Republic of Cabinda
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
This article has been nominated to be checked for its neutrality. Discussion of this nomination can be found on the talk page. (February 2008) |
 |
This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2007) |
The Republic of Cabinda is the name adopted by the currently unrecognized secessionist government of Cabinda, presently an enclave of Angola.
Contents |
[edit] Geography
Cabinda is a territory of 7,283 square kilometers in west central Africa with a population of 264,584 in 2006 (estimate), divided between four municipalities of Belize (17,693), Buco Zau (40,019), Cabinda (185,924) and Cacongo (20,948). It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Republic of Congo to the north, and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) to the east and south. The DR Congo territory along the north bank of the Congo River separates Cabinda from the so called "Angolan" province of Zaire (which is in fact Mbanza Kongo, the Kingdom of the Mukongo people this is the heart of the Kongo Nation. More than 20,000+ Cabinda people live in refugee camps in the Democratic Republic of Congo and in the Republic of Congo.
[edit] Background
The Republic of Cabinda traces its claims to self-sovereignty to its initial status as a Portuguese protectorate, known as the Portuguese Congo. This protectorate had a separate history and legal status from that of the much larger Portuguese West Africa, dating to its inception on 19 September 1883 and confirmed by the Treaty of Simulambuco and the Berlin Conference in 1885. Its closest political predecessor was the iron age N'goyo kingdom, which sought voluntarily incorporation into the Portuguese Empire as a way of obtaining protection from hostile neighboring states.
From inception onwards, Cabinda experienced many changes of status within the Portuguese framework, oscillating between positions of relative autonomy and "integration" within the greater Colony (or "Province") of Angola; though as late as 1933, at the same time as the 1933 Constitution defining the Estado Novo, Cabinda and Angola were considered distinct and separate parts of the Portuguese Empire.
[edit] Relations with Angola
During the movement for Angolan independence in the 1960s, the situation became more complex. In May 1963 the OAU ranked Cabinda as the 39th state still to be decolonized and Angola as the 35th and one of the groups pushing for independence, FLEC, established a Cabindan government in exile in Kinshasa, declaring Cabinda's independence on August 1, 1975, but this was unrecognized by Portugal or other factions.
Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) troops entered Cabinda via Pointe Noire on November 11, 1975 and annexed oil-rich Cabinda into Angola proper. The current Angolan government refers to it as "Cabinda province." The Alvor Agreement, which set the terms of Angola's independence from Portugal, states that "Angola constitutes one indivisible unity. In this context, Cabinda is an integral and inalienable part of Angola." However, though signed by the three other main factions fighting for independence (MPLA, FNLA, and UNITA), the Alvor Agreement was not signed by representatives from the Cabinda exclave, nor by the FLEC.
