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Note: This document is from the archive of the Africa Policy E-Journal, published
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Angola: Peace Monitor, VI, 6
Angola: Peace Monitor, VI, 6
Date Distributed (ymd): 000225
Document reposted by APIC
+++++++++++++++++++++Document Profile+++++++++++++++++++++
Region: Southern Africa
Issue Areas: +security/peace+
Summary Contents:
This issue of the Angola Peace Monitor highlights continuing
efforts to strengthen the international ban on supplies to
UNITA, by identifying and exposing violators.
Also in this posting: a brief update on the floods in
Southern Africa.
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APIC Update Note: Mozambique Floods
Immediately in the wake of devastating floods earlier this
month (see posting on February 13 --
http://www.africafocus.org/docs00/flod0002.php>), Mozambique
has been hit by cyclone Eline. UN agencies and the Mozambican
government have issued a joint appeal for $65 million for
repear of infrastructure and humanitarian operations. Upwards
of 300,000 people were estimated to be displaced by floods in
Mozambique alone, while additional damage was also expected in
other countries in the region.
For updates see
http://www.africanews.org/south/mozambique
http://www.reliefweb.int/IRIN/archive/mozambique.htm
http://www.tropical.co.mz/~wim/moclinks.html
Angola Peace Monitor
Published by ACTSA (Action for Southern Africa)
Issue no. 6, Vol. VI 23rd February 2000
ACTSA, 28 Penton Street, London N1 9SA,
e-mail
actsa@geo2.poptel.org.uk,
fax +44 171 837 3001, telephone +44 171 833 3133.
Back issues of the Angola Peace Monitor are available on the
World Wide Web at:
http://www.anc.org.za/angola
[condensed: for full version see
http://www.anc.org.za/angola]
Hain turns up international heat on Savimbi
Investigations currently underway to identify the routes used
in the UNITA diamonds for arms trade are now focussing on
Europe and the SADC region. It is expected that when the UN
Sanctions Committee delivers its report to the UN Security
Council in March, it will show that whilst the majority of
arms bought by UNITA have come from the Ukraine, the shipments
have often been made by companies based in Europe and Southern
Africa.
Britain's Foreign Office Minister for Africa, Peter Hain, has
named eight people whom he claims have been involved in
supplying arms and fuel to UNITA and selling illegally mined
diamonds.
On 18 January the Minister used "parliamentary privilege",
under which he is protected from any libel action, to name the
first three alleged sanctions busters. Peter Hain said that
"it is widely known in the region that Jacques "Kiki" Lemaire
flies in diesel fuel, landing on UNITA airstrips, in a Boeing
707 or Caravelle aircraft. Tony Teixeira has been supplying
diesel fuel to UNITA, again flying it in by plane. Victor
Bout, who runs an air transport company, has flown in arms to
UNITA. It is also believed that Bout owns or charters an
Ilyushin 76 aircraft, which was impounded in Zambia en route
to Angola last year".
On 17 February Hain named a further five people and accused
people in high positions in several countries of aiding UNITA,
during a debate in Westminster.
The Minister stated that "in some countries, including Zambia,
Uganda and Rwanda, people in high positions are busting
sanctions. It is imperative that those countries' governments
crack down on them immediately. I have named in the House
several people included in breaking UN sanctions by supplying
UNITA and I shall now name more. David Zollman is involved in
exporting diamonds to Antwerp for UNITA. Based in Rundu,
Namibia, Zollman paid a monthly fee to Namibian officials to
enable him to operate without interference. We estimate that
in 1999, Zollman was moving $4 million worth of diamonds per
month. His brother, Maurice Zollman, is carrying out similar
activity for UNITA in South Africa. Hennie Steyn, a South
African pilot, flies diamonds for Maurice Zollman from Angola,
via Congo Brazzaville. He also acts as a middleman for UNITA
in selling diamonds to European dealers and part owns a UNITA
diamond concession. Jan Joubert organises the supply of fuel
to UNITA. Until recently, aircraft carrying the fuel flew from
Gaberone to Andulo while pretending to fly to Francistown in
eastern Botswana. Dennis Coghlan, an Irishman resident in
Botswana, owns a warehouse in Gaberone that is used to store
fuel and other supplies for UNITA until they can be flown into
UNITA-held territory".
