Leaders asked to put peace process back on track; 'a dangerous political and security situation.' (Angola)

The Security Council has appealed to Angola's two main political leaders--Angolan President Jose Eduardo dos Santos and Jonas Savimbi, President of the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA)--to accept a UN invitation to attend a joint meeting to help put the Angolan peace process back on track. It was proposed that Geneva, or another UN location such as Addis Ababa, be considered as a possible venue.

The 22 December appeal was made in the wake of some two months of turmoil, following the country's first-ever multi-party presidential and parliamentary elections on 29 and 30 September, certified by the UN as "generally free and fair".

The four-month electoral process was overseen by the UN Angola Verification Mission (UNAVEM II). UNAVEM was originally established by the Council in December 1988 to oversee withdrawal of Cuban troops from Angola.

On 31 October, heavy fighting broke out in many parts of the country between Government and UNITA forces. A cease-fire was achieved on 2 November, but sporadic fighting has continued.

The Council acted on 22 December after Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali reported "disturbing evidence that both sides are continuing their preparations for a resumption of war on a large scale".

In a statement by Council President Chinmaya Rajaninath Gharekhan of India, the 15-member body expressed serious concern at the lack of progress in implementing the 31 May 1991 Peace Accords signed in Bicesse, Portugal, outside of Lisbon, and at the continuation of the dangerous political and security situation in Angola.

The Council urged both parties to demonstrate their commitment to the Accords, in particular with regard to confinement of troops, collection of weapons, demobilization, formation of the national armed forces and restoration of a central administration throughout the country.

The military forces of UNITA, it went on, should be immediately withdrawn from the northern Angolan cities of Uige and Negage and the Government administration fully restored there.

The Council urged UNITA and the Government to resume the direct talks begun in the southern Angolan town of Namibe on 26 November. Both parties, it stated, must agree without delay on security and other arrangements, which would allow all ministers and other high-ranking officials to occupy the posts which had been offered by the Government, and for all deputies to assume their functions in the National Assembly. Both parties must agree, it was stated, on a "realistic plan of action" to implement fully the Accords and on a continuing UN presence in Angola.

In the September elections, Angolan President dos Santos, who heads the governing Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), received 49.57 per cent of the votes, while Mr. Savimbi obtained 40.07 per cent. The remainder was divided among nine other candidates. (Angolan electoral rules require a 50 per cent majority vote for victory. Messrs. dos Santos and Savimbi, as the two chief contenders, should, under those rules, compete in a runoff.) In the parliamentary elections, the MPLA received 53.74 per cent of the total vote and UNITA 34.1 per cent.

On 18 December, Secretary-General Boutros-Ghali had outlined (S/24996) to the Council President what he described as a "worrying situation" in Angola and the failure of the two parties to work together to implement the Accords. Unless that situation changed rapidly, neither could he recommend the enlargement of UNAVEM II--which both parties seemed to want--nor would the international community feel justified in committing scarce resources for the continuation of that UN operation on its present scale.

Positive developments in November, including a meeting of the two parties on 26 November and their pledge to implement an effective cease-fire, had been offset by UNITA's take-over of Uige and Negage on 29 November, during which a UN police observer had been killed. Since then, he said, all attempts to restore dialogue between the two sides had failed.

Mr. Boutros-Ghali reported that recriminations being exchanged concerned: the situation in Uige and Negage; UNITA's refusal to withdraw its troops from municipalities which it had seized since the elections; the release of persons held by each side, particularly senior UNITA personalities living "under Government protection" in Luanda: the exchange of bodies of those killed in recent fighting; and mutual accusations of preparations for war.

In response to UNITA's concern over the security of its members in Luanda and other Government-controlled parts of the country, the Secretary-General said that he would be willing to recommend to the Council the provision of some UN military personnel, on a temporary basis, to facilitate the return to Luanda of Mr. Savimbi and UNITA members of the new Government and the elected Assembly.

While both sides agreed in principle that UNAVEM II should be strengthened, including the provision of armed troops, they differed as to the extent to which the Mission should exercise a good offices or mediatory function in the future and its involvement in the organization and conduct of the second round of presidential elections.

On 30 November, the Council had demanded that the Angolan Government and UNITA: scrupulously observe the cease-fire, which had been instituted on 2 November; immediately stop military confrontations and all offensive troop movements; and create conditions necessary for the completion of the peace process. it urged the two parties to demonstrate their full adherence to the 1991 Peace Accords.

In unanimously adopting resolution 793 (1992), the Council also extended the mandate of UNAVEM II for two months, until 31 January 1993. The two parties were urged to refrain from any action that might heighten tension or jeopardize the return to normalcy. The Council appealed to States contributing troops or police to help restore UNAVEM II's mandated strength as soon as possible.

