Tripartite Accord (1988): Difference between revisions
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[[UNITA]] and South African forces stopped and repelled an MPLA advance on UNITA regions in strongholds in Southern Angola ending with the [[Battle of Cuito Cuanavale]] in [[Cuando Cubango]] province from [[January 13]] to [[March 23]], 1988, in the second largest battle in the [[history of Africa]].<ref name="sechist">George, Edward. ''The Cuban Intervention in Angola, 1965-1991: From Che Guevara to Cuito Cuanavale'', 2005. Page 1.</ref> UNITA and South Africa retreated after a 15-hour battle on [[March 23]] and moved for negotiations.<ref name="cuitodate">Kahn, Owen Ellison. ''Disengagement from Southwest Africa: The Prospects for Peace in Angola and Namibia'', 1991. University of Miami Institute for Soviet and East. Page 79.</ref><ref name="linkage"/> |
[[UNITA]] and South African forces stopped and repelled an MPLA advance on UNITA regions in strongholds in Southern Angola ending with the [[Battle of Cuito Cuanavale]] in [[Cuando Cubango]] province from [[January 13]] to [[March 23]], 1988, in the second largest battle in the [[history of Africa]].<ref name="sechist">George, Edward. ''The Cuban Intervention in Angola, 1965-1991: From Che Guevara to Cuito Cuanavale'', 2005. Page 1.</ref> UNITA and South Africa retreated after a 15-hour battle on [[March 23]] and moved for negotiations.<ref name="cuitodate">Kahn, Owen Ellison. ''Disengagement from Southwest Africa: The Prospects for Peace in Angola and Namibia'', 1991. University of Miami Institute for Soviet and East. Page 79.</ref><ref name="linkage"/> |
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But the Cubans in Angola had reversed the situation on the ground. In fact, the US wondered whether the Cubans would stop their advance at the Namibian border.<ref>Gleijeses, Piero: Conflicting Missions: Havana, Washington, and Africa, 1959-1976 (The University of North Carolina Press) quoting: “Entrevista de Risquet con Chester Crocker, 26/6/88”, ACC</ref> Thus, Jorge Risquet, head of the Cuban delegation, responded to the South African demands: “The time for your military adventures, for the acts of aggression that you have pursued with impunity, for your massacres of refugees ... is over… South Africa is acting as though it was a victorious army, rather than what it really is: a defeated aggressor that is withdrawing ... South Africa must face the fact that it will not obtain at the negotiating table what it could not achieve on the battlefield.” <ref>"Une Odyssee Africaine" (France, 2006, 59mn) directed by: Jihan El Tahri</ref><ref>Gleijeses, Piero: Conflicting Missions: Havana, Washington, and Africa, 1959-1976 (The University of North Carolina Press) quoting: “Actas das Conversaçôes Quadripartidas entre a RPA, Cuba, Estados Unidos de América e a Africa do Sul realizadas no Cairo de 24-26.06.988”, Archives of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba, Havanna</ref> Crocker cabled Secretary of State George Shultz that the talks had taken place “against the backdrop of increasing military tension surrounding the large build-up of heavily armed Cuban troops in south-west Angola in close proximity to the Namibian border ... The Cuban build-up in southwest Angola has created an unpredictable military dynamic.”<ref>Gleijeses, Piero: Conflicting Missions: Havana, Washington, and Africa, 1959-1976 (The University of North Carolina Press) quoting: Crocker to Secretary of State, June 26, 1988, Freedom of Information Act</ref> |
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As the war during the negotiations continued, on 27 June, 1988, Cuban MIGs attacked SADF positions near the Calueque dam, 11km north of the Namibian border. The CIA reported that “Cuba’s successful use of air power and the apparent weakness of Pretoria’s air defences” highlighted the fact that Havana had achieved air superiority in southern Angola and northern Namibia. Only a few hours after the Cuban’s air strike, the SADF destroyed a nearby bridge over the Cunene River. They did so, the CIA surmised, “to deny Cuban and Angolan ground forces easy passage to the Namibia border and to reduce the number of positions they must defend.” <ref>Gleijeses, Piero: Conflicting Missions: Havana, Washington, and Africa, 1959-1976 (The University of North Carolina Press) quoting: CIA, “South Africa-Angola-Cuba”, June 29, 1988, Freedom of Information Act and CIA, “South Africa-Angola-Namibia”, July 1, 1988, Freedom of Information Act</ref> |
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A ceasefire was finally agreed upon on 8 August, 1988.<ref name="timeline">Alao, Abiodun. ''Brothers at War: Dissidence and Rebellion in Southern Africa'', 1994. Pages XIX-XXI.</ref> |
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==Implementation== |
==Implementation== |
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Cuban troops began withdrawing on [[January 10]], [[1989]]. The Angolan government offered an amnesty to UNITA troops.<ref name="timeline"/> |
Cuban troops began withdrawing on [[January 10]], [[1989]]. The Angolan government offered an amnesty to UNITA troops.<ref name="timeline"/> |
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Revision as of 20:54, 27 March 2008
