THE WORLD; Angola: From the Brink of Peace Back to the Brink of War
By TOM KUNTZ
Published: November 15, 1992
FOR anyone who hoped that the end of the cold war might also calm
THE WORLD; Angola: From the Brink of Peace Back to the Brink of War
By TOM KUNTZ
Published: November 15, 1992
FOR anyone who hoped that the end of the cold war might also calm the longstanding conflicts in the third world that were stoked by it, Angola may be a profound disappointment. After a brief interlude of peace culminating in free elections in late September, the nation appears ready to descend into civil war once more. More than 1,000 people have been killed in recent weeks in fighting between Government and guerrilla forces touched off by the refusal of the rebels' leader, Jonas Savimbi, to accept defeat at the polls.
That interlude of peace and how it unraveled was chronicled by Alex Tehrani, a photographer who spent nine weeks in the southwest African nation. His pictures capture the descent from near-democracy to near-chaos, beginning with mid-September political rallies and ending with the dumping of the first bodies on city streets.
Angola, which last week marked the 17th anniversary of its independence from Portugal, has been gripped by civil war virtually ever since it broke free. At least 350,000 have been killed. Peace accords signed in May 1991 under the mediation of Washington and Moscow raised hopes that the fighting might finally end.
The guerrillas of Mr. Savimbi's Unita organization -- which was backed by the United States during the war -- put down their guns and recast themselves as an opposition party for the election campaign. But in the voting the formerly Soviet- and Cuban-backed party of President Jose Eduardo dos Santos won a majority in Parliament; in the presidential vote, Mr. dos Santos finished first ahead of Mr. Savimbi, but a runoff is still needed to decide the winner.
When the outcome became clear last month during the long, tense ballot count, Mr. Savimbi charged that the voting was rigged -- a charge disputed by international observers.
Large-scale fighting erupted two weeks ago. United Nations mediators are working to salvage the peace accords, but despite their efforts the new world order is looking much to Angolans like the old.
Photos: Anticipation of Democracy -- At peaceful rallies in mid-September in Luanda, left, and Benguela, above, the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola -- the guerrilla organization known by its Portuguese acronym, Unita -- mustered voter support for its leader, Jonas Savimbi, shown on poster. The rallies were Unita's main form of campaigning. Tensions Rise -- With Unita rejecting the results, soldiers and tanks patrolled Luanda. Fighting erupted Oct. 31, and Unita was routed. The Killings Begin -- Slain Unita fighters were stripped of their clothes and left in Luanda's streets as a warning. But the rebels made advances elsewhere in the country, and fighting is continuing. (Photographs by Alex Tehrani/Black Star, for The New York Times)