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First, the rebels, members of the Front for the Liberation of Enclave of Cabinda – Military Position (FLEC-PM), riddled the bus carrying the team’s luggage with bullets, and continued to perforate the bus containing the Togolese players. Amalete Abolo, the team’s assistant manager, Stan Ocloo, press manager, and Mário Ajdoua, the Angolan bus driver, were killed; 7 others were injured.
The Togolese football team was underway to play in the first round of the African Cup of Nations 2010. Group 3 – consisting of Togo, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, and Ghana – is scheduled to play at the Estádio do Chiaza in Cabinda. Despite threats made to the organisation of the tournament by the FLEC, the tournament was still organised according to plan.
Togolese government officials have accused the Angolan organisers of the tournament of having underestimated the threat. In reaction, the organisers said they have urged the national teams to travel by airplane rather than by bus. The Togolese president, Faure Gnassingbé, has withdrawn the national team from the tournament. Rodrigues Mingas, secretary-general of the FLEC, said, “we regret what happened to the Togolese delegation for which we send our profound and sincere apologies. But I wish to point out (…) that our target was the Angolan government.” FLEC has promised more attacks in Cabinda during this tournament, claiming they have some of the world’s most expensive footballers (including Chelsea players Essein and Drogba) in sight.
FLEC has employed a very effective way to gain attention in the world press. However, they seek attention for an old conflict, sometimes called ‘Angola’s forgotten war’. Inhabitants of Cabinda, an Angolan exclave bordering the Republic of the Congo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo), claim to be culturally different from Angolans.
Cabinda and Angola were only united in 1956, after a long separate history as Portuguese colonies. When nationalists in Kinshasa declared independence of the Republic of Cabinda in 1975, its sovereignty was recognised by neither Portugal nor the international community. Later that same year, the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) annexed Cabinda to the new independent state of Angola by force.
Between 1975, the year of independence from Portugal, and 2002, a civil war ravaged Angola. Although there has been a truce between the FLEC and the Angolan government of President José Eduardo dos Santos, fighting has never completely stopped in Cabinda. An estimated third of the total Cabindan population lives in refugee camps in DR Congo. As the armed separatists fight a guerrilla war and live among the civilian population, the latter is also regularly severely hit by government action. Amnesty International reports that crimes against humanity committed by both separatists and government forces.
Fueling the enduring conflict in Cabinda is the fight for the control of abundant oil and natural gas reserves. In 1977, oil from this region accounted for 50% of Angola’s foreign exchange returns. The reports for 2004 differ, but the oil production of Cabinda is generally estimated between 60-70% of Angola’s total oil production of 1 million barrels of crude oil per day. Ever since the end of the civil war in 2002, oil exports have increased. Whilst oil returns pay for most of the rebuilding of all of Angola after the devastating 27-year civil war, a meagre one-tenth of the oil profits returns to locals in Cabinda.
Most of the oil is exploited by several large western multinational organisations, such as ChevronTexaco (US), Total (France) and Agip (Italy). These MNO’s operate in gated communities, reportedly separated by the rest of the province by tall fences and even landmines. Very little is done for the local population. When, for instance, an oil spill in 1999 at the Malongo terminal affected fishing grounds, the responsible company made a one-time compensation of a mere US$1,000. This is not the only example of the harmful effect of the winning of oil on the environment and lack of corporate responsibility.
The strong presence of France in Africa has often been criticised. Ever since decolonisation, French foreign policy has focused on maintaining a firm economic and political grip in Africa, called Françafrique. The government in exile of the Republic of Cabinda has offices in France, and leaders of the FLEC live in France and Luxembourg. Sarkozy, however, has announced a slight retreat from the continent. Furthermore, there is a continent-wide move to replace French with English, like in Rwanda. The French company Total has recently, though, secured large new concessions in Cabinda from the Angolan government.
Questions on the security situation in Angola are being raised. Since 2002, the country has been regarded as a major and stable military power in the region. Now, on 15 January 2010, President dos Santos has pleaded for cooperation and peace in the world. He stated that, “it is clear that no country can make progress and develop itself unilaterally, isolating itself from the community of nations and blind to the common problems that affect all of humanity.”
Dos Santos’ claim of peace and cooperation seems somewhat contradictory to the shooting in Cabinda and the following state of siege in the province.
The 2010 African Cup of Nations is said to have been an attempt of Dos Santos to show off Angola’s ability to organise this major sporting event without any help. Dos Santos was not present during the South African Development Community (SADC) summit in Kinshasa, because of tensions between Angola and DR Congo. During this conference, the 2010 ACN and 2010 World Cup were the central point of discussion. Leaders of participating states promised far stretching cooperation to ensure a smooth organisation of the tournaments.
The events in Cabinda urge all governments in southern Africa to increase regional cooperation during the 2010 World Cup, when the eyes of the world will be focused on the stadiums of South Africa.
Further reports on CNN:
Organiser of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, Danny Jordaan, defends the security of the coming tournament:
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