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courage is contagious

Viewing cable 08LUANDA172, SCENESETTER FOR ADMIRAL FITZGERALD'S MARCH 4-5

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
08LUANDA172 2008-02-29 06:13 2011-08-30 01:44 UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY Embassy Luanda
VZCZCXRO0609
PP RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHJO RUEHMR RUEHRN
DE RUEHLU #0172/01 0600613
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 290613Z FEB 08
FM AMEMBASSY LUANDA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 4622
RHMFIUU/COMUSNAVEUR NAPLES IT PRIORITY
INFO RUENAAA/SECNAV WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY
RUCGEVC/JOINT STAFF WASHDC PRIORITY
RHMFISS/HQ USAFRICOM STUTTGART GE PRIORITY
RUCNSAD/SOUTHERN AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 LUANDA 000172 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: OTRA MAAR PREL AO
SUBJECT: SCENESETTER FOR ADMIRAL FITZGERALD'S MARCH 4-5 
VISIT TO ANGOLA 
 
 1. (SBU) My staff and I warmly welcome your visit to Luanda 
March 4-6.  This visit provides an excellent opportunity to 
capitalize on the positive momentum established during the 
February 21-23 visit of the HSV Swift and follow up on some 
of the issues addressed by General Ward during his December 
2007 visit.  Progress has stalled on the centerpiece of our 
mil-mil relationship, the proposed bilateral work plan first 
suggested in 2006, and visits such as these are key to moving 
our bi-lateral dialogue forward. 
Overview 
-------- 
 
2. (SBU) Angola's political and military leadership continues 
to be wary of U.S. intentions, especially concerning Africom 
and our goals for military engagement with the region in 
general and with Angola in particular.  Increasingly, Angola 
is angling to take a leadership role in regional peace and 
security organizations such as the Southern Africa 
Development Community (SADC) and the African Union (AU). 
 
3. (U) Six years after the end in 2002 of a 27-year civil 
war, Angola is at a pivotal juncture in its development and 
reconstruction.  A democratic, stable and economically 
prosperous Angola is vital to both regional stability and 
prosperity and US national security interests. Our principal 
goals are consolidating Angola's democratic transition and 
strengthening the country's ability to more efficiently use 
its vast mineral wealth to improve the well-being of all 
citizens. 
 
4. (SBU) Perhaps the greatest constraint to improving our 
ties with the Angolan government and the military in 
particular is our history with Angola.  President dos Santos 
has publicly chastised the powers that interfered in colonial 
Angola for not helping rebuild the country after decades of 
civil war, and he includes the U.S. in that group.  Many of 
Angola's civilian and military leaders fought against rebels 
backed by the U.S. and blame the U.S. for the suffering 
inflicted by those rebels on their families.  Some Angolans 
seek to strengthen ties with the U.S., including Armed Forces 
Chief, Gen. Furtado, but many others, including the still 
powerful and influential Minister of Defense, are wary. 
 
Military Cooperation 
-------------------- 
 
5. (SBU) Angola's military (110,000 soldiers) is regarded as 
one of the better African forces.  As Angola transitions into 
a post-conflict force structure, GRA officials are planning 
to reduce its standing military to around 50,000 personnel. 
Angola is the head of the peace and security councils of both 
SADC and the African Union.  Angola has welcomed its 
leadership position on these multi-lateral councils, and is 
consulting closely with its African neighbors on a wide range 
of regional security issues, including the conflict in the 
Democratic Republic of Congo.  These multi-lateral groups are 
key in forming regional opinion on U.S. involvement on the 
continent through Africom and in shaping regional responses 
to diplomatic trouble spots, such as Zimbabwe. 
 
6.  (SBU) As Angola increases its efforts to become a 
regional player, bilateral engagement with the U.S. and NATO 
allies is slowing down (with the exception of Portugal), 
while engagement with others, notably Israel and Russia, is 
increasing.  During your visit last year, the Angolans 
promised renewed cooperation, but Angolan lack of 
participation in our IMET program, ACSS conferences, various 
offers of assistance and a bilateral work plan indicate that 
we have not yet overcome suspicions generated by our role in 
the Angolan civil war.  It remains to be seen whether recent 
openness to dialogue will translate into concrete action. 
 
