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War-ravaged Angola ushers in unity government
April 11, 1997
Web posted at: 2:45 p.m. EDT (1845 GMT)LUANDA, Angola (CNN) -- Angola, shattered by a two-decade civil war in which half a million people died, swore in a government of national unity Friday, bringing together two former foes to rebuild the crippled nation.
"The formation of this government is another fundamental step in a long and difficult process of peace," President Eduardo Jose dos Santos said in a speech at the inauguration. "Behind us lie thousands of dead, a devastated country and a semi-paralyzed economy."
The ceremony began with the national anthem followed by the swearing in of former foes, officials from the former UNITA rebel movement and the previous government.
Dos Santos said establishment of the unity government, including four Cabinet ministers and seven deputy ministers from UNITA, would not cure all the ills of the southwestern African nation. "But it could make a definite contribution toward a better solution," he said.
A total of 28 Cabinet ministers and 55 deputy ministers were sworn in during the hours-long ceremony. The inauguration had been postponed three times since December because UNITA officials failed to arrive in Luanda, the nation's capital.
Fulfillment of peace accord
The installation of the Government of National Unity and Reconciliation is the final stage in a U.N.-brokered peace process launched in 1994.
UNITA's 70 lawmakers took their seats in the 220-seat national assembly Wednesday, removing the final obstacle to making way for the new government.
Heads of state including Presidents Nelson Mandela of South Africa, Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe and Jorge Sampaio of Portugal attended the inauguration at the Palacio dos Congressos.
Security was tight, with streets around the building deserted except for the heavily armed soldiers and police patrolling the area. Troops manned checkpoints on roads into the coastal city.
Under the new government, dos Santos remains president, with UNITA leader Jonas Savimbi having a special role as opposition leader with the authority to question Santos on political issues. Savimbi will also have a salary, a house in Luanda and bodyguards provided by the state.
The civil war broke out on the eve of independence from Portugal in 1975 and quickly became a Cold War battlefield. The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency covertly supported UNITA while Cuban troops fought for the then-Marxist government with Soviet-supplied weapons.
The war stopped in 1991, only to resume a year later after a peace agreement collapsed when UNITA lost U.N.-monitored general elections.
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