The two parties were strongly urged to engage in a "continuous and meaningful" dialogue aimed at national reconciliation and the participation of all parties in the democratic process, and to agree on a clear timetable for fulfilment of their commitments.

Jeopardizing the process

The Council reaffirmed that any party refusing to take part in such a dialogue would be held responsible for jeopardizing the entire process and reiterated its readiness to consider all appropriate measures under the UN Charter to secure the Accords' implementation.

The Secretary-General was to provide by 31 January longer-term recommendations for the UN's role in the peace process, which should be clearly defined.

The Secretary-General told the Council that UNAVEM II could carry out its tasks effectively only if both parties demonstrated their full commitment to peace and if the safety and security of its personnel were guaranteed.

On 25 November, the Secretary-General had reported (S/24858) a "catastrophic deterioration" in the situation in Angola. The successful completion of the peace process and the establishment of multi-party democracy seemed farther off than at any time since before the Accords had been signed, he said. Man of the achievements since their signing had been "shattered".

Even though both sides agreed to an enlarged UNAVEM II presence, he would not recommend it unless they acceded to their obligation under the Accords to dissolve existing armies and create non-partisan military and police forces.

The Secretary-General observed that immediately after election results were announced on 17 October, UNITA launched a nationwide operation to occupy municipalities by force and remove the Government's administrative structures. In some cases, administrators were killed, and in others, they either fled or were evicted and forced to walk to the nearest towns still controlled by the Government.

By 23 November, almost two thirds of the 164 municipalities in Angola were either confirmed or reported by UNAVEM II as being under UNITA control.

Since early November, UNAVEM II had acted as a mediator to help the parties consolidate the cease-fire and set the peace process back on course, which was outside the scope of its original mandate. That role, however, had been welcomed by the two sides, which shared the view that the UN should play an even larger role in helping create conditions for a second round of presidential elections. At a time when it was facing new tasks, the Mission's strength had fallen to 210 military observers and 77 police observers, compared with its authorized strength of 350 and 126, respectively.

The "root cause" of the breakdown in the peace process, the Secretary-General said, was the incomplete fulfilment of key provisions of the Accords, including the less than effective demobilization and storage of weapons, and delay in creating a unified Armed Forces and in the establishment of a neutral police force. It had also been difficult to create in 16 months an atmosphere of mutual confidence, tolerance and respect, he said.

On 27 November, the Secretary-General called the joint declaration made by the Angolan Government and UNITA in Namibe on 26 November "a positive step forward which could begin to rescue the country". Adopted in the presence of the Secretary-General's Special Representative for Angola, Margaret Anstee, the text underlined the commitment by both parties to: accept fully the validity of the Accords as "the only means of solving the Angolan problem"; reiterate and apply effectively the cease-fire throughout the whole national territory and cease immediately all offensive movements; and solicit the extension of UNAVEM II's mandate and call for its larger quantitative and qualitative involvement.

During a meeting on 19 November with the Angolan President, Ms. Anstee informed him that Mr. Savimbi had accepted the results of the elections of 29 and 30 September.

Distressed by violence

On 31 October, the Secretary-General said he was extremely distressed by the escalation of violence in Angola, and urged all parties to stop hostilities and desist from any acts that would worsen, the already precarious situation.

On 30 October, the Security Council, deeply concerned by reports of recent hostilities by UNITA, had strongly condemned any such resumption and urgently demanded that it cease forthwith. In unanimously adopting resolution 785 (1992), it called on States to refrain from any action which could directly or indirectly jeopardize implementation of the Accords and increase tension in Angola, as well as jeopardize the continued conduct of the electoral process and threaten the country's territorial integrity.

The Council affirmed that any party which failed to abide by all the commitments under the Accords would be rejected by the international community.

While extending UNAVEM II's mandate, the Council also called upon UNITA and the other parties to the electoral process to respect the election results of 29 and 30 September and urged the leaders of UNITA and the Angolan Government to engage in a dialogue so that the second round of presidential elections could be held promptly.

The Council said it would hold responsible any party which refused to open such a dialogue, thereby jeopardizing the entire process.

In a 27 October statement by Council President Jean-Bernard Merimee of France, it had expressed "serious concern" at the deterioration of the political situation and the rising tension in Angola, and called on UNITA and the other parties in the electoral process to respect the election results.

The Council strongly condemned the "attacks and baseless accusations" made by UNITA's radio station Vorga against Ms. Anstee and UNAVEM II and called for their immediate cessation.