A very sad story indeed. Parallels the Algerian independance struggle
(1957-62, finally recognzed by officail France as a war, and not a
'policing action').
Unfortunately, it was besides a war for independence, also, and maybe
principally, a civil war between two FLN factions, the Boumedienne one
winning in the end, and liquidating its enemies by the thousands within
Algeria and its leaders even outside te country. Algeria never healed,
and like Angola, became a cleptocracy ruled by 'old crocodiles'. Angola
was actually worse than Algeria, and its people left even poorer by the
much smaller Dos Santos maffia - daughter becoming the richest woman in
Africa. An archetypical pattern? (with variations)
Little to Cheer about, p+2D!
Date: Mon, 7 Sep 2020 02:21:29 +0530
From: Frederick Noronha <[email protected]>
To: Goanet <[email protected]>
Subject: [Goanet] BBC: The orphans of Angola's secret massacre seek
the truth
Message-ID:
<camcr53+sicc9shxhxuwsnvuos391cy-b3mg3rboaaxb1+cz...@mail.gmail.com>
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A massacre in Angola that followed a split in the governing MPLA party
not
long after independence has been shrouded in secrecy and fear for more
than
four decades. But some of those affected are coming together to demand
answers and have been speaking to the BBC's Mary Harper, some for the
first
time in public.
"My parents were last seen walking into the Ministry of Defence, hand
in
hand."
That was more than 40 years ago, when Jo?o Ernesto Van Dunem was a
three-month-old baby. He never saw his mother and father again.
He does not know where or how they were killed. He does not know where
they
are buried.
His parents - Jos? Van Dunem, 27, and Sita Valles, 26 - together with
other
young Angolans, had accused the ruling elite of prioritising personal
wealth and power over the good of the country.
IMAGE COPYRIGHTVAN DUNEM FAMILY
image captionJo?o Ernesto Van Dunem was three months old when his
parents
disappeared
Jos? Van Dunem, who was a senior military official, and a fellow MPLA
central committee member, Nito Alves, who had been a government
minister,
led the criticism from within. This led to their expulsion.
There are many versions of what happened next.
The authorities accused what they described as the "fractionistas" or
"splitters" of staging an attempted coup on 27 May 1977.
Members of the group said they did no such thing; rather they had
organised
a mass demonstration and a takeover of the radio station to call people
on
to the streets of the capital, Luanda, in order to pressurise President
Ant?nio Agostinho Neto to clean up his government.
IMAGE COPYRIGHTGETTY IMAGES
image captionPresident Neto, who had a close relationship with Fidel
Castro, used Cuban troops during the purge
The result was bloodshed.
Mr Neto called in loyal sections of the army, supported by Cuban
troops,
and the massacre began.
Thousands, including many of the country's young intellectuals and
party
activists, were imprisoned, tortured and killed.
Those in authority at the time, including Defence Minister Gen Henrique
Teles Carreira, known as Iko Carreira, put the number at 300.
Amnesty International says 30,000 died in the purge. Some say as many
as
90,000 were killed.
Read the rest of the story here:
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-54025264
For more details about the Goan, Sita Valles, see:
https://scroll.in/magazine/904378/the-goan-origin-woman-who-fought-for-angolas-freedom-and-was-killed-by-its-very-first-government
--
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