3

3 ..ReLarding tho 1nelihood of economic sabotaLe by hostile -. overn-

ments and multinationals (such as Cull' Oil,LeDoers Liamonc'Is andinternational coffee companies) Luvualu said

. that, "Yacht now allevidence indicates that economic threats aL:ainst Angola won't succeed .'He a0ded that Americans supporting AnEola should be prepared to mobil-ize people here and to raise public concsiousness to expose how aneconomic bloc! :ade would not be in . US or AnBolan interests.

In response to several questions about'Culf Oil, Luvualu clari-fied the situation by sayin that Gulf had started royalty paymentsagain and was in

ol-)eratir the oil wells in Cabinda without a.new contract having be.en areed upon . .The zovernment has told GulfthouL7h, what these cohditions will not last and that a new contract

gill have 'co be decided' upon in the next fe months - a contractthat ;ill be in the national interests and in the workers' interests.

There was another question about the international implicationsof the resolution just passed by the LT Security Council . This resol-ution condemner' the South African Kression against Angola and calledon South Africa to pay compensation for damaLed inflicted by theirinvading fordes . "This was-very important from a political point ofview,"'Luvualu noted . "At first everyone 'at the UN said that it wasonly a civil war, but now they have condemend South African aEression.Even if the 3outh African C .on't 'couc:n up' the money, it's an import-ant ,political victory . This is the first time since its inception thatthe UE haS even discussed the question of compensation for aLression.A precedent has been set . This is our contribution to the people ofthe world and to the victims of imperialism ."

Ashed to explain the nature of . the UFITA forces, Luvualu respond-ed, "UFITA was a Fortu :uese creation . The Chinese were followina, ared herrinz . They had helped us throughout our liberation otrwtleane then chanced their position . We hope they will chanEe their posit-ion aLain . China has no economic interests in Anzola - not even onecoffee bean ." Luvualu also called for friendship between the AnLolanand Chinese peoples.

Another question concerned the "poder popular" , the peoplespower commissions and whether they wore now operatinL; in the southas they were around Luanda . Luvualu said, "We will use the people'spower commissions in the south as well as everywhereelse . There willbe several planes of involvement with access to all . People's powermeans the involvement of all the people in all levels of nationaltasks .

Luvualu ended by saying; that he hoped everyone in the roomwould work towards

recoo-lition of An:ola and asked for ' continuedmaterial support durinL-the period of reconstruction .

UNITED STATES POLICY, ANGOLA, AND SOUTHERN AFRICA

The US is sthl rofusIng

roccnize the People's 11op-ublic ofAngola CeslDitc the total military victory of the ITLA-lod forces andthe recosnition of the PEA by alKlost all African countries, theEuropean Economic Community and numerous other countries . Assistant

:ecretary of State iJillian Schaufele testified to Concress that while.

.the 1RAappeare4to satisfy the local requirements of control overmost . or the:tbrritory, the U3 wouldnot recognize the Angolan govern-ment_aslon as Cuban troops remained .-

During' the AnEolan-war, the-Main preoccupation of the Ford WhiteHosO and the Kissiner State Department was the significant supportGiven to the ETIA by the Soviet Union and Cuba . The Administrationsounded this theme from the moment the nllA regained theinitiative

the warafter the October South - 'African/UNITA offensive . On Nov-embor 25, Nitsinzer said that "thc Unit6d States cannot remain indif-erontl' to Soviet and .Cuban "military intervention" in Angola . When

'Coness prohibited further CIA intervention and the EPLA continuedto advance, the Administration strengthened its warnings to theSoviets and Cubans, hoping thus to weaken their support for the NPLA.By February 12 , Kissinger warned that oviot involvement in Angola"will have . serious consequences for any possibility: of easing ofrelations with the Soviet Union, and if continued, and if it becomesa pattern, must affectother relationshiDs ."

At the same February 12th press conference, Kissinser indicatedthat the US concern about the Soviets ane, Cubans extended beyondAngola's borders . . He said the US would "do its best

. to preventthe pattern of Angola from setting a precedent for the . rest of Africa.Referring to possible 'Cuban support for the Zimbabwean peoples'struggle, .Kissin:or has also warned the Cubans not to become involvedin direc tly, pum)ortin other liberation movements in southern Africa.Testifyin: before Congress Kissinger . said Cuba should "act with greatcircumspection" and in a major speech in Dallas he said that "theUnited States will not .accept further'Cuban military interventionabroad," oven against white minority regimes . Just what the US woulddo in such a case is unclear, since the .0 has also said it will notinterfere military on the side of white minority regimes . However,Kissinger seems to ,be seriously considering military action againstCuba .

