President meets Angolan army chief President Mugabe

Felex Share Senior Reporter
Concerted efforts by Africa’s liberation movements are needed to subdue attempts by Western countries to remove their governments from power, President Mugabe has said.

He told visiting Angolan Defence Forces Commander General Geraldo Sachipengo Nunda on Tuesday that following the attainment of independence by African countries, the enemy was not relaxing and was using various tactics to effect regime change in most countries.

Gen Nunda, who has been in the country since Sunday, returned home yesterday.

“President Mugabe welcomed the Angolan Defence Forces Commander and said he appreciated the visit he paid to Zimbabwe,” said a source who attended the meeting.

“The President said Zimbabwe and Angola had the same history and experience of colonisation by the same enemy from the West.

“He said there is need for sister nations and brotherly defence forces and our people to come together from time to time to exchange experience because the enemy will not relax until he sees that governments of former revolutionary movements are removed from power.”

Added the source: “He also said he wished to see his brother, Angolan President Eduardo Dos Santos whom he has not seen for some time and also wished him good health.”

Zimbabwe Defence Forces Commander General Constantino Chiwenga on Tuesday night hosted a dinner in honour of Gen Nunda.

Speaking at the dinner, Gen Chiwenga said there was need for African member states to find common ground on supporting the African Standby Force to deal with any machinations.

“Our countries have a similar outlook on a raft of contemporary issues, itself not a negation of the values of our separate liberation struggles whose central goal was the need to be in total control of our natural resources,” he said.

“Unfortunately, even though those resources are now under our control, after attaining our political independence, the prosperity that we fought for in the first place is still largely elusive. The fact of the matter is that our continent is passing through one of the most challenging and trying times in its long history. After the scandalous ‘cartographic mischief’ of the 1884 Berlin Conference where Africa was balkanised into colonies for the sole purpose of serving as sources of raw materials for colonial plunderers, we are now in what scholarship has aptly characterised as the ‘Second Scramble for Africa’ where again we find ourselves as the arena of global resource wars disguised in misleading neo-liberal terms.”

Gen Chiwenga added: “Africa today remains the arena of nearly half of the contemporary armed conflicts with no clear prospects that indeed the guns will be silent as espoused by the African Union Heads of States and Government. Such prospects are further put into disarray by the sad fact that even among ourselves as Africans, we remain undecided on the best peace and security architecture to achieve an Africa where guns are heard no more. We are still not yet united on how the Africa Standby Force, our own creature, can be supported instead of a seemingly preposterous, competing and alien doctrines presented to us as best alternatives.”

Gen Nunda thanked ZDF officials for the “good hospitality” adding that he was expecting a reciprocal visit from Gen Chiwenga soon. During his stay, among other places, he toured Zimbabwe Military Academy (ZMA), the Zimbabwe National Army headquarters in Harare on Monday, where he had a Joint Guard of Honour with Gen Chiwenga.

He later paid a courtesy call at the ZDF offices where a presentation was made on the organisation and the role of the Ministry of Defence.

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