[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 109 (Tuesday, August 9, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: August 9, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                        THE SITUATION IN ANGOLA

                                 ______


                          HON. BILL RICHARDSON

                             of new mexico

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, August 9, 1994

  Mr. RICHARDSON. Mr. Speaker, I rise to call the attention of the 
House to the plight of Angola--another country in Africa where conflict 
and fighting have taken an awful toll, but where peace is at hand if 
the United States and the international community act now to prevent 
another Rwanda.
  Despite an election that produced a clear winner and full recognition 
of the government of President Jose Eduardo dos Santos by the United 
States and other sovereign governments, Angola remains divided because 
forces headed by Joseph Savimbi defiantly refuse to accept the election 
results. Savimbi's forces have resorted to guerrilla warfare to achieve 
by bullets what they could not accomplish at the ballot box.
  The United States has a special obligation to Angola because our 
policies over the past 18 years have contributed to prolonging the war. 
When Portugal abruptly left Angola in 1977, the CIA immediately pledged 
covert military assistance to the FNLA, the least desirable of the 
three emerging factions. Congress promptly adopted the Clark amendment 
to suspend arms shipments through Zaire to the discredited Holdan 
Roberto and the FNLA. Then, in the 1980's, the Reagan and Bush 
administrations promoted policies to assist Savimbi's guerrilla 
political and military forces.
  America must now right the wrongs of the past. We have done so in 
part through our belated recognition of the dos Santos government. The 
next step is to see that both parties sign the Lusaka Peace Accords and 
that the agreement be properly implemented and enforced. We cannot 
allow another African country to be torn apart by civil strife and 
indiscriminate bloodshed. The United States can help by acting 
decisively to support the dos Santos government and applying pressure 
on all sides to support the Lusaka Accords. We should also take the 
lead in developing an international commitment to meet the security, 
humanitarian, and economic needs of the country.
  Angola is a country abundant in natural resources with regional 
significance to the security of southern Africa. Yet the future of it's 
legitimately-elected government is threatened by forces who refuse to 
abide by the results of the democratic election.
  Securing a peaceful resolution in Angola is especially significant 
given the triumph of democracy in neighboring South Africa and will 
provide further evidence and hope that democracy is on the move in 
Africa.

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