January 16, 2002
Leaders of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) have declared UNITA, a rebel group fighting the government of Angola for years, a terrorist group and vowed to control by whatever means available, The Guardian reports here today.
President Benjamin Mkapa said this on his arrival at the Dar Es Salaam International Airport from a one-day SADC heads of state summit held in Blantyre, Malawi.
Briefing reporters on the key issues discussed during the summit of 14 African states grouped in SADC, President Mkapa said leaders held that UNITA should be included in the list of world's terrorist network in the global campaign against terrorism. "Having reached such a decision, SADC leaders have prepared a mechanism with a focus to halt and frustrate the operations of Savimbi and his group.
"One is freezing its financial sources both inside and outside the country... This will be done in collaboration with international community such as the European Union," President Mkapa said. He also said SADC leaders expressed their readiness during the meeting to launch military operations against UNITA if all other means to halt its terrorist activities in Angola failed to yield anticipated results, the publication reports.
The summit was a special meeting mainly focused at deliberating and discussing political and land crisis in Angola, Zimbabwe and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Speaking on the Zimbabwe land dispute, President Mkapa said SADC members upheld that land was being redistributed according to regulations and laws of Zimbabwe.
The summit dismissed as wrong and speculations in media that there was unfairness in the land reform process.
The major problem with the redistribution process was white farmers either demanded high compensations for land or became totally reluctant to release lands according to regulations and laws, he said.
"Really, the problem is not as big as it is being portrayed by local and foreign media," he said.
Commenting on security and peace in the forthcoming Zimbabwe general elections, slated for March 9-10, Mkapa said President Robert Mugabe had assured the meeting that he would co-operate with the opposition to make sure elections were peaceful, free, fair and transparent.
"Mugabe assured SADC leaders that elections would be held with full eyes of both foreign and local elections observers, contrary to widespread rumors... He also promised leaders that both local and foreign journalists will be free to cover the elections in a manner which is objective and transparent," he said, quoting Mugabe's words.
As regards to the political crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mkapa said SADC leaders stressed the need for parties, Rwanda, Uganda, DRC, rebel groups and concerned countries in inter-Congolese dialogue to speed up the talks for implementation of Lusaka peace accord.
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