He continued that "those individuals are making money out of
misery. It is vital that all the governments, agencies and
companies where they operate take urgent action to stop their
illegal activities. Britain will continue to play an active
role as a friend of Africa in the Security Council of the
United Nations, and where the UN can stop war or build peace
we will back it to the hilt. We have passed the names to the
UN and, in particular, to ambassador Robert Fowler, for his
work on the sanctions committee responsible for tackling UNITA
and Angola generally".
Tony Teixeira was subsequently stated to be Antonio Teixeira,
chairman of the Central African Mining Company. There is
heated speculation about the veracity of the allegations
against Teixeira, who has vehemently denied them and
complained that his business interests have suffered as a
result of the allegations.
On the same day that Peter Hain named Teixeira, the
Canadian-based mining company, DiamondWorks, announced that it
was to receive financial support from Lyndhurst Limited, a
Guernsey-based company controlled by a consortium led by
Teixeira. As part of the deal, Teixeira was to be placed on
the board of DiamondWorks.
South Africa under spotlight
A report in the South African-based Mail & Guardian on 18
February stated that Peter Hain handed further names to the
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Aziz Pahad in January.
According to this report, Hain named Ivan Pienaar as a pilot
dealing with UNITA, including the recruitment of Ukrainian
aircrew in Zambia. He had also flown via Rundu and Katima
Mulilo in Namibia. A Parys-based businessman, Jannie Smith,
admitted to the Mail & Guardian that he had hired aircraft to
Pienaar, but denied knowledge of where the aircraft went.
South Africa's Foreign Minister, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma,
stated at the end of January that South Africa had been
tightening its border controls "but we are also asking our own
diamond traders not to buy illicit diamonds from Angola".
However, Foreign Minister Dlamini-Zuma has also been slammed
by Angola's President Jose Eduardo dos Santos over comments
she made on South African television at the beginning of
February. Ms Dlamini-Zuma, stated that "this many not be the
popular opinion, but we have to face the unpleasant reality
that there will be no military solution," and continued that
"no matter who may win the war there will be no lasting peace,
so we have to get the parties to talk."
This was emphasised by South Africa's Deputy Defence Minister,
Nozizwe Madlala-Routledge, during a trip to Namibia. Minister
Madlala-Routledge reiterated that "the South African
government remains convinced that negotiations between the
governing MPLA and the rebel group UNITA offers the only hope
for lasting peace in Angola."
This view was strongly rejected by Angolan President Jose
Eduardo dos Santos. On 14 February he stated that "it seems to
me that it would be wise if the South African leaders got
worried about their internal problems and left Angola alone".
The South African apparent insistence that the Angolan
government must negotiate with Jonas Savimbi's UNITA faction
is at odds with growing international consensus that Savimbi,
himself, must be removed from the political arena - even while
accommodation with UNITA's various Luanda-based political
groupings is developed further. Indeed, the Southern African
Development Community (SADC) has branded Jonas Savimbi a war
criminal. Even in Angola, UNITA is turning its attention to a
post-Savimbi political life. A leading UNITA parliamentarian,
unassociated with UNITA-Renovada, has gone as far as
suggesting to the Angola Peace Monitor that Savimbi should be
forced into a form of "internal exile".
Currently UNITA has four cabinet ministers and seven
vice-ministers in the Government of Unity and National
Reconciliation, and has 70 members sitting in the National
Assembly, in line with the provisions of the Lusaka Protocol.
...
