flec v angola supplemental brief
DESCRIPTION
Front for the Liberation of the State of Cabinda's final brief to the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights in response to Angola's response.TRANSCRIPT
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BEFORE THE AFRICAN COMMISSION ON HUMAN & PEOPLES’
RIGHTS
FLEC (Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda)
Cabinda
vs.
The Republic of Angola
Communication 328/2006
SUPPLMENTAL BRIEFING IN REPLY TO STATE PARTY
For the Complainant-FLEC:
Dr. Jonathan Levy, PhD
International Criminal Bar/ Barreau Pénal No. 100465
Attorney for Complainant-FLEC
37 Royal Pointe Dr.
Hilton Head Island, SC USA 29926
Tel/Fax 001 202-318-2406
Email [email protected]
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INTRODUCTION
The gist of Angola’s argument against jurisdiction is that Cabinda is
an insignificant political entity that has always been subordinate to Angola
and does not have a separate identity. If Angola is correct, then the approach
taken in ACHPR Communication 155/96, Social and Economic Rights
Action Center (SERAC) and the Center for Economic and social Rights
(CESR) v. Nigeria, would not apply since Cabindans would be
indistinguishable from Angolans and not entitled to relief. This argument
however is factitious on its face.1
There is no dispute the political entity of Cabinda was a byproduct of
the colonial grab for Africa known as the Congress of Berlin. Cabinda
consists of three kingdoms: Kakongo, Loango and Ngoyo and was the result
of the signing of three treaties: Chinfuma, September 29, 1883, Chicamba,
26 December 1884 and that of Simulambuco, February 1, 1885, the parties
were the Traditional Chiefs of Cabinda and the Crown of Portugal. Legally
Cabinda was a Portuguese Protectorate. The Treaty of Simulambuco was
1 Angola also claims that FLEC is a terrorist organization. FLEC has already dealt with
the incident of January 8, 2010 in its main briefing but notes that the African Union
Assembly as does FLEC condemns the unknown and unnamed perpetrators of the
January 8, 2010 incident. See Assembly/AU/DEC 273 attached.
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ratified the same year by the Berlin Conference of 1885 held under the aegis
of France, Great Britain and King Leopold II of Belgium. Since February 16,
1885, Cabinda was ruled by a Portuguese Governor Plenipotentiary dealing
directly with Lisbon.
In essence Cabinda was created by the colonial power much as
present day Libya, Chad, Uganda or Nigeria was amalgamated by Italy,
France, and Britain as administrative conveniences. FIOTE which is not
spoken in Angola is the language of Cabinda along with French and
Portuguese. Angola was a Portuguese colony since 1482. Cabinda and
Angola are two territories that are significantly different from each other and
completely unrelated by history or geography. The Democratic Republic of
Congo separates Cabinda from Angola..
For financial reasons in 1956, Portugal could no longer afford its two
Governors, one in Angola Colony and the other in Cabinda Protectorate.
Thus Portugal united the governance of these two entities under a Governor
General in Luanda, the capital of Angola. This merger was made to facilitate
and ease the Portuguese administration. This was the case in other African
territories now independent as in the former Belgian Congo with the
Ruanda-Urundi (now Burundi and Rwanda) seat of government being in
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Leopoldville. Administrative convenience of the colonial power was also
also the norm in French Equatorial Africa (Gabon, French Congo, Ubangi-
Shari, Cameroon) with its capital Brazzaville, and Dakar of course as the
administrative seat of vast French West Africa. This administrative
convenience however did not extinguish the existence of these entities, all of
which are now independent.
The Portuguese Constitution of 1933 in force until 1975 made a clear
distinction between Cabinda and Angola in the first paragraph of Article 2,
Title One. Cabinda was headed administratively by the Portuguese authority
residing in Luanda from 1956, but remained legally separate from Angola.
Likewise the decolinialization movement perceived Cabinda as a
separate identifiable entity. On October 06, 1960, the Minister of Foreign
Affairs of Congo (Brazzaville) spoke at the United Nations, a long speech in
which he explained the problem of Cabindan people and their right to self-
determination. At the Summit of the Organization of African Unity held in
Cairo in 1964 the issue of Cabinda was again placed under the Committee's
program of the decolonization of Africa and Cabinda was recognized as the
39th state to be decolonized (Angola was the 35th). On the occasion of the
24th Session of the Council of Ministers of the Organization of African
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Unity held in Addis Ababa, February 19, 1975, the Ministers of Foreign
Affairs of the Congo and Zaire submitted two proposals, in favor of
Cabinda.
In 1963 in Loango (Pointe Noire) in Congo, the Front for the
Liberation of the State of Cabinda (FLEC) was founded through the merger
of three political movements. From the beginning, the battle of FLEC was
directed against Portuguese colonialism. With the consent of the last
Portuguese District Governor of Cabinda, Manuel Freire Themudo Barata ,
FLEC opened an office in Cabinda City, Cabinda's capital and in 1975
declared independence.
However the Alvor Agreement of 1975 between Portugal and the
three Angolan movements, MPLA, FNLA, and UNITA ignored FLEC and
in violation of Portuguese law declared Cabinda part of Angola. This last
political act of betrayal by Portugal cannot however extinguish the existence
of the Cabindans as a separate and distinct people from Angolans.
Until 1975, the perception of Cabinda by the world was as a separate
entity as the following Exhibits from reliable historical sources indicate the
African Union and United Nations until 1975 treated Cabinda as a separate
entity and not part of Angola.
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Respectfully submitted this 6th day of July 2012:
Dr. Jonathan Levy
Legal Representative for Complainant
FLEC
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Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
ASIAN-AFRICAN BLOC ASKS COLONIAL DATASpecial to The New York Times.New York Times (1923-Current file); Nov 9, 1960; ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The New York Times (1851-2008)pg. 9
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Africans' Strength Is Displayed at U.N. In Colonial DebateBy DAVID ANDERSONSpecial to The New York Times.New York Times (1923-Current file); Nov 8, 1960; ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The New York Times (1851-2008)pg. 7
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
FOR AFRICA INDEPENDENCE IS ONLY A BEGINNING: Few Lands Ready For Challenge New States Face Many O...By JOHN DESMONDNew York Times (1923-Current file); Dec 15, 1963; ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The New York Times (1851-2008)pg. 174
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A Nationalist Group in Cabinda Declares Area Free of PortugalBy THOMAS A. JOHNSON Special to The New York TimesNew York Times (1923-Current file); Aug 2, 1975; ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The New York Times (1851-2008)pg. 2