The Origins of the Angolan Civil War The Origins of the Angolan Civil War Foreign Intervention and Domestic Political Conflict Fernando Andresen Guimaraes First published in paperback in Great Britain 2001 by MACMILLAN PRESS LTD Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS and London Companies and representatives throughout the world A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. ISBN 978-1-349-26184-0 ISBN 978-0-333-97766-8 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-0-333-97766-8 First published in paperback in the United States of America 2001 by ST. MARTIN'S PRESS, LLC, Scholarly and Reference Division, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010 ISBN 978-0-312-17512-2 cloth ISBN 978-0-333-91480-9 paperback The Library of Congress has cataloged the hardcover edition as follows: Guimaraes, Femando Andresen, 1965- The origins of the Angolan civil war: foreign intervention and domestic political conflict / Femando Andresen Guimaraes. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-312-17512-2 (cloth) I. Angola-History-Civil war, 1975- -Causes. 1. Title. DTl428.G85 1997 967.304-dc21 97-9652 CIP © Femando Andresen Guimaraes 1998. 200 I First edition 1998 Reprinted with new Preface 200 I All rights reserved. No reproduction. copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced. copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright. Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency. 90 Tottenham Court Road. London WIP OLP. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. The author has asserted his right to be identified as the author of this work in accordance with the Copyright. Designs and Patents Act 1988. 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For Sallie Contents List of Tables viii Preface to the 200i Edition ix Preface x Abbreviations xii introduction xiv Part I The Internal Sources of Conflict in Angola Portuguese Colonialism in Angola 2 Angolan Anti-Colonialism 31 Exile Politics 58 Part II The Externalization of Angolan Conflict 4 The Angolan Civil War 1975-76 85 Zaire and South Africa 114 6 Cuba and China 136 The Soviet Union and the United States 161 Conclusion 196 Notes 202 Bibliography 237 Index 245 vii List of Tables 1.1 Value of total Angolan exports by origin, 1961 and 1962 18 1.2 Main Angolan export commodities, 1966 18 1.3 Coffee exports from Angola, 1948-70 21 1.4 Angolan population by race and 'civilized' status, 1950 25 1.5 Racial composition of Angolan population, 1777-1970 27 1.6 White population in Angola 1940-73 29 6.1 Cuban troop strengths in post-independence Angola 1975-76 147 viii Preface to the 2001 Edition As I write this additional preface to the paperback edition, Angola has descended into conflict. But what is going on now in Angola at the end of the century is not a new armed conflict; it is the continuation of the civil war that erupted fully in 1975. In fact, it is distinctly pos­ sible to see the history of independent Angola as a single war. This book addresses the origins of the Angolan civil war of 1975-76 but provides also, I believe, the basis for understanding the fighting that continues in Angola. Today, it has become even clearer that the roots of conflict in Angola are far deeper than a case of outside interference and cold war intrigue. The 'proxy war' model simply does not stand up to closer examination. Of course, foreign intervention was a fundamental conditioning force on the Angolan civil war of 1975-76. Then, exter­ nal actors served to define and intensify the bids for control of post­ independence Angola. But even after the end of the cold war, which gradually removed external rivalries from the equation of Angolan hostilities, the parties remained irreconcilable. By 1999, the combined and concerted efforts of the international community towards a peace settlement had been in vain. The fact is that the struggle for power that lay at the heart of the conflict in Angola remains unresolved and while foreign intervention had a significant impact on events in Angola, the actions of outsiders can no more be seen to be the source of conflict than the sufficient condition for peace. This can only emanate from the antagonists themselves. Fernando Andresen Guimaraes 1999 ix Preface This book is based on my PhD dissertation, which was prepared in the welcoming environment of the Department of International Relations at the London School of Economics between September 1987 and December 1991. The transformation from dissertation into book has significantly altered the structure of the text, but the fundamental the­ sis is the same. When I began my work on the Angolan civil war, the superpowers were still engaged in the cold war. By the time I had finished my dissertation, the Berlin Wall had