Opening remarks

Mrs. Wieteke Beernink

Ladies and Gentlemen,

On behalf of ICCO and NiZA, I would like to welcome you all to today's conference 'Angolan Reflections on Peace Building'.

And especially a warm welcome to our guests from Angola. We are honoured that you accepted our invitation to be here today to share your experiences of your struggle for peace in your country.

My visit to Angola two years ago made a profound impression on me: Angola, a country marked by decades of war. It shocked me to see so much destruction, so much misery, so many orphans, and such a lack of confidence in the future, so much suffering of the Angolan population. I wondered how it was possible that people managed to persevere and survive. Then, the answer came from a group of refugee women I met in Malanje. They taught me that survival is a matter of wanting to live. And that is only possible if you hope hard enough that one day things will be different, if you believe hard enough that it is worth struggling for peace.

Since my visit, the situation in Angola has deteriorated. Last year (1998), the military battle broke out once again. This signified an end to the Agreement of Lusaka. Millions of people are fleeing for their lives, an uncountable number of people are dying of starvation.

Throughout the course of this year, several initiatives for peace have been implemented by the Angolan civil society and the Church. In October (1999), the separate peace initiatives merged into the National Forum for Peace, which serves as a national platform of individuals and organisations. This is the first time during the decades of war that civil society has organised itself at a national level to form a peace movement.

ICCO and NiZA both agree that it is extremely important that the rest of the world contributes to the Angolan peace initiatives and to mobilise support for them. And this is why we decided to organise this conference. In addition, we have organised lobbying events in Brussels and the Netherlands. We are working in close association with colleague NGOs in Canada, the United States and Great Britain who are currently organising similar activities. Our joint goal is to place Angola on a higher position on the international political agenda, and here in the Netherlands, on a higher position on the political agenda and to raise public awareness. For this reason we are very pleased that quite a number of journalists are attending this conference.

We are very aware of the complexity of the Angolan situation where things are changing every day. It would be very naive to have too high expectations of the peace initiatives that are taken now by civil society. They won't have immediate results but can contribute to a sustainable peace in the future.

And that is why we believe it is important to support them.

We see it as a positive signal that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has made a contribution to today's conference by offering us this location and welcoming us as guests. And for this, we would like to express our thanks. We would also like to thank Novib and Cordaid for their financial support, making today possible.

So, finally, I would like to wish you all an enjoyable day and sincerely hope that the 'Angolan Reflections' will stimulate us to take action.

Thank you.