UNITA gets air-drops
Military sources indicate that UNITA continues to receive
supplies by air, despite the recent fighting which has
expelled it from the major towns in Angola. It is reported
that UNITA does not have control of any large airstrips, such
as the huge airstrip in its former stronghold in Andulo. There
have, however, been indications that UNITA has received
several supply runs by airdrop. Furthermore, other sources
indicate that at the end of January UNITA received by road a
fuel delivery to its base at Alto Chicapa in Lunda Sul, from
Zambia.
Angolan military sources continue to believe that Jonas
Savimbi and twenty of his top leaders are trapped in a small
area of Angola, constantly pursued by the Angolan army.
However, the London-based journal Africa Analysis claimed on
11 February that UNITA rebels had the upper hand in fighting
around Camacupa, Nharea and Catupola, and were trying to
establish a base area in the Luando national park. It also
stated that UNITA had carried out a successful attack near
Viana in Luanda province.
The claims highlight the continued danger posed by Jonas
Savimbi's capacity to pursue his military campaign and the
continued relevance of the blunt message of Ambassador Robert
Fowler, Chairman of the UN Committee on Angola Sanctions that
"if the outside world ceases assisting Savimbi, he will not be
able to maintain this war".
In response to this continued threat, Action for Southern
Africa on 14 February launched a campaign to step up the
enforcement of UN sanctions against UNITA, with a call for the
public to press Stephan Fischler, President of the
International Diamond Manufacturers Association in Antwerp, to
monitor and ensure that IDAMA's members no longer trade in
UNITA diamonds and root out any sanction-busters.
Growing concern over UN air crashes
The Troika of Observer States to the Angolan Peace Process -
Portugal, the Russian Federation and the United States on 18
January released a statement which, inter alia, called on the
Angolan government to facilitate UN access to the crash sites
of the two UN aircraft brought down near Huambo city in
December 1998 and January 1999.
UN investigation teams have previously visited both crash
sites, but due to fighting in the area their investigations
were cut short. However, they did find that the flight
recorders were removed from the aircraft, and that attempts
had been made to camouflage the aircraft shells.
It is widely accepted that UNITA shot down the two aircraft.
Ambassador Robert Fowler, the Chair of the UN Sanctions
Committee, interviewed several UNITA defectors during his
visit to Angola in January, and heard accounts of how Jonas
Savimbi had personally ordered the shooting down of the two
aircraft.
The Troika statement also bemoans that "over 18 months have
passed since the tragic loss of United Nations Special
Representative of the Secretary General, Alioune Blondin Beye,
and that the UN and the families of the deceased have yet to
receive a final report on the tragic events of 26 June, 1998,
and thus call upon the Government of Cote d'Ivoire to produce
a report of its findings as soon as possible".
Maitre Beye's chartered twin-turboprop Beechcraft 200 aircraft
crashed 50 km east of the Ivorian capital, Abidjan, on a
flight from Togo. Blondin Beye met Jonas Savimbi the day
before he left Angola for Togo, and was said to be "visibly
upset" following the meeting. On 25 June the UN Security
Council imposed a new set of sanctions on UNITA, and UNITA's
Standing Committee of the Political Commission responded on
the same day warning: "let the proponent of these dates, the
mediator, be responsible and held accountable".
It is understood that crash investigators were dispatched from
the United Nations, the United States (country of origin),
South Africa (country of registration) and Ivory Coast
(country of accident).
The United Nations promised in June 1998 to set up a Board of
Inquiry to thoroughly examine all aspects of the incident, and
that the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO)
would be requested to assist the Board.
On 23 December 1999 the President of Ivory Coast, Henri Konan
Bedie, a key international Savimbi supporter, was replaced in
a military take-over. The new President, General Robert Guei,
is thought to be keen on improving relations with Angola. ...
Diamond industry shake-up
The Angolan diamond industry has undergone a quiet revolution,
which aims to regularise diamond production, increase the area
under exploitation, prevent leakage of UNITA stones into
official channels, and increase tax revenue.
