The Angolan government on Thursday called on the rebels it has been fighting for the last 25 years since independence to lay down their arms because Angola was now ready for reconciliation.
In a text for independence anniversary celebrations this Saturday, the government said that it believed Jonas Savimbi's rebel National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) "is more and more convinced it will not be able to impose its will militarily on Angola's millions."
"We have to bring an end to the war once and for all so that we can use our resources for the reconstruction and the progress of the nation," the text said.
The last 25 years of war have inflicted crushing hardship on Angola's 12 million people, with an estimated four million of them now dependent on humanitarian aid for survival.
"Nobody is going to prevent us from fulfilling our dream of reconciliation, peace and development," the text said.
"State institutions are being transformed and the public has realized that with democracy, economic stability and a serious government, there is no reason to suffer from hunger.
"Society is more and more open to the idea of political change," it added.
The army launched a vast offensive against UNITA in 1998 but rebel fighting has managed to isolate vast regions of the diamond-rich country.
The rebels recently presented the government with a series of propositions, including the setting-up of a new government, the depolarization of the army and the police and increased press freedom.
Luanda however rejected all the rebels' proposals and said that the only solution was for them to give up the war – LUANDA (AFP)
© 2000 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