7.  (SBU) Coming on the heels of General Ward's and the HSV 
Swift's visit, your visit is can futhere help to dispel 
misconceptions about our intentions both regionally and in 
Angola.  Discussing your vision for Africom's engagement in 
the region would address many of the concerns voiced by other 
African leaders in the international press. Once Angolan 
leaders better understand Africom, they could play a helpful 
role in defining this vision.  While reaching agreement with 
the Angolans to formalize our bilateral military-to-military 
engagement through the signing of a Bilateral Military 
Cooperation Agreement would represent a ground-breaking step 
forward in our relationship, this is seen as a long-term 
 
LUANDA 00000172  002 OF 003 
 
 
goal. 
 
Politics and Elections 
---------------------- 
 
8. (SBU) While nominally a multi-party democracy, Angola's 
government is dominated by the Popular Movement for the 
Liberation of Angola (MPLA) and a very strong chief executive 
(now in office for 28 years) - Jose Eduardo Dos Santos. 
Angola's only democratic elections since independence in 1975 
were held in 1992.  The result was contested by Jonas 
Savimbi, leader of the opposition party Union for the Total 
Independence of Angola (UNITA), and resulted in the 
resumption of civil war.  Savimbi was killed in battle in 
February 2002, and a formal peace accord was signed shortly 
thereafter. 
 
9. (U) In December 2006, President Dos Santos and opposition 
parties reached agreement to hold legislative elections in 
2008 and presidential elections in 2009.  Voter registration 
was completed in September 2007, with over 8 million Angolans 
registering to vote.  In a December 28th speech, President 
dos Santos announced that legislative elections would be held 
on September 5th and 6th 2008; while he must still formally 
call elections 90 days prior to the election, all signs 
indicate the oft-postponed elections are actually on track 
for 2008. 
 
10. (U) U.S. assistance for democracy-building and good 
governance in FY 07 was approximately $7.5 million.  Our 
programs are administered through USAID and executed by 
International Republican Institute (IRI), the National 
Democratic Institute (NDI), and the International IFES.  They 
focus on building civil society capacity, strengthening 
political parties, and providing limited technical assistance 
to the Angolan government. 
 
Human Rights Improving, but Capacity a Constraint 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
 
11. (U) Angola's human rights record continues to show areas 
where improvements are needed.  The country's overburdened 
judicial system remains a poor protector of individual 
rights.  Several high-profile cases in 2007 drew attention to 
the role of the government in fueling self-censorship of the 
media and continuing restrictions on the freedom of movement 
within Angola for journalists and others.  Elements of the 
military and police security forces continue to show a 
disregard for human rights and the government has failed to 
transparently investigate allegations of abuse.  A 
high-profile report released in December 2007 by Doctors 
without Borders accused Angolan security forces of severely 
abusing and systematically raping illegal Congolese 
immigrations during expulsion operations in the remote 
province of Lunda Norte; despite the Army Chief of Staff's 
promise that the allegations would be investigated, no 
further report has been issued. 
 
12. (U) Prisons are overcrowded with harsh conditions, 
especially in the provinces.  The NGO movement is still 
nascent, but there are some indigenous organizations tracking 
human rights abuses and working with the GRA to train the 
national police on human rights issues. 
 
13. (U) USG-funded programs have helped train police through 
the International Law Enforcement Academy (ILEA) Gaborone 
facility.  In addition, USG funded international organization 
partners in Angola have provided training on specific issues 
such as trafficking in persons and child rights.  The USG, in 
conjunction with the Government of Portugal, is carrying out 
a project of court automation with the Ministry of Justice. 
 
