Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

International News

Key moments of the Dos Santos regime

#Key #moments #Dos #Santos #regime

Following the death of Jose Eduardo dos Santos on Friday at the age of 79, here are the key dates during his 38-year ironclad rule over oil-rich Angola.

– civil war –

On September 20, 1979, Dos Santos took office as President of Angola following the death of the country’s first post-independence leader, Agostinho Neto.

The pro-Soviet People’s Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) was waging a civil war against the pro-Western National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) and the National Front for the Liberation of Angola (FNLA). ), which erupted just before Angola gained independence from Portugal in 1975.

While apartheid South Africa supports UNITA, the MPLA has the support of the Cuban Armed Forces.

South African forces finally withdraw in 1988 while the last Cuban soldiers leave Angola in 1991.

– Peace agreement, vote, then war –

In May 1991, Dos Santos and UNITA leader Jonas Savimbi reach a peace agreement that includes elections.

In September 1992, the MPLA wins the first democratic elections in Angola.

But UNITA rejects the results and the second round of voting is canceled as fierce fighting resumes.

From January to March 1993, UNITA’s battle for downtown Huambo left an estimated 12,000 dead. And the UN says another 25,000 people will be killed in Kuito over the course of the year, including in the center.

On November 20, 1994, new peace agreements are signed in Zambia, paving the way for UNITA’s disarmament and participation in the government.

In 1997 UNITA MPs take their seats and a unity government is formed. But the civil war will continue in the following year.

– End of Civil War –

On February 22, 2002, UNITA leader Savimbi is killed by the army in western Angola.

On April 4, the army and UNITA sign a ceasefire agreement to end the civil war that has claimed at least 500,000 lives in 27 years of fighting.

On September 5, 2008, the MPLA won an overwhelming victory in the first peace elections.

Four years later, the party achieved another resounding victory with 71.8 percent of the vote.

On September 26, 2012, Dos Santos is sworn in after being formally elected for the first time.

– protests and repression –

In the spring of 2011, people took to the streets to demand more freedom of expression, democracy and better living conditions. But the protests are banned and often violently suppressed by the police.

In June 2013, Dos Santos appoints his son Jose Filomeno to head a sovereign wealth fund, prompting allegations of nepotism and fears of corruption.

In June 2015, more than a dozen activists, including rapper Luaty Beirao, were arrested in Luanda on charges of rebelling against the president.

On March 28, 2016, 17 juvenile activists, including Beirao, will be handed over to between two and eight years in prison, but largely amnestied later in the year.

In June 2016, Isabel Dos Santos, the president’s eldest daughter and Africa’s richest woman according to Forbes, is appointed head of national oil company Sonangol, with opponents accusing her of having made her fortune off her father’s coattails.

– End of an era –

On February 3, 2017, Dos Santos confirmed that he would not stand in the elections scheduled for August and named his loyal Secretary of Defense, Joao Lourenco, as a candidate to succeed him.

On July 20, 2017, Dos Santos returns to Luanda after two weeks in Spain amid rumors about his health.

September 26, 2017, attends the inauguration of his successor, Lourenco

On September 8, 2018, he relinquished power as head of the MPLA.

He is reportedly leaving the country for routine medical checks in April 2019 but will not return until September 2021, leading commentators to conclude he was in self-imposed exile.

Social Tags:
#Key #moments #Dos #Santos #regime

You May Also Like

Business

State would join dozens of others in enacting legislation based on federal government’s landmark whistleblower statute, the False Claims Act

press release

With a deep understanding of the latest tech, Erbo helps businesses flourish in a digital world.

press release

#Automotive #Carbon #Canister #Market #Projected #Hit #USD New York, US, Oct. 24, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) —  According to a comprehensive research report by Market...

press release

Barrington Research Analyst James C.Goss reiterated an Outperform rating on shares of IMAX Corp IMAX with a Price target of $20. As theaters...