Cabinda Province
Cabinda | ||
---|---|---|
Capital Cabinda | | |
Government | ||
• Governor | Eugénio Laborinho[1] | |
• Vice-Governor for the Economical Sector | Macário Romão Lembe | |
• Vice-Governor for the Political and Social Sector | Alberto Paca Zuzi Macosso | |
• Vice-Governor for Technical Services and Infrastructures | Joaquim Dumba Malichi | |
Area | ||
• Total | 7,290 km2 (2,810 sq mi) | |
Population (mid 2019) | ||
• Total | 824,143 | |
ISO 3166 code | AO-CAB | |
HDI (2018) | 0.672[2] medium · 2nd | |
Website | www |
Cabinda (formerly called Portuguese Congo,
Modern Cabinda is the result of a fusion of three kingdoms:
Cabinda is separated from the rest of Angola by a narrow strip of territory belonging to the
Cabinda also produces
In 1885, the Treaty of Simulambuco established Cabinda as a protectorate of the Portuguese Empire, and Cabindan independence movements consider the occupation of the territory by Angola illegal. While the Angolan Civil War largely ended in 2002, an armed struggle persists in the exclave of Cabinda.[9] Some of the factions have proclaimed an independent Republic of Cabinda, with offices in Paris.
History
Portuguese Congo
Portuguese explorers, missionaries, and traders arrived at the mouth of the Congo River in the mid-15th century, making contact with the Manikongo, the powerful King of the Bakongo tribe. The Manikongo controlled much of the region through affiliation with smaller kingdoms, such as the Kingdoms of Ngoyo, Loango, and Kakongo in present-day Cabinda.
Over the years, the Portuguese,
Portugal first claimed sovereignty over Cabinda in the February 1885 Treaty of Simulambuco, which gave Cabinda the status of a protectorate of the Portuguese Crown under the request of "the princes and governors of Cabinda". This is often the basis upon which the legal and historical arguments in defense of the self-determination of modern-day Cabinda are constructed. Article 1, for example, states, "the princes and chiefs and their successors declare, voluntarily, their recognition of Portuguese sovereignty, placing under the protectorate of this nation all the territories by them governed" [sic]. Article 2, which is often used in separatist arguments, goes even further: "Portugal is obliged to maintain the integrity of the territories placed under its protection". The Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda (FLEC-R) argues that the above-mentioned treaty was signed between the emissaries of the Portuguese Crown and the princes and notables of Cabinda, then called Portuguese Congo, giving rise to not one, but three protectorates: Cacongo, Loango, and Ngoio.
Through the Treaty of Simulambuco in 1885 between the kings of Portugal and the princes of Cabinda, a Portuguese protectorate was decreed, reserving rights to the local princes and independent of Angola. Cabinda once had the Congo River as the only natural boundary with Angola, but in 1885, the Berlin Conference extended the territory of the Congo Free State along the Congo River to the river's mouth at the sea.
During this time rubber was harvested and traded in Cabinda. Atrocities such as the cutting of hands were also committed there, although comprehensive reports on these atrocities were more scant and less publicly known compared to the neighbouring Congo Free State.[10][11]
Administrative merger with Angola
By the mid-1920s, the borders of Angola had been finally established in negotiations with the neighboring colonial powers. From there on Angola and Cabinda were treated distinctively under the Portuguese constitution of 1933 until January 15, 1975 under the Alvor Agreement.
The Portuguese constitution of 1933 distinguished between the colony of Angola and the protectorate of Cabinda, but in 1956, the administration of Cabinda was transferred to the governor-general of Angola. The legal distinction of Cabinda's status from that of Angola was also expressed in the Portuguese constitution of 1971.[12] Yet, when Angola was declared an "overseas province" (Província Ultramarina) within the empire of Portugal in 1951, Cabinda was treated as an ordinary district of Angola. In 1972, the name of Angola was changed to "State of Angola".
Under Portuguese rule, Cabinda was an important agricultural and forestry center, and in 1967, it discovered huge offshore oil fields. Oil, timber, and cocoa had been its main exports until then. The town of Cabinda, the capital of the territory, was a Portuguese administrative and services center with a port and airfield. The beaches of Cabinda were popular with Portuguese Angolans.
After independence of Angola from Portugal
A 1974
Secessionism
Ethnic grounds for self-determination
The arguments for self-determination are based on Cabindans' cultural and ethnic background. Prior to the
Secessionist history
In the early 1960s, several movements advocating a separate status for Cabinda came into being. The
In marked contrast with the FNLA, the FLEC’s efforts to mobilize international support for its
In January 1975, Angola’s MPLA, FNLA and UNITA liberation movements signed the Alvor Agreement with Portugal, to establish the modalities of the transition to independence. FLEC was not invited.[citation needed]
On 1 August 1975, at an OAU summit in
called for a referendum on the future of Cabinda.FLEC formed a
For much of the 1970s and 1980s, FLEC operated a
The National Union for the Liberation of Cabinda (Portuguese: União Nacional de Libertação de Cabinda; UNLC), a militant separatist group, emerged in the 1990s under the leadership of Lumingu Luis Gimby.[15]
In April 1997, Cabinda joined the
Recent history
An
Although the Angolan government says FLEC is no longer operative, this is disputed by the Republic of Cabinda and its Premier, Joel Batila.[citation needed]
Earlier increases in the
Peace deal
In July 2006, after ceasefire negotiations in the Republic of Congo, António Bento Bembe - as a president of Cabindan Forum for Dialogue and Peace, and vice-president and executive secretary of FLEC - announced that the Cabindan separatist forces were ready to declare a ceasefire. Bembe is the leader of the "Cabindan Forum for Dialogue", an organization which represents most Cabindan groups[citation needed]. The peace was recognized by the United States, France, Portugal, Russia, Gabon, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Congo, Japan, South Korea, the European Union and the African Union.
- "We're going to sign a cease-fire with the Angolans who in return have accepted the principle of granting special status to Cabinda", he announced, implying that while his group is resigned to be a part of Angola, they have gotten a promise of some form of autonomy.[17]
From Paris, FLEC-FAC contended Bembe has no authority or mandate to negotiate with the Angolans, and that the only acceptable solution is total independence.[18]
Togo football team bus attack
On 8 January 2010, the bus carrying the Togo national football team traveling through Cabinda en route to the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations tournament was attacked by gunmen, even though it had an escort of Angolan forces. The ensuing gunfight resulted in the deaths of the assistant coach, team spokesman and bus driver, and caused injuries to several others as well.
An offshoot of the FLEC claimed responsibility. Rodrigues Mingas, secretary general of the Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda-Military Position (Flec-PM), said his fighters had meant to attack security guards as the convoy passed through Cabinda. "This attack was not aimed at the Togolese players but at the Angolan forces at the head of the convoy", Mingas told France 24 television. "So it was pure chance that the gunfire hit the players. We don't have anything to do with the Togolese and we present our condolences to the African families and the Togo government. We are fighting for the total liberation of Cabinda."[19]