EX-INTELLIGENCE CHIEF MIALA ARRESTED - REVENGE

C O N F I D E N T I A L LUANDA 000723 SIPDIS SIPDIS NSC FOR BPITTMAN E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/16/2017 TAGS: PGOV PREL PINR AO SUBJECT: EX-INTELLIGENCE CHIEF MIALA ARRESTED - REVENGE SERVED COLD? Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Francisco J. Fernandez, Reasons 1.4 (b ) and (d) ¶1. (C) Summary. On Friday, July 13 2007, Fernando Miala, the former head of Angola,s foreign intelligence service, was arrested on a charge of insubordination: refusing an order to attend his own demotion ceremony. Miala was removed from office in February 2006 for allegedly plotting to overthrow the government, though no charges have ever been officially filed against him. He now moves from house arrest to take up residence at the military tribunal. Word on the street and in the independent press links the arrest to either the visit of a supposed plot co-conspirator or simply the cleaning house of police, intelligence and military figures over the last year. It remains to be seen whether the GRA will mount a court case against Miala or Angolans will ever learn the truth about the alleged plot. End Summary. ¶2. (SBU) Former head of External Intelligence and former General Fernando Miala, who fell from Angolan Presidential favor in February of 2006, was arrested on Friday, July 13, 2007, for failing to appear at his own demotion ceremony, which reduced him from General to Lieutenant Colonel, and consequently stripped him of the immunity from arrest enjoyed by Angola,s generals. Miala,s refusal to attend the ceremony provided a pretext for arrest, since he was refusing to obey a valid military order. The maximum sentence for insubordination is 12 years, imprisonment according to the weekly newspaper Angolense. Background -------------- ¶3. (SBU) As head of external military intelligence within the Presidency, Fernando Miala kept a high profile and collected potentially damaging information about Angola,s politically powerful. In February 2006, Miala was accused of plotting a coup against Angolan President Eduardo dos Santos, removed from office and placed under house arrest. A July 2007 meeting in Angola between dos Santos and visiting South African businessman and politician Tokyo Sexuale may have triggered Miala,s arrest, according to reports that Tokyo had previously conspired with Miala but sold him out in order to cement good relations with dos Santos. Speculation Abounds -------------- ¶4. (SBU) Independent media sources give varied reasons for the decision to arrest Miala. The weekly newspaper A Capital says President dos Santos personally ordered Miala,s demotion and that he was arrested, along with as many as 20 former aides, in order to prevent his fleeing Angola or influencing the government,s investigation. A Capital linked South Africa,s Tokyo Sexuale,s recent visit to the arrest. Folha 8,s William Tonet notes that Miala has never been formally removed from his post as head of External Intelligence, nor has a formal court decision supported the February 2006 announcement that charges had been dismissed. Tonet concludes the charges are baseless. ¶5. (C) Comment: Miala has been under house arrest for over one year and could have been charged at any time ) and at times his house arrest has been loose enough to allow him to go out in Luanda. The government has also had over a year to construct a case against him, but has had to resort to a spurious charge of insubordination. Mialia supporters have been removed from the government since his removal in 2006, however. While the truth of the actual events in February 2006 remain shrouded in secrecy, the arrest belies the GRA,s interest to keep Miala from either telling what he knows about Angola,s powerful or allowing him room to rekindle ties with former and still potential allies. FERNANDEZ