The first step has been to set up a state-owned diamond buying
and selling company, Sodiam, to buy all diamonds produced in
Angola. All other diamond purchasing companies, such as Dian,
Codiam, LKI, RDR, Matos and Jean, and Triotex, have been
prohibited from operating independently. Tax revenues have not
been effectively collected from private diamond-buying
companies. Sodiam has entered into a joint venture with two
foreign companies to create the Angola Selling Corporation,
ASCORP, to sell on the diamonds. Sodiam has a 51% share of
ASCORP.
In an amazing development, the Israeli businessman, Lev
Leviev, has signed a deal with the Angolan government under
which he will buy the entire diamond production of Angola,
which may be up to $1 billion per year.
It is not clear yet what will happen to the diamonds produced
by Sociedade de Desenvolvimento Mineiro (SDM) in its Cuango
Valley concession. At full production SDM is expected to
produce up to $100 million of alluvial diamonds, and SDM is
contracted to supply these diamonds to the diamond giant De
Beers.
In what may be a related statement, Mining and Geology Vice
Minister Carlos Sumbula stated on 10 January that the Angolan
government would never cede to pressures from multinationals
discontented with measures being adopted to control the mining
and trading of diamonds. He stated that "we will never feel
intimidated in the application of our strategy, and all
trading of diamonds from Angola must use the same channel
which is Sodiam".
The other buyers of Angolan diamonds have been remarkably
quiet on the issue of their formal closure, leading to
speculation that they may be subcontracted by Sodiam to buy
diamonds at their established offices throughout the country.
Clearly, some of the diamond buyers still have a good
relationship with the Angolan government. During his visit to
the United States at the end of January, President dos Santos
met with Maurice Tempelsman who is Chairman of Lazare Kaplan
International (LKI).
The second large change for the industry is the imposition of
new regulations which put a limit on the maximum size of
diamond concession at 3,000 square kilometres. Any existing
concessions above this size will be divided and given to other
prospectors. Even concessions below 3,000 square kilometres
may be taken away if it is found that a concession holder is
not prospecting the whole area. However, this policy is likely
to run into very strong opposition from existing concession
holders.
On paper, the idea is to regularise those small diamond
producers who are currently digging in concessions which are
currently unused by the concession holders.
The third change to the industry is the introduction of
numbered and signed Certificates of Origin printed by De La
Rue in Britain on forgery-proof paper. The first new
Certificate of Origin was given to ASCORP at the end of
January to cover diamonds produced at the Catoca kimberlite
mine.
It will take several months before it is seen whether the
implementation of the above will dramatically increase tax
revenue from the diamond sector. However, in principle it
should cut down on opportunities for UNITA to sell diamonds,
either through existing national markets or internationally.
The question of who will take up the new diamond concessions
on offer also remains to be answered.
Fuel prices soar by 1,500 per cent
Angola has increased fuel prices by more than 1,500 per cent,
withdrawing the huge subsidy that had made petrol and diesel
prices among the lowest in the world. The changes are being
interpreted as preparatory steps by the Government towards
reaching an agreement with the International Monetary Fund and
restructuring the country's external debt.
The fuel price increases on 3 February doubled the price of
informal taxis, and put an additional burden on families
already suffering from high prices and inflation alongside
very low wages. On 17 February a small demonstration in Luanda
organised by a minor opposition party, the Progressive
Democratic Party, was broken up by the police.
But fuel prices had been incredibly low, at 4 US cents per
litre of petrol, which now stands at 66 cents a litre. Diesel
fuel and paraffin have risen to 33 cents a litre from 2 cents
a litre, and Butane gas from 6 cents a litre to 66 cents a
litre.
On 10 February the Economic Commission of the National
Assembly recommended that the government rethink the price
rise. ...
This material is being reposted for wider distribution by the
Africa Policy Information Center (APIC). APIC's primary
objective is to widen international policy debates around
African issues, by concentrating on providing accessible
policy-relevant information and analysis usable by a wide
range of groups and individuals.
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