allAfrica.com: Angola: War is Over, But Peace Comes at a Price Says Unita Leader (Page 1 of 2)

The interim leader of the former Angolan Unita rebel movement, General Paulo Lukamba "Gato", has just completed a lecture and lobbying visit to the United States, before heading to Portugal and France. General Gato heads the management committee that is coordinating Unita's activities until it holds its upcoming congress. He was a senior Unita commander and a long-time associate and military strategist for the late Jonas Savimbi, the lifelong leader of Unita.

After three decades of civil war in Angola, interspersed with brief respites of peace, Unita agreed to a ceasefire with the MPLA government after Savimbi was killed by Angolan troops in February. A memorandum of peace was signed between the former belligerents on 4 April.

In the first of a two-part interview with allAfrica.com's Ofeibea Quist-Arcton, General Gato outlines the future for Unita, which has spent more time in the bush, fighting against the Luanda government, than taking its proposed programmes for a much-trumpeted "better Angola" to the people.

General Gato, what are your main hopes and concerns, now that you have come out of the bush and Unita is part of the political process in Angola?

Our first priority is to fight for the survival of the party as an independent political party, with its own identity -- to improve our performance on the political stage, by displaying a united front and internal cohesion, before we hold our 9th congress which will see the election of a new leadership for Unita. And, of course, we will have to consolidate a new strategy for the party so that we prove that we are capable of taking on whatever is politically at stake in Angola.

Isn't one of the problems that Unita itself is in disarray, disorganised and divided?

Yes, indeed. That is absolutely true. There are divisions within Unita, and the process we have begun, since we got to Luanda, is the process of trying to reunify the party and the larger Unita family. Yes, there are hurdles, but we consider these artificial obstacles, because they were created, encouraged and financed by the government.

But we think that the patriotic spirit and party discipline of Unita members will help will us find our way and reconcile ourselves, so that we can rebuild our party, a party which will play its role and find its own political milieu, yes, and guarantee its own political 'space' if you like. Also we will be proposing an alternative political path to our fellow Angolans, a new way for the community, a new way of being and of doing politics in Angola.

So are you confident that all the factions of Unita can be unified and reunited, including those who may not have wanted a ceasefire?

You know, we had to do some quick political education before we began the negotiations with the Luanda government. And you can tell, from the speed with which our people have been gathering at the quartering centres, that they have got the message from the leadership of Unita. We have succeeded and I'd give us ten out of ten. Since we signed the peace memorandum of understanding, there has not been the slightest military incident, not even a skirmish, anywhere in the country. So that shows that the leadership has the effective and total control of all its troops.

So, would you say that the war is truly over for ex-Unita soldiers?

Absolutely. That is a decision that is born of the political will of the Unita leaders, and we are moving forward very seriously towards the consolidation of the process of demobilisation and quartering. We are really moving towards peace. So, the war has ended, but we must reach peace within the society. We are deeply involved in making sure that this happens.

Are you sure that you can reunite all the branches of Unita -- what about Unita Renovada, the breakaway branch of the party that moved to Luanda?

Certainly. It's an enormous challenge, but the current Unita leadership is surely up to the task. In fact, we have already started discussions with them. And the signs are encouraging. I think that, as soon as I get back to Luanda, we can continue along this route. Sooner or later we will again witness the established and familiar unity at the heart of Unita, as well as the traditional dynamism one has come to expect of the party.

What about the current leadership of Unita, General Gato? You are now the interim leader of Unita since the death of Jonas Savimbi in February. You were the secretary-general. Do you think that you are going to be elected the new leader of Unita? Will party members rally behind you?

First of all, I am still the secretary-general of the party. I am heading a commission which is managing the affairs of Unita until we hold our congress. But I took a personal decision not to stand in the leadership election of the party. I took that decision when I got to Luanda.

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