At this point, Kissinger probably doesn't expect to deliver onhis threat . Tbe-Zimbabwe nationalistmaintain their iht to re-questhelp from the Cubans, .but the type of military operations nowbeing carrio out do not reOliro it, and there are no indicationsthat the request has been made .

. Kissinger's threats of a confrontation also serve his largergame plan with the ;'_o1r :I_ets . Counterbalancing the Soviet Unionstrategically and provontina expansion of its influence has beenKissinger's main preoccupation throughout his tenure .

is clearly-viewina southern Africa in this context . .In his Dallas speech,

r

said that . "world power is more likely to bo threatened byshifts in local regional balances . . . than by strategic nuclear at-tack . . . It does no good to preach strategic superiroity while

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practicing rog:1,onalxotroat" . .'burin the Angola crisis,'i~. ssingorthreatond to pull back fro:-1 Cotonto (i . e . ZraJ '. shi)mons, SALT,otc,)- but 'asn!'t

sa.crificbele'teAto ol-iirtly for Aneo1a,Cuba ;

concerns him not 6111in rolatidn to .southern ,ldrica, but also in 'thp-Carribean . Onoae'4itidhal considoration .1s2oolitical, . ho'Admirdstration liar co tal:a.e

' agai.nst `tho Communists"to satisfy the right-wingRepublicans and Domocrats whose support Ford noeCs in orCerto getre-elected.

In. spite :of its denial of recoLnilion, tho I±S is apparently . pre-pared .to cooperate with certain kinds O-f'Internationalrelief of-sorsfor Angola' --mono to - onhanco–US Intorosts then to provide b.id . TheAzency. f6r'Internajdovial' Dovolopment . (AID) is apparently wil.lingtospond soe $7JAIlion as contributions . toaid'efforts for Ailo)1a,s ion orc~;c? by the . .'cis Cross n l;cl oth*Qr .internationa.l .relie-f orrfaniza-'

throuch tho . African American Institute(A 1\ I ) for educational training : . o-: .45 .AnolanEj, 15'froeach "faction.HoWeVer this formulation cons not fit th.o currcnt political roalitiosand isboing

AI-is pro:posinEDr t1lat all aie. :o to 'k;lIol''oo-plo's~'

r

( ' f1) but_tais would involvc ~.^CCO'. 111 . ion O1 theAs one AID oUicial testifidd to Gon3tess, "I'll be frank with

you . lie will haya .to come, to a -policy decision ." '

ANGOLAIT UEi.lZT.IBERSHIP TO BE .DISCUSSED' SOON'.

Th .e recogrii,tion of tho PoolDle's Republic .of Anola by the jnitooStatos ;over .am-e-rit is not 34o1y. to h'apen before . the aloe Lion jIn 110-=vembtr . flora immediately 'is' thb .miestibn of United _Nations membership,which is expodtod to come up r.ithin a couple . of weeks . The US, as oneof tho five :permancnt momberOT the UN Security Council as the . powerto veto An(olan membor,ship . But v1-lather

do so i .s unclear, theUS didn't oppose tl''.e participation .of the Al.-Iolan govern ion. t' .int'il.orocent Security Council Cobato, bib undor tho Security, Council rulosthis does not imply recognition . iv; for the ot;aor permanbnt'lilembors,France-, Britain alidtlao Soviet 1)niona.11 rccognizo tho

Anaola, and China isulil:ely to veto moml)orsl-lip .'eo lo', s e~ ub

Thu shouldthe US docido to veto Angolan momber6hip, it would b Iota ly isola-tad .

U8'will simply abstain, thus not'lDloc.Lilt Whilenot officially rs.actioninc,,' it .*

DEI.IOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF EAST TII.IGR EARLY 112COGNIZ :P, OF THE PRA .

.Mo. Doriocratic ilepubLl'..c of Las . Tithor, IdC, 1J- ynizecl: the Peoplo's v.-public- oC Angola 'last Nov&abbr 11 . We apoligizefo'r 'not listing this: . :roconinon Sooner 'East Thor icy a former Ior-tuguese colony atilt? s, currently being invaded by the US sun-portedInConosian troop ., I:arc o' nunoors of East- Timorese have boon massacrc :cl:,.by the IhcToncslan forcos:in t:loir attemnt

anno:: the torritory.

*Ile wish to thank th^ Washington Of .co on Africa (hG1.1ar7ndWashington D .C . 20002)for providinL; trio information that wont into 'this articla.

