Republic of Cabinda
Encyclopedia
Forças Armadas de Cabinda
The Forças Armadas de Cabinda or Armed Forces of Cabinda is the armed wing of the political Cabindan nationalist group the Frente para a Libertação do Enclave de Cabinda ....
who claims sovereignty over the Angola
Angola
Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...
n Cabinda Province as an independent country. The government currently operates in exile
Government in exile
A government in exile is a political group that claims to be a country's legitimate government, but for various reasons is unable to exercise its legal power, and instead resides in a foreign country. Governments in exile usually operate under the assumption that they will one day return to their...
with offices located in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
and Pointe Noire, Congo.
Cabinda was a Portuguese protectorate known as the Portuguese Congo and was administratively separate from the Portuguese West Africa (Angola). During the Portuguese Colonial War
Portuguese Colonial War
The Portuguese Colonial War , also known in Portugal as the Overseas War or in the former colonies as the War of liberation , was fought between Portugal's military and the emerging nationalist movements in Portugal's African colonies between 1961 and 1974, when the Portuguese regime was...
period, the Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda
Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda
The Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda is a guerrilla and political movement fighting for the independence of the Angolan province of Cabinda. Formerly under Portuguese administration, with the independence of Angola from Portugal in 1975, the territory became an exclave province...
(FLEC) fought for the independence of Cabinda from the Portuguese. The independence was proclaimed on 1 August 1975. FLEC formed a provisional government led by Henriques Tiago. Luiz Branque Franque was elected president.
In January 1975, Angola’s three liberation movements (MPLA, FNLA and UNITA
UNITA
The National Union for the Total Independence of Angola is the second-largest political party in Angola. Founded in 1966, UNITA fought with the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola in the Angolan War for Independence and then against the MPLA in the ensuing civil war .The war was one...
) met with the colonial power in Alvor
Alvor
-Portugal:* Alvor , a civil parish in the municipality of Portimão* Alvor Castle, a castle in the parish of Alvor, district of Faro...
, Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
, to establish the modalities of the transition to independence, FLEC was not invited. The Alvor Agreement
Alvor Agreement
The Alvor Agreement, signed on January 15, 1975, granted Angola independence from Portugal on November 11, ending the war for independence while marking the transition to civil war...
was signed, establishing Angolan independence and confirming Cabinda as part of Angola. After the Angolan independence
Angolan War of Independence
The Angolan War of Independence began as an uprising against forced cotton cultivation, and became a multi-faction struggle for control of Portugal's Overseas Province of Angola with three nationalist movements and a separatist movement...
came in effect in November 1975, Cabinda was invaded by forces of the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola
Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola
The People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola - Labour Party is a political party that has ruled Angola since the country's independence from Portugal in 1975...
(MPLA) with support of troops from Cuba
Cuban intervention in Angola
In November 1975, on the eve of Angola's independence, Cuba launched a large-scale military intervention in support of the leftist liberation movement MPLA against United States-backed invasions by South Africa and Zaire in support of two other liberation movements competing for power in the...
. The MPLA overthrew the provisional FLEC government and incorporated Cabinda into Angola.
For much of the 1970s and 1980s, FLEC operated a low intensity, guerrilla war, attacking Angolan government troops and economic targets and kidnapping foreign employees working in the province’s oil and construction businesses. In July 2006, after ceasefire negotiations, António Bento Bembe - as a president of Cabindan Forum for Dialogue and Peace, vice-president and executive secretary of FLEC - announced that the Cabindan separatist forces were ready to declare a ceasefire. The peace treaty was signed. FLEC-FAC from Paris contends Bembe has no authority or mandate to negotiate with the Angolans and that the only acceptable solution is total independence.
Republic of Cabinda (Kabinda) is a member of Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization
Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization
The Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization , formed in 11 February 1991, in The Hague, is an international organization of political organisations and governments representing self-proclaimed "indigenous peoples, minorities, and unrecognised or occupied territories". The organization...
and a founding member of the Organization of Emerging African States.
Geography
Cabinda is a territory of 7,283 square kilometres in west central AfricaAfrica
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
with a population of 264,584 in 2006 (estimate), divided between four municipalities of Belize
Belize, Angola
Belize is a town and municipality in Cabinda Province in Angola....
