VZCZCXRO1700
RR RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHJO RUEHMR RUEHRN
DE RUEHLU #0847/01 2280701
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 160701Z AUG 07
FM AMEMBASSY LUANDA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 4236
INFO RUCNSAD/SOUTHERN AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 LUANDA 000847 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL AO
SUBJECT: ANGOLA: POLITICAL ROUNDUP 
 
 
¶1. (U) SUMMARY 
-- Supreme Court Proscribes 19 Political Parties 
 
-- Ministries Improve Documentation of Children 
 
-- Sixty Cuban Doctors Arrive In Luanda 
 
-- Angola Reestablishes Relations With Togo 
 
-- Angola and North Korea Re-affirm Military Cooperation 
 
-- MPLA Parliamentarian Criticizes Angola's "New Elite" 
 
 
Supreme Court Proscribes 19 Political Parties 
--------------------------------------------- 
¶2. (U) On June 26, Supreme Court President Cristiano Andre 
announced the court's proscription of 19 political 
parties, thereby reducing the number of legal political 
parties to 107.  This move stems from the Supreme Court's 
continuing investigation of all registered political parties. 
 The investigation is looking for registration anomalies such 
as registration documents with falsified signatures, parties 
with no physical headquarters, and parties with less than the 
15,000 members required to obtain legal status.  Other 
parties are expected to be proscribed in the coming months as 
investigations continue. 
 
¶3. (U) COMMENT: The only outcry about the court's decision 
came from the proscribed parties, who now find themselves off 
the government teat.  Although 126 parties have been on the 
books since the multi-party system was introduced in 1991, 
only 15 or so show signs of genuine political activity.  Most 
political parties surface only when the GRA announces its 
intent to disburse funds, which the government generally 
disburses equally among parties rather than proportionally 
based on party size.  Fewer parties mean more money in the 
trough for those who remain, and this move is not seen as a 
precursor to a widespread crackdown on active opposition 
parties. 
 
Ministries Improve Documentation of Children 
--------------------------------------------- 
¶4. (U) On June 25, in efforts to improve service delivery and 
mitigate the problem of undocumented citizens, the Justice 
and Health Ministries launched the "register at birth" 
campaign in all public health clinics.  Birth certificates 
can now be issued in clinics, freeing parents from having to 
travel to the provincial Ministry of Justice for 
registration.  Certificates can be issued at birth, at the 
child's first medical examination before age five, or upon 
enrollment in a public school. 
 
Sixty Cuban Doctors Arrive In Luanda 
----------------------------------------- 
¶5. (U) Under a contract between the Governments of Cuba and 
Angola, sixty Cuban doctors arrived recently in Luanda to 
work in medical facilities throughout the province.  The 
sixty doctors have been sent to the municipalities of Kilamba 
Kiaxi (17), Samba (2), Rangel (2), Sambizanga (2), Maianga 
(3), Viana (11), Ingombota (7), Cazenga (12) and Cacuaco (4). 
 Additional doctors are expected to arrive in the coming 
months. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Comments: This contract is only a small step towards 
plugging the holes in Angola's health care sector.  Though 
Cubans medical professionals have a long history of work in 
Angola - many have Angolan-born children that are essentially 
stateless - this is the first time the GRA has publicly 
announced the arrival of Cuban doctors since the withdrawal 
of Cuban troops during the civil war.  Publicity about the 
Cuban doctors may be intended to show government efforts to 
improve medical care before the next rainy season starts. 
 
Angola Reestablishes Relations With Togo 
---------------------------------------- 
¶7. (U) On June 26, Togolese President Faure Gnassingbe began 
the first official visit by a Togolese leader to Angola. 
Togo and Angola's relations have been chilly since Angola's 
independence, when it was confirmed that then President 
Gnassingbe Eyadema supported UNITA and not the MPLA-led 
government.  Fence mending began in 2005, when Gnassingbe 
turned military hardware stored in Togo by UNITA over to the 
GRA. 
 
¶8. (SBU) COMMENTS:  Political observers believe President 
Gnassingbe's visit will be used to push Togo's request for 
compensation for the military hardware turnover and expelling 
UNITA from Togo.  Reports state that the GRA pledged in 
return to assist Togo with its energy crisis, potentially 
through the sale of crude oil at discount prices. 
 
 
LUANDA 00000847  002 OF 002 
 
 
Angola and North Korea Re-affirm Military Cooperation 
--------------------------------------------- --------- 
¶9. (U) After an early June trip to China to find companies 
interested in funding Angolan defense projects, Angolan 
Minister of Defense Kundy Paihama spent four days in North 
Korea to reinforce military cooperation between the two 
countries and to lay the framework for an official bilateral 
accord.  Paihama called military cooperation between the two 
countries "excellent" and noted long historical ties, 
specifically North Korea's help with Angola's struggle for 
independence. 
 
MPLA Parliamentarian Criticizes "New Elite" 
------------------------------------------- 
¶10. (U) MPLA Parliamentarian Joao Melo strongly criticized 
those he classified as "new money" in Angola.  In a Radio 
Ecclesia public debate, Joao Melo questioned the source of 
this new-found wealth and said that, like most newly rich in 
Africa, they are "exhibitionists and consumers" who spend 
rather than produce wealth.  He praised Asia as an example of 
wealth production, stating that the higher investment levels 
there create more employment and wealth.  Joao Melo called 
for investigations into allegations of corruption in the 
nouveau riche.  (NOTE: It is widely believed that Angola's 
"new elite" are mainly MPLA members closely associated to 
President Dos Santos. END NOTE.) 
FERNANDEZ