ONE MILLION Angolans face starvation as a sense less war tears their country apart.
A second round of United Nations mediated peace talks between UNITA MPLA foundered before they began when UNITA didn't turn up.
Since fighting began at least died thousands face immediate acarn as the briganas of UNITA complete their successtul siege or the town of Huambo.
Huambo, in the central highlands, is of symbolic importance UNITA'S authoritarian leader, Jonas Savimbi. It is home to the Ovimbundu people whom Savimbi claims to represent.
But UNITA's strategy is more sophisticated.
Oil and diamonds It aims to secure control of the vital oil and diamond mines in the North and in the cast. The US multinational Gulf Oil is the major player in the oil producing areas, while South African multinationals Anglo-American and De Beers control the diamond inAs Angola relies almost exthese two minerals, nothing short of the paralysis of the economy is sought.
UNITA cannot hope to permanently occupy those areas. These moves are intended to strengthen its bargaining power in its quest for state ago Ine Guardian's Victoria Brittan warned that UNITA Was making preparations for war in the run up to the September Even then Savimbi enjoyed the support of Western zovernments, particularly the ush adminstration.
Lauded by Washington as an 'anti-communist warrior, Savimbi obtained US$30 million a year in covert military and financial aid for at least the last decade.
The South African Defence Force fought alongside The Revolutionary Quality of Malcolm X By Steve Bloom $1 inc p&p to: Socialist Outlook, PO Box 1109, London N4 2UU March 13, 1993 No. 39 UNITA until it was trounced at Cuito Cuanavale in 1988. This defeat by Cuban and Angolan troops rocked the apartheid regime.
Presently South Africa is actively helping UNITA (see Socialist Outlook 37). They are also backed by Zaireois troops loyal to the imperialist stooge and puppet, Mobuto Sese Seko When in free elections the MPLA won the tary ballot with 58% of the vote, trouble was predictable.
First round Then when the MPLA presidential candidate beat avimbi in the first round of ballots, all hell broke loose.
In the capital Luanda, UNITA, began attacking MPLA offices and their supporters.
The racist and reactionary nature of UNITA has been clear right from the anti-colonial struggle against Portugal. in the early 1970s, UNITA actually fought with the colonialists against the MPLA.
Following the Angolan revolution, it fought on for 16 years financed by the US and South Africa, using Namibia asa base for raids into Angola.
At present UNITA has civilians. There has been systematic rape and murder of whites and mixed race people. Also death squads ave killed prominent intellectuals supportive of the MPLA.
Defections
Things are not going all Savimbi's way. Several of his op generals have defected to he MPLA, fearful of the human rights abuses Savimbi has committed amongst his own loyalists. The UNITA deputies in the plural parliament favour condliation with MPLA The liberation movement in South Africa must continue to demand that De Klerk stops all aid to the UNITA brigands.
In the West we should point out that the cause of this war is the 'cold war agenda of US and British governments and their support for Savimbi.