Angola's Woes - Part III

Continued from Part II

Freedom Finally

Soon after the 1961 uprising, the rebels took to guerrilla warfare as a result of the brutal military and political campaign launched by the colonial authorities. Military training camps were set up by nationalist organisations. In 1961, the National Liberation Army of Angola (ELNA) was formed and it had considerable support among the Bakongo. They went to Morocco and Tunisia to train along with Algerian forces which were fighting for their independence.

When Algeria won its independence in 1962, it supplied the ELNA with arms and ammunition. The ELNA merged with another nationalist group the PDA (Democratic Party of Angola) in 1962 to form the FNLA. Though it had support from Algeria and Zaire, it achieved no significant territorial gains.

Meanwhile, the MPLA, which was behind the 1961 uprisings, was facing the darkest period of its history. Its leaders were tortured by the Portuguese and many of them died in prison. MPLA started to rebuild itself and the arrival of Agostinho Neto, the son of a Mbundu Methodist pastor aided the process. His attempt to bring the MPLA and FNLA together was thwarted by the FNLA leadership.

The MPLA shifted its headquarters to Brazzaville and launched guerrilla operations in Cabinda. But the rebels were not able to mount a successful campaign against the strong Portuguese Army, which was well equipped. Moreover conflict between the various guerrilla groups undermined the struggle against the Portuguese. But the rebel armies continued the independence struggle against the colonial power. Angola's war of liberation dragged on until 1974.

In 1974 a group of young Portuguese colonels toppled the government of Marcello Caetano (who had replaced Salazar in 1968) in Portugal. The generals were weary of the battle against the anti-colonialists in Africa and they started granting independence to the colonies.

The transition to independence in Angola did not proceed smoothly. After negotiations in Portugal, Angola's three main opposition parties agreed to establish a transitional government in January 1975. But they started fighting against each other within two months and the country was divided into zones controlled by the various groups. Differences about the leadership and structure of a unified government forced the parties to turn against each other. The result of this chaos forced the white settlers to leave the country draining most of its skilled and semi-skilled work force (managers, teachers and technicians). The departing Portuguese deliberately destroyed the country's infrastructure rather than turning them over to the Angolans.

Soon regional and international powers became involved in the conflict. The United States and South Africa supported the FNLA and UNITA while the Soviet Union supported the MPLA. The FNLA and UNITA eventually formed a loose coalition to oppose the MPLA. The region became a flash point for the Cold War. The MPLA called for Cuba's assistance in its struggle against FNLA and UNITA. Thousands of Cuban troops landed in Angola on the eve of independence. Portugal granted independence to Angola on November 11, 1975 in this hour of crisis.

To be continued...