Talking with Angola's Jonas Savimbi
WRIGHT, ROBIN
THE MAN IN THE MIDDLE Talking with Angola's Jonas Savimbi BY ROBIN WRIGHT SILVA PORTO Moving through the thronging mob that had been awaiting his arrival, Dr. Jonas Savimbi, smiling, waving,...
...the Cubans hold out under attack...
...Let me tell you that after the Soviet and Cuban intervention on the MPLA side, Neto cannot criticize us for whatever outside help we may obtain...
...The fact that the Ovimbundu, the largest single Angolan tribe, could win a plurality in an election offers him a limited degree of leverage, as does his stand between the Communist-supported MPLA and the FNLA...
...Those who led Angola to independence cannot become the exploiters of the people...
...The survival of UNITA's Savimbi could in the end be important to Angola's future...
...Most of the Ovimbundu, the tribe that dominates the region, are farmers with little interest in or time for formal education...
...Consequently, when journalists need answers to questions on military or political matters, they still seek out Savimbi...
...Nor is he particularly good at delegating authority, prompting some friendly critics to charge that a weak bureaucracy is one of the reasons for UNITA's poor showing on the battlefield...
...But in the end the ballot must decide, not bullets...
...Roberto and Neto are irreconcilable enemies, and when the dust of this country's bitter civil conflict settles...
...Only elections—free elections—under OAU auspices can provide a genuine conclusion...
...Neither am I a capitalist...
...He is extremely cooperative with the press, especially in comparison with either the abrasive Roberto or the reticent Neto, and he speaks fluent English, French and Portuguese...
...And in Zambia UNITA officials would not recognize FNLA credentials held by journalists trying to get into the south...
...At a meeting of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) in 1964, Savimbi announced his resignation, accusing Roberto of "flagrant tribalism" and corruption...
...We are sensitive about it...
...He now appreciates Angola's needs...
...Once he mounted the dais, Savimbi started to address the 100,000-strong audience in a fiery oratory style...
...We fully support an atmosphere of detente in Africa...
...This was the one question that drew a show of anger from the normally soft-spoken Savimbi, and he concluded the interview on that note...
...I am not a Communist because it serves no purpose...
...There is a need to live together peacefully in this area...
...But Savimbi is practical enough to know that a foreign means of support—in a war led, fought and financed by outsiders—is necessary for the time being if he is to go on holding enough cards simply to stay in this dangerous and rapidly changing game...
...As one American-educated aide said proudly: "He is Angola's John F. Kennedy...
...What about the alleged presence of foreign troops in the south...
...What would you like to discuss—the war, our platform, our people...
...Obviously our white Angolan brothers are fighting in our ranks as well...
...Leaders must fight with the people and not stay abroad, sending 'second-class' fighters to face the Portuguese," he explained...
...Is any solution possible to the Angolan crisis other than a military victory by one side...
...We have a dam at Cunene, a power source for the South Africans, and we have investments involving them...
...Finding skilled personnel to statt an organization in UNITA's stronghold of southern Angola, however, is not easy...
...In any event, for Savimbi to continue to play a significant part in the war, he must have some bargaining power...
...they would not invest without them...
...In fact, UNITA's Pretoria connection is well known (several sources have even asserted that Savimbi was in South Africa on November 9, the day before Angola's official independence), and the reason for it is pragmatic...
...South Africa's Prime Minister, John Vorster, is an intelligent man, and he recognizes that the independence of Angola will have an effect on his country...
...UNITA backs the initiative of Presidents Kenneth Kuanda of Zambia, Julius Nyerere of Tanzania and Seretse Khama of Botswana...
...First a transitional government will have to be set up with both sides represented...
...Can the two countries coexist peacefully...
...UNITA receives the least aid from outside, and though his merger with the Zaire-based FNLA has provided Savimbi with a source of badly needed weapons, it also puts UNITA in an uneasy position of dependence...
...There are orthodox and extremist ones...
...But he had to stop...
...Since October the war has changed...
...He claimed that Roberto had set up a "commercial empire in the Congo" (now Zaire) with FNLA operatives acting as "profiteers who enriched themselves on the money of New York financial circles and other international organizations...
...How would you describe the politics of UNITA...
...Sa-viM-bi, Sa-viM-bi," the crowd chanted...
...I am against nationalization...
...Thus, after they arrived, the real war began...
...We are no longer fighting simply the MPLA, but also the Cubans...
...Foreign companies require profits...
...I asked...
...We have white specialists, not necessarily mercenaries or South Africans...
...Yet reports have filtered out that the FNLA-UNITA union almost fell apart when Roberto insisted the FNLA be given the major ministries in any new government...
...Savimbi was quoted not long ago as saying: "If Holden had been as open-minded in 1964 as he is now, I would never have left him...
...Socialism in this country is the only answer...
...that is a must...
...He founded the movement in 1966, after serving as Foreign Minister for the FNLA...
...Welcome...
...Have a seat," was his gracious greeting when I arrived for a recent interview...
...Should we ostracize them...
...Indeed, many political observers think the FNLA-UNITA alliance is an unnatural relationship and would collapse in the event of a victory over the MPLA or the establishment of a joint government...
...Another smile, another wave...
...The future head of Angola should be realistic...
...Savimbi may turn out to he the only leader who can produce a genuine compromise settlement...
...Of the three Angolan liberation leaders—Agostinho Neto, head of the Marxist-controlled People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), Holden Roberto of the National Front for the Liberation of Angola (FNLA) and Savimbi—this handsome, 41-year-old chief of the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) is clearly the most popular among his people...
...We want the democratic one, social democracy...
...What about economic cooperation with South Africa...
...To this day, Savimbi remains so accessible to both military men and civilians that his assistants lament the work undone...
...Chants of "Sa-viM-bi, Sa-viM-bi" were drowning out the public address system...
...Jonas Savimbi, smiling, waving, shaking outstretched arms, slowly worked his way to the stairs of the platform from which he was to speak...
...Later he was to apologize for his abruptness, saying, "It is a touchy matter, and the MPLA is lodging vicious charges against us...
...What part do you feel foreign companies should play in developing Angola's vast mineral reserves...
...it is a disease that saps the strength of a country's economy...
...Sa-viM-bi, Sa-viM-bi," the roar went up louder...
...Robin Wright, an Alicia Patterson Foundation award winner, is on leave from her post as an editor at the Christian Science Monitor...
...He smiled, waiting for the questions...
...Within two years Savimbi built a meager 12-man force into a sizeable army, gaining popularity and support as the only liberation chief actually to battle alongside his men against the Portuguese...
...To many, the Swiss-educated, Chinese-trained Savimbi is UNITA...
...We want a socialist system, but which...
...What is your evaluation of the current military situation...
...I hope that a leader here will be realistic enough to cooperate with any nation, despite political differences...
...The MPLA used to run when fired on...
...Moreover, during the Portuguese era, instruction could only be obtained by attending one of the few Protestant mission schools...
...But the people of Angola need their share, too, and investors must expect us to take a larger portion than the Portuguese did...
...The real question is the renegotiation of profits...
...I think there has to be a political settlement...
Vol. 59 • February 1976 • No. 3