(population: 17,693), Buco Zau
Buco Zau
Buco-Zau is a town and municipality in Cabinda Province in Angola....
(40,019), Cabinda
Cabinda (city)
Cabinda or Tchiowa, as it is called by the Cabindans, is a city that is located in the Cabinda Province, an exclave of Angola. Angolan sovereignty over Cabinda is disputed by the Republic of Cabinda...
(185,924) and Cacongo
Cacongo
Cacongo is a town and municipality in Cabinda Province in Angola....
(20,948). Cabinda is Angola
Angola
Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...
n exclave, which means that it is not connected to the rest of Angola by land. It borders the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
to the west, the Republic of the Congo
Republic of the Congo
The Republic of the Congo , sometimes known locally as Congo-Brazzaville, is a state in Central Africa. It is bordered by Gabon, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo , the Angolan exclave province of Cabinda, and the Gulf of Guinea.The region was dominated by...
to the north, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a state located in Central Africa. It is the second largest country in Africa by area and the eleventh largest in the world...
to the east and south. The DR Congo territory along the north bank of the Congo River separates Cabinda from the Angolan mainland.
More than 3,500 people of Cabinda live in refugee camps in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and in the Republic of the Congo.
Background
The Republic of Cabinda traces its claims to self-sovereignty to its initial status as a Portuguese protectorateProtectorate
In history, the term protectorate has two different meanings. In its earliest inception, which has been adopted by modern international law, it is an autonomous territory that is protected diplomatically or militarily against third parties by a stronger state or entity...
, known as the Portuguese Congo. This protectorate had a separate history and legal status from that of the much larger Portuguese West Africa, dating to its inception on 19 September 1883. Also in the Treaty of Simulambuco
Treaty of Simulambuco
The Treaty of Simulambuco was signed in 1885, by representatives of the Portuguese government, and officials in the N'Goyo Kingdom. The agreement was drafted and signed in response to the Treaty of Berlin, which was an agreement between the colonizing European powers about how to divide up Africa,...
and the Berlin Conference
Berlin Conference
The Berlin Conference of 1884–85 regulated European colonization and trade in Africa during the New Imperialism period, and coincided with Germany's sudden emergence as an imperial power...
in 1885 Cabinda and Angola were treated as distinct entities. Ibid.
From inception onwards, Cabinda experienced many changes of status within the Portuguese framework, oscillating between positions of relative autonomy and integration within the greater Colony
Colony
In politics and history, a colony is a territory under the immediate political control of a state. For colonies in antiquity, city-states would often found their own colonies. Some colonies were historically countries, while others were territories without definite statehood from their inception....
(or Province) of Angola
Angola
Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...
.
Relations with Angola
During the movement for Angolan independence in the 1960s, the situation became more complex. In May 1963 the OAU ranked Cabinda as the 39th state still to be decolonized and Angola as the 35th.In the early 1960s, several independence movements advocating a separate status for Cabinda came into being. The MLEC (Movement for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda
Movement for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda
The Movement for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda is a defunct, separatist organization that campaigned for the independence of Cabinda province from Portugal. MLEC merged with CAUNC and ALLIAMA in 1963 to form the Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda. Cabinda is now a...
) was formed in 1960 under the leadership of Luis Ranque Franque. Resulting from the merger of various émigré associations in Brazzaville
Brazzaville
-Transport:The city is home to Maya-Maya Airport and a railway station on the Congo-Ocean Railway. It is also an important river port, with ferries sailing to Kinshasa and to Bangui via Impfondo...
, the MLEC rapidly became the most prominent of the separatist movements. A further group was the Alliama (Mayombe National Alliance
Mayombe National Alliance
The Mayombe National Alliance is a defunct, separatist organization that campaigned for the independence of Cabinda province from Portugal. ALLIAMA merged with CAUNC and MLEC in 1963 to form the Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda. Cabinda is now a province and an exclave of Angola....
