Abstract
When President Jose Eduardo dos Santos and UNITA leader Jonas Savimbi met in May 1995 and pledged to work for reconciliation and a political solution to Angola's seemingly interminable civil warfare, it appeared as though a new chapter had been opened in Angola's history. But nearly two years have passed since that historic meeting with only the slowest and most grudging progress made on breaking down political and military divisions and attempting to forge a new nation from the shattered remains of then old. This essay deals with the major ethnic, cultural and political divisions that have made Angola the cockpit of southern Africa and the scene of constant internal conflict since the start of the liberation struggle against the Portuguese colonial army in 1960. For all but three of the last 26 years, the country has been at war and over two years of unstable peace has not diminished the forces that divide the country. The divisions between the Mbundu and mestico peoples of the Luanda region and both the...
Published Version
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