U.S. Department of State
96/02/06 USUN Press Release #016-(96)
U.S. Mission to the United Nations 
 
 
 
 
 
FOR RELEASE ON DELIVERY                    USUN PRESS RELEASE #016-(96) 
CHECK TEXT AGAINST DELIVERY                            FEBRUARY 6, 1996 
 
 
Statement by Ambassador Madeleine K. Albright, United States Permanent 
Representative to United Nations, on the Situation in Angola, in the 
Security Council, in Open Session, February 6, 1996 
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UNAVEM III is now the largest U.N. peacekeeping operation deployed 
anywhere in the world.  It has some 6,500 soldiers from over 30 
countries prepared to perform the mandates set forth by this Council.   
 
Having personally toured UNAVEM III's operations a few weeks ago, I can 
confirm that United Nations peacekeepers are critical to the peace 
process launched by the Lusaka Protocol.  Like the Secretary General's 
Special Representative, Maitre Beye, the brave men and women of UNAVEM 
deserve our support at this important juncture on the road to peace in 
Angola.   
 
But in the final analysis, the future of Angola does not rest with the 
men and women of UNAVEM III -- but with the Government of Angola and 
with UNITA.  When I met with President Dos Santos and with Dr. Savimbi 
in January and delivered the letters to them approved by the Security 
Council, I found two men who professed to want peace and who professed 
to be willing to take the necessary steps to make peace, as spelled out 
in the Lusaka Protocol.  I challenged them -- as the Council must 
challenge them today -- to match deeds with words.   
 
To a large extent the Government of Angola has been moving in the right 
direction over the last several weeks.  In the months ahead it must 
continue to fully integrate UNITA into the political and military 
institutions of the country and to help UNITA soldiers make the 
transition into either civilian life or a reconstituted Angolan army.  
There can be no reconciliation in Angola unless this is accomplished. 
 
UNITA's poor performance under the Lusaka Protocol has jeopardized the 
peace process and undermined the viability of UNAVEM III.  When I 
visited UNITA headquarters in Bailundo last month, Dr. Savimbi promised 
me -- a promise he repeated publicly to the media -- that by Thursday, 
February 8, 16,500 UNITA soldiers would be quartered in four sites 
administered by UNAVEM.  Last Friday he reiterated this pledge to me by 
telephone, saying that he would not rest until he fulfills this 
commitment.  Unfortunately, as of this morning only 5,150 soldiers, many 
of them unarmed, had arrived in the quartering sites.  Approximately 
another 2,000 are reportedly moving towards the quartering sites.   
 
Every UNITA soldier who enters a quartering site makes a courageous 
decision--for himself, his family, and his country.  It will take 
comparable courage on the part of Dr. Savimbi and other UNITA leaders to 
see this process through to the end.   
 
But Dr. Savimbi's pledge to me at Bailundo is not enough.  Even if 
16,500 UNITA soldiers are quartered, the opportunity for peace in Angola 
will be lost unless UNITA follows through on schedule with the 
quartering of the rest of its soldiers.  And the opportunity for peace 
will be lost unless the Government of Angola integrates UNITA soldiers 
into the new army, the government, and civilian life.  Both leaders must 
make their promises of peace stick.  They must seize the opportunity for 
peace that the international community is offering them.   
 
There is no purpose to renewed war in Angola.  All acknowledge that.  
The people of Angola want peace.  If the leaders of Angola do not take a 
risk for peace now, then this beautiful country, which possesses 
enormous economic potential for its people, will be plunged back into a 
pointless but devastating war that will destabilize southern Africa once 
again. 
 
I have seen what Angolans are capable of doing to each other, and nobody 
in his right mind can possibly wish it upon his own people.  The 
humanitarian challenge in Angola, as the Secretary-General describes in 
his report, is daunting.  De-mining alone will take decades to 
accomplish--and even then Angolan children will continue to lose their 
limbs to an unseen and ageless enemy.   
 
The Security Council will bear witness to the conduct of both the 
Government of Angola and UNITA in the weeks ahead.  The Council 
anticipates that if the Secretary-General reports insufficient progress 
towards implementing the Lusaka Protocol, then our governments will 
reevaluate the merit of continuing UNAVEM's mandate to February 1997.  
The United States will not allow a sound peacekeeping operation -- which 
spends nearly one million dollars per day -- to be slowly undermined by 
the failure of leaders to fulfill their promises.   
 
This afternoon I plan to speak with Dr. Savimbi by phone again.  As 
President of the Security Council, I will report to him on today's 
discussion and the expectations the international community holds for 
Angola.  Let us hope that during the next few weeks the Lusaka Protocol 
will be firmly back on track, that UNAVEM will be able to fulfill its 
mandate, and that the people of Angola can, after decades of destructive 
war, finally realize the "quiet miracle of a normal life."   
 
Thank you.