DATE=8/16/1999
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=ANGOLA / SAF (L ONLY)
NUMBER=2-252828
BYLINE=ALEX BELIDA
DATELINE=JOHANNESBURG
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: South African officials have denied Angolan
charges that a large stockpile of weapons destined for
the UNITA rebel movement is currently located on the
outskirts of Pretoria. Correspondent Alex Belida
reports from our Southern Africa Bureau.
TEXT: The official "News of Angola" (Noticias de
Angola) claims the weapons destined for Jonas
Savimbi's UNITA rebels include T-62 tanks, B-M-21
Armored Personnel Carriers, and ground-to-ground
missiles. It claims the weapons were acquired by
UNITA in the Ukraine and arrived in South Africa via
Mozambique.
But a spokesman for South Africa's Foreign Affairs
Department calls the Angolan claim "utter rubbish" and
says there is no substance whatsoever to the
allegation. The spokesman tells V-O-A that South
Africa -- in a bid to help promote peace in Angola --
fully supports U-N sanctions aimed at preventing UNITA
from acquiring military supplies.
Angolan authorities have frequently accused other
countries in the region of providing clandestine
support to the rebels. In an interview on Angolan
state television last week, Angolan Foreign Minister
Joao Miranda said his country has no ill-feelings
towards South Africa, and said relations between the
two are not clouded.
But Mr. Miranda again charged South-African territory
is being used to channel supplies to UNITA. He also
repeated Angolan government charges that Zambia
remains involved in providing assistance to the rebel
movement. He urged Zambians, in government and in the
private sector, to discontinue all contacts with UNITA
leader Savimbi and to stop assisting the rebels.
U-N authorities hope to strengthen sanctions against
UNITA in an effort to bring Angola's long-running
civil war to an end. In addition to halting the flow
of military supplies to the rebels, U-N officials also
hope to halt UNITA's exports of diamonds, used by the
rebels to finance their arms purchases. (SIGNED)
NEB/BEL/JWH/RAE
16-Aug-1999 08:29 AM LOC (16-Aug-1999 1229 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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