Luanda - Angola celebrates, on Sunday, the 63rd anniversary of the beginning of the armed struggle for national liberation, at a time when it has just conquered its own space as a guarantor of continental peace.

By Frederico Issuzo, ANGOP journalist

It's been two years since the anniversary was celebrated in the “hangover” of the festivities of the African Day of Peace and Reconciliation, which is celebrated on January 31st of each year, as a moment of reflection on the situation of peace and security in Africa.

The date was established in 2022, together with the designation of the Angolan Head of State, João Lourenço, as “Champion of the African Union for Peace and Reconciliation in Africa” and mediator in the conflict between the DRC and Rwanda.

The celebration of another day of reflection on issues of peace and security in Africa, on January 31st, revived the testimonies that Angola has definitively become an obligatory reference in this matter.

For the second time, the Angolan Head of State addressed the African continent in his capacity as Champion of the African Union for Peace and Reconciliation.

João Lourenço spoke to the entire continent, from Luanda, via a virtual meeting of the AU Peace and Security Council (PSC).

His first intervention of this kind was precisely a year ago, when he inaugurated the celebration of January 31st, institutionalized by the African Union (AU), on May 28th, 2022.

On both occasions, its dominant tone was the invitation to African people and their leaders to favor peaceful means in resolving conflicts, and to severely punish unconstitutional changes in governments.

In fact, the 31st of January entered its second edition this year as a milestone in the Madiba Nelson Mandela Decade of Reconciliation in Africa.

Resilience and resistance path

After facing prolonged wars, starting with that of Independence, which began on February 4, 1961, until the subsequent cycles of bloody internal confrontations that seemed endless, the country began to make history as a peacemaker.

The country began to be called upon to intervene in processes of pacification and reconciliation of other nations or peoples at odds, both intra and inter-state, with the right to speak and perhaps to have a qualified vote in conflict equations.

It is a journey that describes the metamorphosis of a resilient and resistant Nation that made sacrifices and overcame obstacles to transform itself into a factor of stability.

To celebrate the 31st of January and the title of João Lourenço as Champion of Peace and Reconciliation, the African Union invoked the “extreme importance” of building resilient societies, cohesion, national unity and regional cooperation, as a foundation for lasting peace.

In turn, the mediation mandate between the DRC and Rwanda aims to reestablish dialogue and normalize relations between the two Central African neighbors who have turned their backs.

It was awarded to João Lourenço, in his capacity as Chairperson of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (CIRGL), made up of 12 countries, including Rwanda and the DRC (Democratic Republic of Congo).

Since then, the Angolan capital has been the scene of constant diplomatic movements, with foreign representatives coming and going at various levels, while Angolan delegations travel the continent regularly.

For the prevailing opinion, it is increasingly clear that the country has become an unavoidable gateway to the paths of seeking peace on the continent.

As some national political analysts would say, by the way, Angola has been, in recent years, “a revolving plate of political concertation” on the African continent.

Proof of protagonism

Contrary to appearances, the mandates given by the AU to the Angolan Head of State did not appear out of nowhere, judging by the reasoning behind the decision.

The idea came from an extraordinary AU summit in Malabo (Equatorial Guinea), dedicated to the scourges of terrorism and violent extremism and the phenomenon of unconstitutional changes of governments in Africa.

The meeting, held on May 28, 2022, was called on the initiative of the Angolan Head of State, concerned about the continent's direction given the emergence of some alarm signals.

João Lourenço sought to awaken the African leadership to the threat that the progression of terrorism and violent extremism, as well as the return to coups d'état, represented to the peace, security and stability of the continent, if nothing was done about the matter.

And the results of the meeting supported the general opinion, according to which the decision was influenced by the background of João Lourenço's protagonism, especially in the Great Lakes region.

In other words, far from being a mere formal exercise, the decision was a material recognition of an entire body of evidence given by João Lourenço as an unavoidable figure in the efforts to pacify the cradle of humanity continent.

After years of diplomatic tension that almost led to a declaration of war, Rwanda and Uganda, two neighboring countries and former allies that became visceral enemies, are today reconciled, largely because of the work of João Lourenço.

Coming to power in 2017, João Lourenço chose as a priority the reactivation of the then moribund CIRGL, as a regional conflict resolution mechanism.

The diplomatic actions that followed were crucial in bringing the two estranged neighbors closer together until they signed, two years later (2019), a memorandum of understanding on the normalization of relations between the two countries.

This legal instrument is still in force today, heading into its fifth year of existence.

In the crisis between the DRC and Rwanda, which accuse each other of supporting and arming rebel movements against each other, Angola's mediation also has the merit of having prevented the outbreak of a direct military confrontation between the two.

Within Congolese territory, Angola's diplomatic efforts made it possible to stop, at a tangent, the takeover of the strategic city of Goma by the rebels of the March 23rd Movement (M23).

Until November 2022, the latter were at the gates of this capital city in the province of North Kivu, in the east of the DRC, when Angola's intervention, on behalf of the African Union, definitively halted their progression.

After initial resistance to laying down their arms, within the framework of a peace plan agreed by regional leaders, in the Angolan capital, the political leadership of the M23 finally gave way.

João Lourenço even received, in Luanda, the leadership of M23, which would later accept a ceasefire agreement that is still in force today.

With all this protagonism, there is no doubt that Angola has effectively transitioned from a historic theater of war to a true factor of regional stability, which justifies the status attributed to its Head of State as “Champion of Peace”. IZ/DOJ