JONAS SAVIMBI, U.S. SPONSORED TERRORIST
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By Charles E. Simmons

Had there been no significant deposits of oil and diamonds in Angola, the
world would probably never have heard of the Angolan civil war, nor U.S.
interests in that part of Africa, nor the life and death of Jonas Savimbi
and his organization, UNITA.

Portugal, the oldest of the Western colonial powers, began to occupy the
rich African nation nearly five centuries ago, and conducted the profitable
slave trade from Angola, Mozambique, and Guinea Bissau toward Brazil. It
was the economic decline of Portugal in the mid-1970s combined with the
peoples' heroic struggle for independence in the three colonies, that led
to the elimination of Portuguese colonialism.

The transition from colonialism to independence was won by armed liberation
movements in each of the former colonies, but the final change of hands
from Lisbon to Angola was complicated by the fact that there were three
organizations in that nation claiming leadership of the struggle. This
allowed an opportunity for the enemies of Africa to step in and fan the
flames of disunity, and they leapt at the chance. The split in the African
struggle had its counterpart in a split among the African supporters as
well.

The situation was further complicated by the division and opposition of the
international powers during the Cold War--the U.S, the Soviet Union, and
The People's Republic of China, consistently viewed each contested zone in
Africa, Asia and Latin America as an urgent mission to win new converts to
their ideological camp. Outside supporters, looking for such alignments as
an indication of political direction, often made their decisions based on
whether or not a national struggle was supported by East or West.

Jonas Savimbi led the organization, UNITA, National Union for the Total
Liberation of Angola, based in an area of the Ovumbundu which had about a
third of the population. Depending upon when and where he was interviewed,
Savimbi appealed to tribalism, nationalism, anti-communism, or revolution,
whichever suited his needs at the time.

When speaking to African American audiences, he would claim friendship with
Malcolm X. And with international revolutionaries, he would invoke the
spirit of the Argentine, Che Guevara, who became a leader of the Cuban
Revolution. In European capitals and in Washington D.C., Savimbi became the
darling of the most racist right wing elements and they handsomely financed
his terrorist struggle against the peoples throughout southern Africa for
nearly 30 years.

That was a perfect fit for U.S. foreign policy makers who have for
centuries opposed justice and independence for peoples of color whether it
involved stealing land from the original Americans or the Mexicans, or
trampling the peoples of the Philippines, Haiti and Cuba or of supporting
apartheid governments throughout Africa in the 20th century.

In 2002, we must be aware that the policy against international and
domestic justice is still the mission of Washington policy makers,
regardless of the fact that articulate and polished African Americans such
as Colin Powell and Condoleeza Rice are now used as their advocates of mass
destruction of peoples rights. Pay attention as the U.S budget expands to
throw more billions of dollars at the enormous military state at home and
abroad and as Warlord George Bush continues to slash and burn the services
and support for the lives of the little folk everywhere.

Watch closely as Bush drops daisycutters on the health care, education and
civil liberties of most Americans. But keep in mind that those who have won
the struggles for justice have to organize at the grassroots, build
coalitions with those who have common interests, be creative with new ideas
for new situations and think independently of the U.S. corporate
establishment.

In spite of Bush and the likes of Jonas Savimbi, let us pay attention to
the ideas and the tall spirit of the 60,000 international conferees
representing the peoples struggles for bread and roses who proclaimed
recently in Porto Alegra, Brazil: "A Better World is Possible."

Former international correspondent Charles E. Simmons, [log in to unmask],
teaches law and journalism at Eastern Michigan University and is Co- Chair
of CPR-Detroit.

Pan-African News Wire articles may be broadly forwarded for non-profit
educational and research purposes.

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