4 Nations Open Talks on Angola Conflict

The first four-nation talks to try to end one of the world’s longest regional conflicts, the 13-year-old Angolan civil war, began here Tuesday in an atmosphere described as “friendly and constructive.”

Diplomats cautioned that the initial round of negotiations, expected to last two days, is unlikely to produce any immediate result. But the meeting itself is viewed as a breakthrough because it brings together opposing factions in the conflict, including the United States, for the first time.

South Africa’s government-controlled radio, which also is involved in the talks, described the meetings as “exploratory.”

Any agreement to end the war--which has cost an estimated 60,000 to 120,000 lives, displaced 750,000 people and stifled Angola’s development--would ease tensions significantly in troubled southern Africa.

May Include Namibia

All parties to the negotiations have pledged to observe a news blackout until the first round of meetings concludes today. But it is believed that any talks to end the Angolan war will eventually also address the question of neighboring Namibia (South-West Africa), where a nationalist guerrilla organization, the South-West Africa People’s Organization (SWAPO), is fighting to end South African control.

Tuesday’s talks brought delegations led by Angolan Foreign Minister Afonso van Dunem and Jorge Risquet Valdes, a senior Politburo member from Cuba, a key Angolan ally, face to face for the first time with representatives of the United States and South Africa, both of which back the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA), the guerrilla movement led by Jonas Savimbi.

Neither UNITA nor SWAPO representatives took part.

Chester A. Crocker, assistant secretary of state for African affairs, represented the United States at the talks, held in the modest surroundings of a basement conference room at Durrants Hotel in London’s West End. The South African delegation was headed by Neil van Heerden, director general of his nation’s Department of Foreign Affairs.

“We have come to London to see if there is an opening of the diplomatic window in search of peace in southern Africa,” Van Heerden said.

Civil War a Stalemate

The talks began amid a growing realization on both sides that the long and costly civil war has become a stalemate. UNITA apparently is unable to overthrow the Angolan government, and the government is equally incapable of controlling vast stretches of territory, some of it within easy reach of the capital, Luanda.

For the United States and South Africa, a major goal is to negotiate the withdrawal of an estimated 45,000 Cuban troops and advisers, who have helped the Marxist Angolan government survive in power since the Portuguese left their former colony in 1975.

In addition to help from Cuban troops, the Angolan government last year received more than $1 billion in arms from the Soviet Union, according to State Department assessments.

In return for an end to the Cuban involvement, Angola wants the withdrawal of South African troops from Angola and an end of U.S. and South African military support of UNITA. South African troops, variously reported at 3,000 to 9,000, are fighting in support of UNITA, which is equipped with American arms, including Stinger anti-aircraft missiles.

Angola also is demanding an end to South Africa’s presence in Namibia. However, this issue is not expected to play a central role in the initial phase of negotiations.