Economics 
--------- 
 
14. (U) Angola's economy is one of the fastest growing in the 
world, driven by booming oil production.  Production, 
officially capped by OPEC at 1.9 million barrels per day 
(bpd), is projected to reach over 2.2 million bpd by the end 
of 2008.  Angola's economy grew by 19.5 percent in 2006 and 
23.4 percent in 2007, and is expected to match or beat that 
pace in 2008.  Inflation was reduced from triple digits near 
the end of the war to just under 12  percent last year. 
Thanks again to petroleum revenue, foreign exchange reserves 
 
LUANDA 00000172  003 OF 003 
 
 
are growing.  Angola is our seventh largest source of foreign 
oil.  Thanks to oil revenue and to extensive lines of credit 
supplied by the Chinese, Portuguese, Brazilians, and other 
governments, Angola is now in the midst of major 
infrastructure rebuilding. 
 
15. (U) Angola's tremendous oil wealth has allowed it to come 
out from under a severe debt burden generated during the 
civil war years.  The government deficit is under control and 
foreign reserve accounts are flush with capital from 
extractive industries, namely oil and diamonds.  Outside 
these industries, however, the Angolan economy continues to 
sputter.  Agriculture is slowly returning to the countryside, 
while manufacturing and service industries are scarce and 
generate few jobs to address the nation's burgeoning 
unemployment problem. 
 
16. (U) According to the World Bank's 2007 "Doing Business" 
index, Angola ranks 167 out of 178 countries in promoting an 
open and efficient business climate.  Angola's rankings in 
the categories of "starting a business" (173 out of 178) and 
"enforcing contracts" (176 out of 178) are of particular 
concern. 
 
Development and US Assistance 
----------------------------- 
 
17. (U) While Angola shows signs of growth and development, 
the country still has some of the lowest development 
indicators in the world.  Although statistical data are 
imprecise, best international estimates are that sixty-eight 
percent of the population lives in poverty, 26 percent in 
abject poverty.  Life expectancy is forty-seven years, more 
than 30 percent lower than the average for developing 
nations; infant mortality, maternal mortality and other 
measures of the quality of life are among the worst in the 
world. Fertility is very high - an average of 6.9 births per 
woman. 
 
18. (U) Our USAID programs are aimed at assisting Angola to 
address the many major challenges it faces to achieving 
long-term stability and progress in translating wealth into 
an appreciably improved quality of life for its citizens. 
Our flagship program is the President's Malaria Initiative 
(PMI), which seeks to halve by 2010 mortality from malaria 
among children under five - and we're on track to do that. 
The Angolan government, in particular the Health Ministry, 
has been closely involved in the program and collaboration 
with other donors is strong.  In FY07, the second year of 
implementation, PMI sprayed over 110,000 houses (reaching 
over 500,000 Angolans), distributed over 90,000 bed nets and 
furnished over 2.4 million treatments for malaria. 
 
19. (U) The USG is also highly visible in the fight against 
HIV/AIDS.  Angola presents a unique opportunity to combat the 
spread of HIV/AIDS.  According to CDC data, Angola has a 
relatively low prevalence rate (2.5% among adults in 2006), 
but areas bordering higher-prevalence countries have rates 
four to five times as large and are rising.  Still, many of 
the factors conducive to an increase in the rate of HIV/AIDS 
are in place: the early age of sexual debut, the common 
occurrence of multiple partners, and improved transportation 
routes, which encourage greater interaction with neighboring 
countries with significantly greater rates.  The USG - CDC, 
USAID, DOS and DOD - is working closely with the Angolan 
Ministry of Health, private partners and NGOs to implement 
the national plan against HIV-AIDS.  A more complete survey 
is now underway to measure prevalence; results are expected 
in December. 
 
20. (U) Angola also remains one of the most heavily 
land-mined countries in the world, and USG assistance 
provides around USD 5.5 million to support humanitarian 
landmine clearance and the destruction of excess and unstable 
weapons and munitions.  We also support capacity-building 
within the Angolan National Demining Commission to strengthen 
the Angolan capacity to manage the national demining program 
and take over the major role played by international NGOs in 
landmine clearance. 
FERNANDEZ