Angola’s Parliament has approved an amnesty plan for separatists in Cabinda as part of a deal to end a simmering 31-year conflict in the oil-rich province, the state-run Angop news agency reported.
The Angolan government and a faction of the Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda (FLEC) signed a peace deal earlier this month that gives special status to the restive coastal region and an amnesty to all combatants.
Angola’s Parliament, which is dominated by the MPLA, the ruling party of President Jose Eduardo dos Santos, passed the amnesty measure on Thursday by a vote of 128-0, according to Angop. There was one abstention.
Lawmakers also passed a resolution authorising Luanda to restructure Cabinda’s government and alter some of the duties and tariffs that apply to goods exported or imported through the province, an enclave separated from the rest of Angola by a small strip of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Angola, which has pledged to give the Cabindan separatists ministerial and diplomatic positions as well as integrate them into the army, is eager to end hostilities in the region, which accounts for more than half of the nation’s oil production.
Cabindans frequently complain that they see little from the country’s growing oil wealth — Angola is Africa’s second-largest producer of crude after Nigeria, and its economy has been booming since the end of a 27-year civil war in 2002.
Companies, especially in the oil sector, are clamouring to stake their claim to this bonanza. Much of the interest focuses on Cabinda, a former Portuguese protectorate.
Oil exploration there has tended to focus on offshore drilling, but analysts say a lasting peace will pave the way for significant onshore activity.
At the same time, they worry that the fractured nature of FLEC could prevent Luanda from putting a final lid on separatist ambitions. A faction led by Nzita Tiago, a leading FLEC figure, already has rejected the peace agreement with the government. — Reuters