avimbi's savag�jy·wreaks·-
By
f '
It i one of the ironies of
U.S. foreign policy that
Pre ident Bush could rail
again I Saddam Hu se in
whom he ha dubbed the
"Butcher of Bagdad" while
the Pre ident rolls out the red
c rpet for the rebel leader
Jon Savimbi of Angola.
Savimbi, the head of
U ITA, recently wel­
comed to Washington for the
second time in the la t 18
month . He met with the
Pre ident nd made the
rounds with congressional
leader nd was treated al­
mo t like a vi iting head of
tate. '
Yet it is thi ame Jonas
Savi mbi who ha been
respon ible for waging a
devastating U.S. and South
African bacud af agai D5t
the Angolan government and
the Angolan people.
Savimbi ha refused to
urrender his claim to power
despite the fact that the
government of Angola is
recognized by all of the na­
tioIl of the world except the
United State and South
Africa.
• �AVIMBI HAS BEEN the
pawn and tool of South
Africa. in it ruthle s cam­
paign to destabilize the
region as a means of weaken­
ing external oppo ition to
apartheid.
The results of the U.S. and
South Afric n embrace of
Savimbi and U ITA h ve
been di a trous for Angola.
500,000 people have been
killed in the I st 16 year and
untold thou ands have been
wound d a a consequence of
the are
Savimbi has launched ran-
dom attacks on military and
civilian targets and b indis­
criminately placed thousand
of mines acro the landscape
in Angola.
The human toll has been
frightening. The site of am­
putees is common place.
There are more amputee in
Angola because of Savimbi's
land mine than any country
in the world and most of the
victims are omen nd
children.
Th re r mor
mput In
Angola bec u
of Savlmbl'
land mine th
n
any country In
th' orld and
o t of th
'vlctlm
r
omen nd
children.
CONSEQUENTLY THE
Angolan government h en­
cour ged the gradual
withdr wal of Cuban troops.
Nambian independence is
also f cr of life as is the
growing intere t on the part
of the Soviet Union in the
peaceful resolution of
regional conflict.
The Government of An­
gola, abandoning a
longstandi ng policy of refu -
ing to tal wit-h UNITA has
agreed negotiate with UNITa
wifhin a framework
developed by 18 African
leader nd endor ed by the
OAU.
The ruling party, the
MPLA has also agreed to
greater priv tization within
the economy nd multi-party
competitive election within
the poli tical proces .
There i no logic I reason
for the U.S. to continue to
PAGES
n 'Angola
funnet millions of dollars to
Savimbi and UNITA. In fact
continued U.S. aid to U ITA
eems to be the re on hy
. Savimbi s not been p r-
ticularly responsive to the
peace proces .
In tead Savimbi continue
his brutal campaign of terror
and de tabili lion in Angola.
Savimbi remain a favorite of
George B h and a hard core
of con ervative right wing
cold warrior who are still
fighting ncient battles.
Savimbi's savagery must
end. It's hard for George
Bu h to reconcile his con­
demnation of and refusal to
t Ik to Saddam Hus ein with
the warm and magna imous
welcome extended 0 the
renegade Jane Sa imbt.
African Ameri.can and
progres ive mu t co tinue
to fight for an end t U.S.
support for S vimbi' reign
Ron
Olnl
SOME S, children in
Angola are orphans. The in­
fant mortality rate is tagger­
ing and nearly 1 million
people in Angola re facing South African force
starvation. battl� C ... itoqun vale nd the
The ravishe of vimbi' ucce of the Ii er tion
avagery h brought Angola tru 1 in ide South Africa
to tire brink of ruin. Property . ha l)r.ccd. S ut A rica to
damage from the ar includ- wit draw from Angola.
ing the chronic disruption. of
r ilroads nd other mean of
communication totals in ex­
cess of 20 bi Ilion dollars.
The murderous activiue
of the ruthle·· renegade
Savimbi would not be po -
ible without mas ive is-
lance from the United State '.
Under the ui e of oppo -
i ng marxi t or communist
supported regi me the u .S .
has poured up to 80 million
dollar a ye r into upport for
SaY+mbi and UN ITA. _ ..
