True Democracy in Angola

Three facts were conveniently ignored in the Opinion page article "Savimbi Is Not to Blame For Angola's Trouble," Nov. 16. First, in framing the struggle as a "former Leninist regime" vs. a "former Western-backed resistance movement," the authors ignore the obvious fact that the brutal South Africa apartheid regime along with the Reagan administration were the key suppliers of Jonas Savimbi's UNITA (National Union for the Total Independence of Angola) contra forces.

Second, as was the pattern in "low-intensity warfare" waged by contra forces in Nicaragua and in southern Africa, UNITA's main role was to make the Angolan economy a disaster through UNITA attacks on the civilian population which prompted sizable security expenditures by the Angolan government.

And third, most United Nations observers in Angola during the recent election pronounced these elections generally fair and democratic. It is time to embrace true democracy even if some multinational corporations and geopolitical strategists might be unhappy with the results. Bruce Campbell, Los Angeles

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