Visit our website: HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --------------------------------------------- [Acquired as a CIA asset in the mid-1970s, and harbored and supplied by Mobutu's Zaire and the former apartheid regime in South Africa, so-called UNITA is a prototype contra operation. How they've operated over the past twenty seven years is indicated below. Kofi Annan's non-committal, non-partisan comments at the end of the report are perfectly in character for him and the role assigned him by his Western sponsors: Periodically making vague denunciations of violence in general, applicable to the internationally recognized federal government in Luanda and the mysteriously funded rebels alike. As with NATO in Macedonia and, earlier, Kosovo, no true distinction is drawn between an established government and Western-trained contras. During the 1970s and 1980s Jonas Savimbi and his UNITA bandits were the darlings of certain Western 'humanitarians' and alleged leftists - as were their Afghan Mujahedin counterparts; much as the various incarnations of the KLA currently are. Note how Annan's UN doesn't even pretend to care about the KLA invasion/uprising in Macedonia, ceding this part of the world, as he had done earlier with Kosovo and Southern Serbia, to NATO control. The humanitarian brigades don't say a word about this circumvention and effective dismantling of the United Nations by an aggressive military bloc. Why quibble about minor technicalities?] Wednesday August 15, 6:50 AM Death toll from Angolan train ambush reaches 252: official LISBON, Aug 14 (AFP) - The death toll from last week's ambush by Angola's UNITA rebels of a passenger train east of Luanda has risen to 252, with a further 165 people injured, according to new official Angolan figures. The National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) claimed responsibility for last Friday's attack and put the death toll at 152. The train, consisting of four passenger cars, two freight cars and two oil containers, was derailed when it struck an anti-tank mine in Cuanza Norte province. Witnesses said rebels had fired on passengers trying to extricate themselves from the carriages after the ambush, which occurred between the towns of Zenza and Dondo, some 150 kilometres (95 miles) east of Luanda. Some 500 passengers were aboard the train. A UNITA statement issued in Lisbon on Monday acknowledged rebels had fired on passengers after the train was upended by the mine. Angola is one of the most heavily mined countries in the world. The updated official toll of 252 was given in a letter sent by Angola's UN ambassador Ismael Martins to the UN Secretary General Kofi Annan. In his letter, details of which were published by Portugal's LUSA agency, Martins said the train had been "traitorously attacked" by the UNITA rebels of Jonas Savimbi. "The forces at the disposal of Jonas Savimbi, after immobilising the train with mines placed on the tracks, fired indiscriminately on the passengers who were attempting to flee in an atmosphere of panic," the ambassador wrote. "This barbaric act has so far caused the death of 252 people," the letter continued, adding that 155 people were being treated in hospital following the attack. "It was an act without any military objective with the sole aim of causing death, suffering and destruction among the people". The Angolan ambassador called on the international community to redouble its efforts to "isolate those who wage war and who refuse to respect the decisions of the security council". The Angolan government has battled UNITA almost non-stop for 26 years, leaving an estimated 500,000 dead, another 100,000 mutilated, and four million of the 12 million population forced from their homes and relying on international food aid. Annan has condemned the ambush, saying he was "very disturbed by the military and humanitarian situation in the country". "This incident underlines the urgent need for a political settlement of the conflict, to achieve durable peace and stability in Angola," Annan said. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Make international calls for as low as $.04/minute with Yahoo! Messenger http://phonecard.yahoo.com/ ------------------------------------------------- This Discussion List is the follow-up for the old stopnato @listbot.com that has been shut down ==^================================================================ EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.a9spWA Or send an email To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] This email was sent to: [email protected] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