The New York Accords granted independence to Namibia and ended the direct involvement of foreign troops in the Angolan Civil War. The accords were signed on December 22, 1988 at the United Nations headquarters in New York City by representatives of the governments of Angola, Cuba, and South Africa.[1]
Negotiation
In 1981 Chester Crocker, U.S. assistant secretary of state for African affairs for newly elected President Ronald Reagan, had developed a linkage policy, tying apartheid South Africa's agreement to relinquish control of Namibia to Cuba's troop withdrawal and peace in Angola.[1][2] On September 10, 1986 Fidel Castro made Crocker's proposal a prerequisite to withdrawal from Angola as did the South African government on March 8, 1987. The Angolan and American governments began negotiating in June 1987. The Cuban government joined negotiations on January 28, 1988 and all three parties held a round of negotiations on March 9 in London. The South African government joined negotiations on May 3 and the parties met in June and August in New York and Geneva. All parties approved an outline agreement of Principles for a Peaceful Settlement in South Western Africa on July 20[3] and agreed to a ceasefire on August 8, 1988.[4]
UNITA and South African forces stopped and repelled an MPLA advance on UNITA regions in strongholds in Southern Angola ending with the Battle of Cuito Cuanavale in Cuando Cubango province from January 13 to March 23, 1988, in the second largest battle in the history of Africa.[5] UNITA and South Africa retreated after a 15-hour battle on March 23 and moved for negotiations.[6][1]
But the Cubans in Angola had reversed the situation on the ground. In fact, the US wondered whether the Cubans would stop their advance at the Namibian border.[7] Thus, Jorge Risquet, head of the Cuban delegation, responded to the South African demands: “The time for your military adventures, for the acts of aggression that you have pursued with impunity, for your massacres of refugees ... is over… South Africa is acting as though it was a victorious army, rather than what it really is: a defeated aggressor that is withdrawing ... South Africa must face the fact that it will not obtain at the negotiating table what it could not achieve on the battlefield.” [8][9] Crocker cabled Secretary of State George Shultz that the talks had taken place “against the backdrop of increasing military tension surrounding the large build-up of heavily armed Cuban troops in south-west Angola in close proximity to the Namibian border ... The Cuban build-up in southwest Angola has created an unpredictable military dynamic.”[10] As the war during the negotiations continued, on 27 June, 1988, Cuban MIGs attacked SADF positions near the Calueque dam, 11km north of the Namibian border. The CIA reported that “Cuba’s successful use of air power and the apparent weakness of Pretoria’s air defences” highlighted the fact that Havana had achieved air superiority in southern Angola and northern Namibia. Only a few hours after the Cuban’s air strike, the SADF destroyed a nearby bridge over the Cunene River. They did so, the CIA surmised, “to deny Cuban and Angolan ground forces easy passage to the Namibia border and to reduce the number of positions they must defend.” [11]
A ceasefire was finally agreed upon on 8 August, 1988.[4]
Implementation
Cuban troops began withdrawing on January 10, 1989. The Angolan government offered an amnesty to UNITA troops.[4]
See also
References
- ^ a b c Tvedten, Inge. Angola: Struggle for Peace and Reconstruction, 1997. Pages 38-40.
- ^ COLD WAR Chat: Chester Crocker, Former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs CNN
- ^ Agreement Among the People's Republic of Angola, the Republic of Cuba, and the Republic of South Africa
- ^ a b c Alao, Abiodun. Brothers at War: Dissidence and Rebellion in Southern Africa, 1994. Pages XIX-XXI.
- ^ George, Edward. The Cuban Intervention in Angola, 1965-1991: From Che Guevara to Cuito Cuanavale, 2005. Page 1.
- ^ Kahn, Owen Ellison. Disengagement from Southwest Africa: The Prospects for Peace in Angola and Namibia, 1991. University of Miami Institute for Soviet and East. Page 79.
- ^ Gleijeses, Piero: Conflicting Missions: Havana, Washington, and Africa, 1959-1976 (The University of North Carolina Press) quoting: “Entrevista de Risquet con Chester Crocker, 26/6/88”, ACC
- ^ "Une Odyssee Africaine" (France, 2006, 59mn) directed by: Jihan El Tahri
- ^ Gleijeses, Piero: Conflicting Missions: Havana, Washington, and Africa, 1959-1976 (The University of North Carolina Press) quoting: “Actas das Conversaçôes Quadripartidas entre a RPA, Cuba, Estados Unidos de América e a Africa do Sul realizadas no Cairo de 24-26.06.988”, Archives of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba, Havanna
- ^ Gleijeses, Piero: Conflicting Missions: Havana, Washington, and Africa, 1959-1976 (The University of North Carolina Press) quoting: Crocker to Secretary of State, June 26, 1988, Freedom of Information Act
- ^ Gleijeses, Piero: Conflicting Missions: Havana, Washington, and Africa, 1959-1976 (The University of North Carolina Press) quoting: CIA, “South Africa-Angola-Cuba”, June 29, 1988, Freedom of Information Act and CIA, “South Africa-Angola-Namibia”, July 1, 1988, Freedom of Information Act