Dos Santos honoured, addresses NA

GOVERNMENT bestowed a rare honour on long-serving Angolan President José Eduardo dos Santos by inviting him to address a joint session of Parliament yesterday.

It was a tribute to Dos Santos and Angolan citizens, who for many years bore the brunt of a long and bitter liberation war between Namibian combatants and the South African army on Angolan soil, which also cost the lives of many Angolan civilians. Dos Santos allowed Swapo to shift its exile headquarters from Zambia to Luanda around 1979 and many Namibian Cabinet Ministers who were present in the National Assembly had previously been stationed in Angola for many years, either at refugee camps, in Swapo’s Luanda offices or deployed as members of the People’s Liberation Army of Namibia (PLAN).A special atmosphere could be sensed as Dos Santos entered the Chamber, accompanied by the Speaker, Theo-Ben Gurirab, former President Sam Nujoma and Lieutenant General Martin Shalli, the Commander of the Namibia Defence Force.The thoughts of those present went back to the days in exile, while the Angolan president spoke.”Angola and Namibia had to achieve their independence under very difficult circumstances,” Dos Santos said.”We have been together in the fight against powerful enemies.The strategic alliances we had established in the past, the blood bonds of our peoples (along both sides of the common border), the coinciding vision of our leaders were the weapons that we successfully used.””Like we had done before when, we together overcame the all-powerful machine of apartheid, our countries today in a new setting may take heed of the experiences of the past to overcome the challenges that are always emerging in the international arena like globalisation,” Dos Santos continued.Since peace came to Angola – after Unita rebel leader Jonas Savimbi was eliminated in 2002 – his country has experienced strong economic growth, and destroyed roads, ports and airports were being rehabilitated, he said.”Angolans are proud to be an active part of this huge transformation process.It is on this long journey towards modernity and progress that we would like to continue to have our Namibian brother and sisters on our side,” Dos Santos ended his speech.He received a standing ovation from the members of the National Council and the National Assembly.President dos Santos and his 54-member delegation ended their two-day state visit and returned to Angola yesterday afternoon.Dos Santos allowed Swapo to shift its exile headquarters from Zambia to Luanda around 1979 and many Namibian Cabinet Ministers who were present in the National Assembly had previously been stationed in Angola for many years, either at refugee camps, in Swapo’s Luanda offices or deployed as members of the People’s Liberation Army of Namibia (PLAN).A special atmosphere could be sensed as Dos Santos entered the Chamber, accompanied by the Speaker, Theo-Ben Gurirab, former President Sam Nujoma and Lieutenant General Martin Shalli, the Commander of the Namibia Defence Force.The thoughts of those present went back to the days in exile, while the Angolan president spoke.”Angola and Namibia had to achieve their independence under very difficult circumstances,” Dos Santos said.”We have been together in the fight against powerful enemies.The strategic alliances we had established in the past, the blood bonds of our peoples (along both sides of the common border), the coinciding vision of our leaders were the weapons that we successfully used.””Like we had done before when, we together overcame the all-powerful machine of apartheid, our countries today in a new setting may take heed of the experiences of the past to overcome the challenges that are always emerging in the international arena like globalisation,” Dos Santos continued.Since peace came to Angola – after Unita rebel leader Jonas Savimbi was eliminated in 2002 – his country has experienced strong economic growth, and destroyed roads, ports and airports were being rehabilitated, he said.”Angolans are proud to be an active part of this huge transformation process.It is on this long journey towards modernity and progress that we would like to continue to have our Namibian brother and sisters on our side,” Dos Santos ended his speech.He received a standing ovation from the members of the National Council and the National Assembly.President dos Santos and his 54-member delegation ended their two-day state visit and returned to Angola yesterday afternoon.