Africa-Press – Angola. The former leader of UNITA, Eugénio Manuvakola, expressed his dismay at the death of José Eduardo dos Santos, with whom he spoke a few times, as a member of the Council of the Republic, stressing that he has “the image of a serene Head of State, who knew how to listen to the counselors”.
“I was a member of the Council of the Republic, between 1999 and 2002. This condition offered me the opportunity to be with the former President, and, in these meetings, he was very patient, he always showed serenity, and great ability to listen to the advisors”, stressed the politician.
Eugénio Manuvakola recognizes that, in 38 years of presidential role, José Eduardo dos Santos has dealt with all situations in the country, with emphasis on the administrative, military, diplomatic and, most complex, the situation of war and peace.
The UNITA politician, who served in the GURN (Government of Unity and National Reconciliation), which was in force from 1997 to 2008, underlined that the mandate of José Eduardo dos Santos, of great political value, will be the subject of study in areas of scientific knowledge such as History, Political Science and International Relations. “These areas have the scientific processes to establish the truth and the synthesis of critical evaluation on the performance of figures that marked, in their time, countries and peoples”.
He recalled, by the way, that he met former President José Eduardo dos Santos in 1989, in Gbadolite, (DRC). “Today, a little touched by the feeling of the loss of an Angolan who served his country as Head of State, it only occurs to me to talk about Peace and, on this, to go through Gbadolite, Bicesse, Moçâmedes, Addis Ababa, Abdjan, Lusaka and Luena “, he stressed.
He mentioned that he was with José Eduardo dos Santos in a second meeting, in Zambia, during the signing ceremony of the Lusaka Protocol, on 20 November 1994, where “I co-signed the Protocol with the former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Venâncio de Moura .
Eugénio Manuvakola said that, after signing the protocol, José Eduardo dos Santos went to the hotel where the UNITA delegation was staying, to “transmit the message of his personal commitment to the peace process, relaunched with the signing of the Lusaka Protocol “.
“In response to the speech I gave at the solemn act, he guaranteed that, on his side, the flame of the peace candle would not go out”, he says, recalling that the former President of the Republic accepted, in 2001, a proposal to abbreviate the internal conflict. “It was proposed a greater political framework for FAA units, so that they know how to deal with the specifics of a civil war”, he explains. For the former deputy, it is up to history to retain the essence of the work of former President José Eduardo dos Santos.
Eugénio Manuvakola, who addressed a message of consolation to the family, where he underlines that “you had a shared Father, and, therefore, mourned by millions of Angolans”.
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