The fifteen-member United Nations Security Council . met the lastweek in' March, 1976 to discuss South African aggression against thePeople's Republic of Angola . The fact that the .3ecurity Councilagreed to meet exclusively on the issue of South Africa's aggressionshowed the extent to whic4 :the MPLA Goverment had gained in' inter-national support.

Ambassador Pascal Luvualu, speaking on behalf of the Angolan peo-ple, the Central Committee of the MPLA, and the Government of thePRA, told the council of the criminal acts that the South AfricanGovernment committed against Angola : " Aside from the barbaric massa-cres they committed against the civilian population, South Africanscarried off with them goods, essential to our economy as, . Money wastaken from .banks ; roads were destroyed ;and damaged, as were bridges,airports, industrial factories and radio-broadcasting stations . Theyalso took with them :to the Namibian border thousands of individuals . "

Representatives of other African countries pointed out thatSouth Africa had beeh soundly defeated in Angola but that it wasnow massing its forces in the international territory of Namibia,claiming its right not Only to " defend " Namibia but also to inter-vene anywhere in Africa :to loptect its ,interests . By presentingitself as moderate and accomodating, South Africa was actually tryingto obtain legitimation for its presence in Namibia -- a game supportedby the Western countries on the Council . The Western 'European coun-tries on the Council, while praising South Africa for having with-drawn from Angola and complaining that the Council meeting had beenmade obsolete by events, said nothing of South Africa's continuedaggression and military expansion in Namibia.

China and the US, the only two permanent members of the SecurityCouncil who have not recognized the PRA, took the position of equatingSouth- African aggression in Angola with the assistance provided bythe USSR and . Cuba upon the request of the Angolan Government ; TheUnited States,' new ambassador William Scranton treated South Africa'swithdrawal as the end of the problem and devoted most of his speed.to an attack on Cuba's support for the .MPLA . The Chinese repr,esenta-tive -- to the .dismay and regret of many African countries who havelinks of friendship with China -- went even further than the UnitedStates in :denouncing Cuban and Soviet help for the Angolan struggle.China's attempt to establish a' third position opposed to both Westernimperialism and Soviet " social-imperialism, " however, failed, as itsstand came to be,inevitably associated with covert support for SouthAfrica and the' West . The bitter debate between China on the one hand,and the Soviet Union . and Cuba on the other, at times overshadowed theactual issues under discussion, and at one . point prompted a highlyunusual intervention by the Ambassador of Tanzania, Salim Salim, re-jecting any attempt to " hijack the debate from the consideration ofthe real problem and to divert it to other problems . . . . " The Africanmembers of the Council had a particular responsibility. to defend

interests,Interests, he stated, and the Chinese contention that SouthAfrica ' s intervention had somehow been justified by Cuban and Sovietaid to the MPLA was totally unacceptable to Africans . Others remarkedthat Africa now knew who were its friends and who its enemies . For his

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SECURITY COUNCIL CONDEMNS SOUTH AFRICA ON ANGOLA .

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part, Luvualu statedt

"My country, which has lived through a long colonial night,holds its independence dear . The help from friendly social-ist countries, and more pdrticularly from Cuba, was suppliedat our request so that we could face the aggression of whichmy country was a victim : That request therefore was made by mycountry in full sovereignty . The people of Angola know theextent of this aid and the time when it can bring it to anend . "

Despite rumors that the draft resolution proposed by a numberof Third World and Socialist countries would be vetoed by either theUnited States or China, the veto did not materialize, and theresolution was passed . The resolution, which meets the wishes ex-pressed by the Angolan representative at the beginning of the debate,condemns South Africa's aggression against the FRA ; demands thatSouth Africa " scrupulously respect the independence, sovereigntyand territorial integrity of the FRA ; demands that South Africa " de-sist from the utilization of the international territory of Namibiato mount provocative or aggressive acts against the IRA or allyother neighboring African State " ; and calls upon the South AfricanGovernment to " meet the just claims of the PRA for a full compensa-tion for the damage and destruction inflicted on its State and forthe restoration of the equipment and materials which its invadingforces seized . " The resolution also requests the UN SecretaryGeneral " to follow the implementation of this resolution . " (UNdocuments S/RES/387 ; S/PV/1900-1906 ; S/12030 .)

The resolution was adopted with nine in favor (Benin, Guyana,Libyan Arab Republic, Pakistan, Panama, Rumania, Sweden, USSR,United Republic of Tanzania), ero against, six abstaining (France,Italy, Japan, United Kingdom of Great Brittain, Northern Ireland,and United States of Americ4, and one (China) not participating inthe vote . The People's Republic of China has never participated invotes on African questions .

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