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Angolan President Pledges Dialogue with Those Who Want Peace
Angolan President Jose Eduardo dos Santos has pledged to have dialogue with those who embrace peace in the war-torn country.
He made the remarks at a news conference Friday as he saw off his Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) counterpart Laurent Kabila, who had visited Angola for a few hours.
The president said the security situation in the country has been improving since the government forces launched mass offensive against the rebel National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) in late 1999.
Now there are still some resistance by armed rebels led by Jonas Savimbi, he said. But he convinced that those rebels will be neutralized.
He said there will be a process of dialogue with those who embrace peace, recognize the legitimate authorities of the country and want to contribute to the consolidation of democracy, reconstruction and development of Angola, adding that his government is seeking all the ways to achieve peace in the country ravaged by a long-term civil war since independence in 1975.
He and President Laurent Kabila discussed various issues of bilateral interest and the situation in the region in the wake of the collapse of the summit in Lusaka earlier this week to revive the Lusaka ceasefire accord signed by all parties to the two-year DRC conflict in July and August 1998.
They analyzed the causes of the failure and looked into possible ways to advance the peace process, dos Santos said.
Angola, Namibia and Zimbabwe sent troops to support Kabila's government to fight different rebel groups backed by Uganda and Rwanda.
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