Maravi

KK on a reconciliation mission to Angola

KK on a reconciliation mission to Angola
By Bright Mukwasa
Thu 20 Oct. 2011, 14:00 CAT

PRESIDENT Michael Sata has sent first Republican president Kenneth Kaunda to Angola to apologise to that government over the MMD's treacherous conduct during that country's civil war led by the late rebel leader Jonas Savimbi.

Speaking at State House yesterday when he received credentials from Sudan, Angola, Royal Kingdom of Norway, South Korea and Finland envoys, President Sata apologised to Angola on behalf of Zambia.

"I must apologise that MMD was very treacherous during your struggle against our late brother Savimbi. I apologise on behalf of Zambia that what our colleagues in MMD did was fraudulent, was greed.

"And as I am talking, our first president Dr Kenneth Kaunda is in Angola. I sent him as my envoy to go and personally apologise to the President," President Sata said.

Savimbi was the founder of the UNITA movement in March 1966, that first waged a guerrilla war against Portuguese colonial rule between 1966-1974, then confronted the rival Movement for the Liberation of the People of Angola (MPLA) during the decolonisation conflict between 1974 and 1975. After independence in 1975, Savimbi fought the ruling MPLA in the Angolan civil war until his death in a clash with government troops in 2002.

"Is it not a shame that Angola will be developing an US$8 million refinery and we are in Zambia and we are not benefiting from what Angola is doing. Through that we will be meeting my brother or send some people we want to link by road, by railway to your great country and see how we can strengthen our mutual benefits."

President Sata said Zambia and Angola had similar problems which had forced some of the people from that country to run into Zambia and there was need to strengthen the relationship of the two governments.

"Those who don't want to go back to Angola, this is their country, they can stay. They are Africans. Those who want to go, they can go. This question of refugees must come to an end because in borderlines people cultivate in Angola, others cultivate in Zambia, people marry in Angola, others marry in Zambia there's no passport when they are doing those."

And President Sata called on African countries to strengthen their co-operations in various areas.
He said his government would also consider opening up missions in countries where there was none.

"The reason we don't cement our relations Africans it's one-way traffic. So we need to have two-way traffic. The Europeans one time they had a plan route sea to sea, Cape to Cairo. How have we failed to achieve that? We understand the difficulties in which your country is going through and in one way or the other, we might not be having armed conflict but we also have the same thing," President Sata said when he received credentials from Sudanese Ambassador-designate Mohammed Isa Edam Balila.

Labels: ANGOLA, INFRASTRUCTURE, KENNETH KAUNDA, MICHAEL SATA

posted by MrK @ 2:51 PM