ANGOLA - JANUARY POLITICAL ROUNDUP

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 LUANDA 000162 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL SOCI EMIN AO SUBJECT: ANGOLA - JANUARY POLITICAL ROUNDUP -------------- ¶1. (U) SUMMARY -------------- -- Angola,s Armed Forces to Help Stop Illegal Immigration -- Abel Chivukuvuku Will Run for UNITA President -- President Dos Santos Urges &Zero Tolerance8 Against Domestic Violence -------------- -------------- Angola,s Armed Forces to Help Stop Illegal Immigration -------------- -------------- ¶2. (U) General Francisco Furtado, Head of Angola,s Armed Forces (FAA) announced a FAA ) National Police and Frontier Guard joint effort to control illegal immigration, particularly in the diamond producing provinces. Furtado said the authorities will cooperate to apprehend and expel all illegal immigrants illegally mining and trading in diamonds. General Furtado called the situation &out of control,8 adding that Angolan authorities are concerned that illegal immigration could affect Angola,s political and economic stability. ¶3. (SBU) General Furtado said that studies had been done in five diamond producing provinces (Luanda Sul, Lunda Norte, Kwanza Sul, Bie and Malange) and the results warranted immediate action. He also suggested that organized groups are financing illegal immigrants from West African and the Democratic Republic of Congo to carry out illegal mining. Note: Embassy has no other corroboration of immigrant groups traveling in organized groups to Angola. End note. Furtado, on February 12 while visiting Cabinda, again reasserted the importance of the campaign and noted that the FAA had participated in expelling illegal immigrants from Cabinda province in the last week. -------------- Abel Chivukuvuku Will Run For UNITA President -------------- ¶4. (U) Abel Chivukuvuku, former UNITA Parliamentary Leader (Chief Whip) has announced his candidacy for UNITA President. He plans to run against current President Isaias Samakuva, whom he claims is not dynamic enough to lead UNITA to an electoral victory. Chivukuvuku promised he would present a UNITA with a vision and a sense of leadership, and one that would clearly project the image of a viable alternative to the MPLA to prospective voters. He declared that his candidacy was proof of UNITA,s capacity to be democratic and thereby sustain a national democracy. He also said that his candidacy was being supported by &important countries,8 though offered no specifics. ¶5. (U) Immediately after announcing his candidacy, the weekly paper &Semanario Angolense8 accused Chivukuvuku of receiving financial backing from the MPLA to unseat Samakuva and create a wedge within UNITA. Chivukuvuku has denied the allegations, sued Semanario Angolense, and accused the MPLA of planting the story in the paper to discredit him with UNITA. Meanwhile, the MPLA criticized Chivukuvuku,s reactions branding him as &politically immature and irresponsible.8 -------------- -------------- President Dos Santos Urges &Zero Tolerance8 Against Domestic Violence -------------- -------------- ¶6. (U) President dos Santos in his New Year speech characterized domestic violence as having attained alarming levels in Angolan society. He urged for the creation of an all out campaign of &Zero Tolerance,8 to include an education component; adoption of preventive measures; more expeditious response to calls for help, and new legislation with more severe penalties. This new presidential focus on domestic violence can be attributed to the December 12, 2006 murder of Clara Soares, a very close friend of the Angolan First Lady, who was killed at home by her husband in a domestic dispute. Mrs. Soares was shot twice in the head after having asked her husband to move out of their home. ¶7. (SBU) Comment: the GRA has been working over the past two years on the revision of its penal code and the development of laws against family violence. High-level representatives from both the Ministry of Family and Promotion of Women have told emboffs that they hope this new attention to the issue will speed up the legislative development and approval process. LUANDA 00000162 002 OF 002 EFIRD