4 April 2008
Luanda — In a year in which the Angolans prepare themselves to choose their MPs, in the legislative elections of next September, the Angolan nation celebrates this Friday six years since its people won the war and achieved definitive peace for the country.
On 04 April 2002, the Angolan Armed Forces (FAA) and the military forces of UNITA signed the peace agreement that brought an end to the armed conflict that affected the country for over two decades.
This conflict destroyed various socioeconomic infrastructures in almost the whole Angolan territory, leaving various mutilated people, widows and orphans, injuries that Angolans managed to forget during these six years and focus on a more harmonious and united nation.
This ceasefire agreement, which happened at the Palace of Congresses in the presence of the Head of State, José Eduardo dos Santos, and of the International Community, brought definitive peace to Angola, with which its people gave an unforgettable proof of his immense wisdom.
All efforts were inserted to turn peace into a reality for Angolans, since the signing of the Accords of Alvor, in Portugal, in 1975, of Gbadolite, in 1989, in the former Republic of Zaire, and of Bicesse, in 1991, in Portugal. All these accords did not achieve the expected results.
The ongoing peace originated in 1994, with the signing of the Lusaka Protocol, in the Republic of Zambia, between the Government and UNITA. In light of this agreement, which was paralysed for some years, the Supplementary Memorandum of Understanding to this protocol signed on 04 April 2002.
The document hereto, which was eagerly expected by Angolans, was signed by the former chief of staff of the Angolan Armed Forces, Armando da Cruz Neto, and the former chief of the High Military Command of the UNITA forces, Abreu Muengo Kamorteiro.
From that point onwards, April 04 became a historic reference in the Angolan population's struggle for their happiness, because it marked a decisive turning point in the political and development process of Angola. This date is, without doubt, one of the greatest achievements of the Angolan people after the national independence, on 11 November 1975.
The Angolan government did a lot to recover infrastructures destroyed during the armed conflict, but it is true that there is still a lot to be done in order to improve the living conditions of Angolans, namely in the improvement of the education system, health and basic sanitation.
The benefits of the six years of effective peace in the country, mainly in the rehabilitation of roads and bridges are visible, what has been enabling the free circulation of people and goods in the whole Angolan territory in good conditions.
This sixth anniversary of peace is ommemorated in a special way, since it is a year in which the Angolans prepare, for the second time in its history, to choose their representatives to the Angolan parliament in the legislative elections marked for September 05-06.
It is only now that the peace and tranquillity that the country experiences enables Angolans to choose their leaders, after the first elections held in 1992.
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