From the very oUI et the
Angolan government was
forced to accept Soviet and
Eastern Bloc assistance and
the id of Cuban troop to
rave off the on laught of the
U.S: and South African back­
ed guerilla campaign of
Savimbi.
In recent year, however,
the entire scene h changed
in Southern Aerica.
The decisive de Ie t of
of terror in Angote.
People power mu t prevail
on this vital issue.
,
Ron Daniels serves as
President 01 the lnstitute-for
Community Organization and
Development in Youngstown,
Ohio. He may be contacted at
916) 746-5747.
..
, -�
...
I ".. ,
ter, a Pan-African pr��ate
school in Queen, ew york,
s e "felt impelled to produce
a resource for P rent and
teacher who believe it I im­
portant that children ee po i­
t ive reflection of
themselve • their peer and
familie in their book."
M . William ha over 200
book Ii ted in her catalogue.
Mo I of the e book offer
written and vi ual images of
children and families in
African, American and Carib­
bean culture,
The re pon e from
parent. tea her. and 0 her
concerned with the dev lop­
ment of . elf'-e teem an cul­
tural pride in young
childrenha been tre me n­
dou . For furth r inform ti n
contact: Heather A. Wil­
liam, Po i t iv e Image
children' book, 592A
Macon Street, Brooklyn Y
11233. (718) 453-1111.,
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TIlt f Al C l
ind ls a marve ous
h·ng to develop
�------------� .. �.
By Keit O. III OR
That is the logan and
philo ophy of KIDS "R"
Smart te rning Center out of
La Vegas, Nevad . .
In previou column en-
titled, "Higher Educ tion
. Begin Early", we l i ted
l c nty speci fic hypothese
ugge ted by Dr. Regin Id
Clark from hi book,"F mily
Life nd School Achieve­
ment: Why Poor Black
Children Succeed or Fail".
Among t hi twenty st re­
ment were; 1) Student who
do well in chool h ve often
h d early, rei tively plea ant,
supportive learning experien­
c at h me and in chool.
2 Student with a positive
vi w 0 them elve re better
bl to realize their
capabilitie and pore n-
tiali iie .
Kid "R" Sm rt Le rning
Center. is African-American
o n d nd operated by M�,
Lolanda Bunch and Mr. Wen­
dell William. They en­
thu i lically and correctly
a ert that "Knowledge i
Power."
ACCORDING TO MS.
BU CH, "No child i too
young to learn, so we believe
in creating rich and educa­
tionally timulating environ-
merv·"
.. We leach African Hi tory
365 days of the year, not ju t
during Febru ry. We also
think ttt t it i important to
highlight local people as
heroes, well a national
one ."
Creating an Africentric
learning environment, and
identifying local, nation I
and international people a
heroe and heroines for Pan
African children are two key
ingredients for empowering
children.
Another import nt in-
gredient is identifying posi­
tive books for· Pan African
children. When e speak of
P n Afric n, we-are peaking
of African-American. Afro­
Car i bbc an, Afro-Latino,
Contenental-African, etc.
Po itive Image children's
books, the mail order
c talogue of Pan-African and
Multi-Cultur I children's
books, i one hining ex-
mple of doing the correct
thing with regards to em­
powering parent and young
children.
PQSITIVE IMAGES
children' book a
launched by M . Heather
Will iam • a Jamaican born
and Harvard educ ted attor­
ney.
Through her work with
bu e d and neglected
children in ew York City,
nd her long tanding a ocia­
tion with the Learning Cen-
HIGHER
EOUCATIO
YI-, mind i a marvelou
thing .ro develop ( nd not
terrible thing to wa te)!
Plea e I t u know about
other imilar out t nd ing
learning center. people and
project, Hilton: Higher
Educ tion, .J 139 N. Grey
Ave, , 1 01. Po mona, C a
91767.
Hilton: Higher Education
is de igned to dialogue with
college and world reader.
Education i on o in g and
certainly not lim ited to class­
room study. Let' t lk. (714)
899-0650 .: