On Jan. 11, 2010, I was given an assignment to write about a current event in Africa. Well, I happened to have found something a bit more involved that what I anticipated. So, I have been following this news as I am curious of the outcome for the people involved.
I read about the attack on the Togo football team in Cabinda (Angola's northern province separated by a narrow strip of the Republic of Congo). Gearing up for the Africa Cup of Nations tournament, the team was on their way to the second game, when caught in a 20-30 minute gun down. 3 people were killed as a result of this violence. The Togolese's football teams assistant coach, their team spokesman, and the bus driver. The Togo team was recalled by the Togo government and officially disqualified when they failed to appear for their next match Monday (1/11/10). The attack has been labeled as an "act of terrorism" by the Angolan government. Luckily for the team, the bus that carried the baggage took most of the fire. They had just finished boarder checks and were surrounded by police when the shooting occurred. Police did fire back.
A separatist group FLEC (Federation for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda) has accepted the responsibility for the attack on the Togo Football team. This group has said that the the rumors of a ceasefire signed back in 2006, was a falsified document by the government. The FLEC's group leader (Rodrigues Mingas) was quoted in one of the BBC articles as saying, "...FLEC isn't about killing foreigners, but Cabinda is at war despite the lies about this by the Angolan government." The Togo football team was not the intended targets of this attack, but the Angolan troops that escorted the team. Cabinda has been fighting for their independence from Angola. Cabinda has accused the Angolan military of atrocities and the government of embezzlement of oil revenue. The people of Cabinda see few benefits from the exploitation of oil from their region.
There has been lots of theories of "why" this happened. One idea is that the Togo team was set-up. Another is , the AFC (American Football Confederation) president believes this could have been avoided if traveling guidelines would have been used. All of the football teams had received very specific information to not travel by road. The teams were to fly into Luanda or their host city. Many of the articles are saying that this incident is unrelated to the broader civil war that has been going on for three decades.
The Angola government is ensuring the world that it is safe and secure enough for the World Cup to still be hosted in South Africa come June 2010. The Angolan minister has claimed that FLEC no longer exists and that this attack was caused by a group of individuals trying to cause trouble. Richard Dowden was quoted in a BBC article as saying "Cabinda has got this particular problem with a nationalist movement that has kidnapped foreigners and attack foreigners when it can."
So far, there have been a few arrests. These arrests are causing concern among the Cabindan. A Catholic Priest (Raul Tati) was among the arrested. He is said to be outspoken about his anti-Angolan government belief's. In accordance with the Sports Illustrated account, this priest was given a paper when taken into custody by a dozen police that said "matters of security of the state", but no specific charges were listed. The Cabindans are fearful that anyone that may speak poorly of the Angolan government will now be arrested. The other two arrests were of people with similar candidness about the Angolan government. Belchio Lanco, a university professor and Francisco Luemba, a lawyer.
Through all of this controversy brought by this attack, I am beginning to believe that there is a larger struggle than what's on the surface. The Angolan government is disconcerted by the events. They would like for the world to see Angola as a peaceful place. One that is safe to visit. A good host for events. This image could be lucrative if it could bring in business/tourism. I think that the Togo football team got caught in a political unrest that has been manifesting for years. Unfortunately, there was an immense loss. Lives of innocent were again caught in cross-fire. So many times, the innocent lives remain nameless, as they are not famous football players....it is despicable. With that said, my heart goes to those that are in fear of their government. . .especially one that is corrupt. It would be scary to be involved in a movement knowing it could cost you your life. But, what is life, if you are forced to live it practicing another's belief system/way? What a horrible situation to be in. It seems like the Cabindan were disappointed about the mix of politics and sports. The money could have been used to better the livelihood of the locals. There was a report that was released by the Human Rights Watch in June 2009 which says a lot!! The website is: http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2009/06/22/angola-stop-military-abuses-cabinda. I wonder if there is any just reason the Angolan government has arrested the three people they took into custody,Raul Tati, Belchio Lango, and Francsico Luemba? I have a feeling that their only crimes are that they disagree with the ideals of the Angolan government. I hope and pray that somehow, someway, a human rights group may help sort out the appearance of injustice brought upon these men.
There are many different stories available on-line, I will provide sites below. I found # 7-9 to be the most informative.
1) http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8449319.stm
2) http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/84499778.stm
3) http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/africa/2010/01/100113_adebayoriv.shtml
4) http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8449666.stm
5) http://mews.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8449562.stm
6) http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jan/08/togo-football-team-ambushed-angola
7) http://www.smh.com.au/sport/football/two-arrests-in-attack-on-togo-football-team-20100112-m2yh.html
8) http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8451356.stm
9) http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/grant_wahl/01/19/african.cup/
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