Angolans are exhausted by war and desperate for peace. They are also tired of the successive cycles of talks and abortive peace deals. Little wonder, then, that there is a growing civil society peace movement in Luanda and other major cities, pressing for a more broadly based convention and peace process.
Neither the MPLA-dominated Government of National Unity and Reconstruction (GURN) nor Jonas Savimbi’s UNITA is felt to have the interests of most Angolans at heart. There is evidence of some fresh thinking within the country but the movement is still nascent and has yet to define a programme clearly. Government responses suggest some unease and considerable uncertainty as to how to deal with this new phenomenon.