), representing the Mayombe, a small minority of the population. In an important development, these movements united in August 1963 to form a common, united front. They called themselves the FLEC (Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda
Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda
The Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda is a guerrilla and political movement fighting for the independence of the Angolan province of Cabinda. Formerly under Portuguese administration, with the independence of Angola from Portugal in 1975, the territory became an exclave province...
), and the leadership role was taken by the MLEC’s Ranque Franque. FLEC established a Cabindan government in exile in Kinshasa
Kinshasa
Kinshasa is the capital and largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The city is located on the Congo River....
. In marked contrast with the FNLA, the FLEC’s efforts to mobilize international support for its government in exile met with little success. In fact, the majority of Organisation of African Unity (OAU) members, concerned that this could encourage separatism elsewhere on the continent and duly committed to the sanctity of African state borders, firmly rejected recognition of the FLEC’s government in exile. Later, in the course of Angola's turbulent decolonisation process, Ranque Franque proclaimed the independence of the Republic of Cabinda in Kampala
Kampala
Kampala is the largest city and capital of Uganda. The city is divided into five boroughs that oversee local planning: Kampala Central Division, Kawempe Division, Makindye Division, Nakawa Division and Lubaga Division. The city is coterminous with Kampala District.-History: of Buganda, had chosen...
on 1 August 1975 at an OAU summit which was discussing Angola at that precise moment. Zair
Zaire
The Republic of Zaire was the name of the present Democratic Republic of the Congo between 27 October 1971 and 17 May 1997. The name of Zaire derives from the , itself an adaptation of the Kongo word nzere or nzadi, or "the river that swallows all rivers".-Self-proclaimed Father of the Nation:In...
ian President Mobutu Sese Seko
Mobutu Sese Seko
Mobutu Sese Seko Nkuku Ngbendu wa Za Banga , commonly known as Mobutu or Mobutu Sese Seko , born Joseph-Désiré Mobutu, was the President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 1965 to 1997...
called for a referendum on the future of the Cabinda. Congolese Prime Minister Henri Lopes
Henri Lopès
Henri Lopès is a Congolese writer, diplomat, and political figure. He was Prime Minister of Congo-Brazzaville from 1973 to 1975, and since 1998 he has been Congo-Brazzaville's Ambassador to France.-Political and diplomatic career:...
is reported to have said at the time that "Cabinda exists as a reality and is historically and geographically different from Angola."
The Alvor Agreement
Alvor Agreement
The Alvor Agreement, signed on January 15, 1975, granted Angola independence from Portugal on November 11, ending the war for independence while marking the transition to civil war...
, signed on January 15, 1975, granted Angola independence from Portugal on November 11. The agreement, signed by the MPLA, FNLA, UNITA
UNITA
The National Union for the Total Independence of Angola is the second-largest political party in Angola. Founded in 1966, UNITA fought with the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola in the Angolan War for Independence and then against the MPLA in the ensuing civil war .The war was one...
, and the Portuguese government, was never signed by the FLEC or any representatives of Cabinda. Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola
Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola
The People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola - Labour Party is a political party that has ruled Angola since the country's independence from Portugal in 1975...
(MPLA) (mainly Cuban) troops entered Cabinda via Pointe Noire on November 11, 1975 and incorporated Cabinda into Angola proper as "Cabinda Province". The Alvor Agreement states that "Angola constitutes one indivisible unity. In this context, Cabinda is an integral and inalienable part of Angola." At the time, Cabinda was producing nearly all of Angola's oil, which accounted for close to half of the nation's gross national product.
During much of the 1970s and 1980s, FLEC operated a low intensity, guerrilla war, attacking Angolan government troops and economic targets or creating havoc by kidnapping foreign employees working in the province’s oil and construction businesses. In July 2006 after ceasefire negotiations in Brazzaville, António Bento Bembe
António Bento Bembe
António Bento Bembe is the famous Secretary-General of the Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda, a Oficial General of Angolan Army, a minister without portfolio in the Angolan government, between 2007-2009, Nowday a , has served as the President of the Cabinda Forum for Dialogue ...
- as a president of Cabindan Forum for Dialogue and Peace, vice-president and executive secretary of FLEC - announced that the Cabindan separatist forces were ready to declare a ceasefire. The peace was recognized by the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, Gabon
Gabon
Gabon , officially the Gabonese Republic is a state in west central Africa sharing borders with Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north, and with the Republic of the Congo curving around the east and south. The Gulf of Guinea, an arm of the Atlantic Ocean is to the west...