fallen and an agreement on Angola had brought independence to Namibia and the withdrawal of Cuban troops. Elections in Angola were scheduled for September 1992 and the candidates were precisely those rivals that, as government and rebel movement, had just spent over fifteen years struggling for control of the country. Then, the explanation for conflict in Angola was predominantly seen to be in the intervention of foreign actors. Many claimed that the key to peace, therefore, lay in removing external involvements. And yet, as I write this five years later, after the end of the cold war, the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the end of apartheid in South Africa, peace in Angola is still precarious. As it turned out, the roots of conflict in Angola are much deeper. One of the effects of the cold war on the Angolan conflict was the politicization of much of the academic literature on its modern history. My work has sought to wade through the existing claims and counter­ claims and present as clear a picture as possible of what happened in 1975. For the internal power struggle between the Angolans I drew on many sources, but a special note of recognition is owed to John Marcum's two-volume The Angolan Revolution. To this, I also added the personal testimony of participants who provided an eyewitness perspective. I was fortunate enough to be working on my dissertation at a time when revelations on the hidden history of the MPLA were emerging for the first time. These revelations are, of course, included in this book. My appreciation goes out to the Department of International Relations at the LSE which provided me with the academic 'home' for the prep­ aration of the dissertation. In particular, Fred Halliday and James Mayall Preface xi gave me the wise direction I needed, and to them I am grateful. Many others deserve to be credited here, but a special debt is owed to Mark Simpson for encouraging me to undertake the project in the first place and to Spyros Economides for his solid advice and invaluable friend­ ship throughout the writing of the dissertation and more recently of this book. I must also thank other friends and colleagues, in particular, J oao Cravinho, Hugh Dyer and Leon Mangasarian, whose contribu­ tions have clearly enriched my work. However, none of this would have ever been possible without the support of my family, especially that of my father, whose unwavering faith and constant questioning challenged me to go further. To Sallie's patience, devotion and love, I dedicate this book. Fernando Andresen Guimaraes Abbreviations ALC African Liberation Committee (OAU) ANC African National Congress (RSA) BOSS Bureau of State Security (RSA) CIA Central Intelligence Agency (US) CONCP Conference of the Nationalist Organizations of the Portuguese Colonies COPCON Operational Command of the Continent (Portugal) DGS Security Directorate (ex-PIDE) EEC European Economic Community EFTA European Free Trade Association ELNA Army for the National Liberation of Angola (FNLA) EPLA Popular Army for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) FAPLA Popular Armed Forces of the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) FLEC Liberation Front of the Enclave of Cabinda FLN National Liberation Front (Algeria) FNLA National Front of Liberation of Angola FRELIMO Liberation Front of Mozambique GRAE Revolutionary Government of Angola in Exile (FNLA) JSN Committee of National Salvation (Portugal) MFA Movement of Armed Forces (Portugal) MPLA Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola NATO North Atlantic Treaty Organization NIC Newly industrialized country NSC National Security Council (US) OAU Organization of African Unity PAl GC African Party of the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde PCA Angolan Communist Party PCP Portuguese Communist Party PDA Democratic Party of Angola PIDE International Police for the Defence of the State (Portugal) RSA Republic of South Africa SADF South African Defence Force SWAPO South West Africa People's Organization UNITA National Union for the Total Independence of Angola xii Abbreviations xiii UPA Union of the Angolan Peoples (ex-UPNA) UPNA Union of the Peoples of Northern Angola UN United Nations US United States USSR Union of Soviet Socialist Republics Introduction There is no question of pledging our policy to either of the two blocs dividing the world. The only promise we make to the two blocs is that we will honestly seek to exclude attempts at establish­ ing a cold war climate among the Angolan nationalists and to pre­ vent the implications of international intrigues in the Angola of tomorrow.' In this manner, the leader of one of the Angolan movements fighting Portuguese colonialism promised in 1962 to keep the cold war out of Angola.