Global Policy Forum

By Reuben Phiri

UNITA has questioned the United Nations' approach to the Angolan conflict and has called for a re-thinking of the UN's strategy. A UNITA communique obtained in Lusaka yesterday stated that sanctions encouraged the Angolan government to spend time, money and energy in the destruction of UNITA and its leadership. "In turn UNITA spent its money and energy preparing for what it saw as an inevitable onslaught. The UN moved closer and closer to the government, abandoning any pretense of mediating in a non-partisan manner, and Angola slipped into a tunnel of madness," the communique said.

Reacting to the recent approval of an investigative mission by Canadian ambassador to the UN Robert Fowler on why the sanctions against UNITA were not working, the communique said Angola will not be closer to peace because the UN discovered how weapons got there. "It will move closer to peace if the government drops the unrealisable goal of making the last war for peace. Negotiating with compatriots as equals to find solutions that bring economic and political balance to the country's social and cultural diversity is a sign of greatness and not weakness," the communique said. The communique added that UNITA has repeatedly expressed its openness to dialogue as a way of finding lasting solutions. "The President of the Republic, Jose' Eduardo dos Santos, should be the number one promoter of the national dialogue. He needs to be nudged in this direction. Until then, I am afraid, madness will prevail in Angola," warned the UNITA communiqu?.