, DR Congo, Republic of the Congo
Republic of the Congo
The Republic of the Congo , sometimes known locally as Congo-Brazzaville, is a state in Central Africa. It is bordered by Gabon, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo , the Angolan exclave province of Cabinda, and the Gulf of Guinea.The region was dominated by...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
, the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
and the African Union. After the peace agreement, Bento Bembe was elected Minister without portfolio
Minister without Portfolio
A minister without portfolio is either a government minister with no specific responsibilities or a minister that does not head a particular ministry...
in the Government of Angola. FLEC-FAC from Paris contends Bembe has no authority or mandate to negotiate with the Angolans and that the only acceptable solution is total independence.
During a visit to Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
in February 2003, Angolan President Jose Eduardo dos Santos
José Eduardo dos Santos
José Eduardo dos Santos is an Angolan politician who has been the second and current President of Angola since 1979. As President, José Eduardo dos Santos is also the commander in chief of the Angolan Armed Forces and president of the MPLA , the party that has been ruling Angola since...
said that he supported a referendum on Cabindan autonomy. However, he stated he intended to consult the Angolan people as well, who likely will be loath to relinquish sixty percent of their nation's oil revenues. FLEC said that it would only consider an East Timor-type referendum
East Timor Special Autonomy Referendum
The East Timorese independence referendum was a referendum which was held throughout East Timor on 30 August 1999. The referendum's origins lay with the request made by the President of Indonesia, Bacharuddin Jusuf Habibie, to the United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan on 27 January 1999, for...
, which would grant Cabinda total independence.
Togo football team bus attack
On 8 January 2010, while being escorted by Angolan forces in Cabinda, the team bus of the Togo national football teamTogo national football team
The Togo national football team, nicknamed Les Eperviers The Togo national football team, nicknamed Les Eperviers The Togo national football team, nicknamed Les Eperviers (The Sparrow Hawks, is controlled by the Fédération Togolaise de Football.They played at the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Their team bus...
was attacked by gunmen as it travelled to 2010 Africa Cup of Nations tournament. The ensuing gunfight resulted in the deaths of the assistant coach, team spokesman and bus driver, as well as injuring several others.
An offshoot of the FLEC claimed responsibility. Rodrigues Mingas
Rodrigues Mingas
Rodrigues Mingas is the leader of the Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda , a guerrilla separatist organization fighting Last 1975 for the total independence of oil rich Angolan province of Cabinda, one of the country's 14 provinces rich with oil reserves.Mingas is believed to live...
, secretary general of the Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda-Military Position (FLEC-PM), said his fighters had meant to attack security guards as the convoy passed through Cabinda. "This attack was not aimed at the Togolese players but at the Angolan forces at the head of the convoy," Mingas told France 24
France 24
France 24 is an international news and current affairs television channel. The service is aimed at the overseas market, similar to BBC World News, DW-TV, NHK World and RT, and broadcast through satellite and cable operators throughout the world. During 2010 the channel started broadcasting through...
television. "So it was pure chance that the gunfire hit the players. We don't have anything to do with the Togolese and we present our condolences to the African families and the Togo government. We are fighting for the total liberation of Cabinda."
Government in exile
FLEC maintains a government in exileGovernment in exile
A government in exile is a political group that claims to be a country's legitimate government, but for various reasons is unable to exercise its legal power, and instead resides in a foreign country. Governments in exile usually operate under the assumption that they will one day return to their...
under Premier Dr. Joel Batila based in France and Pointe Noire, Congo. Other so called exile governments have been condemned by mainstream FLEC-FAC.
External links
- ICE Case Studies : Cabinda, Angola's Forgotten War, 2004, by Alan Neff
- Angola-Cabinda; Armed Conflicts Report, January 2007
- Human Rights Watch: Angola: Stop Military Abuses in Cabinda, June 22, 2009
- Site loyal to the Batila government
- Alleged Official Web Site of the Fantasy Government, Nation and Republic of Cabinda