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Jonas Savimbi: The Evolution of a Freedom Fighter
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10864 |
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CURRENT ISSUES
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7 / 1986 |
3,656 Words |
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Henry Kriegel
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Is Jonas Savimbi a Maoist communist or a freedom fighter par excellence? The answer to this question could very well determine whether Savimbi and his 40,000 - man National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) force in Angola will receive any U.S. aid.
A controversial figure, Savimbi moved into the political limelight during his visit to Washington, D.C., in February. Amazingly, his strongest supporters are not black civil rights leaders like Jesse Jackson or Congressional Black Caucus member William Gray - who, in fact, oppose him - but conservatives.
Many of Savimbi's critics bring up his past association with Chinese Communist Party Chairman Mao Tse-tung, who in 1965 provided Savimbi and 12 men with guerrilla training, or with Che Guevara, the Cuban who brought Marxist revolution to South America. Savimbi says he has come to the realization that communism is a failing political and economic system, but the guerrilla training he received 20 years ago has proved to be very effective.
Savimbi's critics call him an opportunist - a man who, like a chameleon, will change his public face in order to get what he wants, which in this case is sufficient military aid to press the Soviet- and Cuban -backed Angolan regime into negotiations.
Time magazine recently noted that Savimbi has changed from a Maoist to a self-proclaimed "New Testament socialist," to more recently portraying himself in terms that U.S. conservatives find even more appealing: that is, as a freedom fighter.
Antagonists like Sanford J. Ungar, dean of American University's School of Communication, single out statements Savimbi made in the late 1960--during the height of anti-American sentiments in Angola - that "no progressive action is possible with men who serve American interests … the notorious agents of imperialism."
Tactics Called Brutal
Ungar's denunciation of Savimbi are blunt: "His [Savimbi's] tactics are every bit as brutal and repressive as those of the government now in power in Angola - if not more so.
Others feel that there is a hint of bias in Ungar's remarks. In a rebuttal, Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) referred to Ungar as a "well-known liberal activist masquerading as a journalist."
The subtle and direct implication that Savimbi is an opportunist is based upon his change of public image. This interpretation of Savimbi's character does not take into account or permit the possibility that Savimbi, like many revolutionaries of this and prior ages, has at some point questioned his belief in Marxism and changed it. One needs only to look at such Soviet defectors as Arkady Schevchenko and Stanislav Levchenko, or at Eden Pastora and other defectors from the Nicaraguan junta, to realize that this conversion process is not so unusual.
Why should such great emphasis be focused on the man, Jonas Savimbi? To destroy Savimbi's reputation and to call into question his character would destroy UNITA by destroying its leader. Such a campaign would blunt even
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