UNITA leader snubs Albright

LUANDA, December 13: US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright said yesterday she was disappointed that former rebel leader Jonas Savimbi had turned down an invitation to meet her during her visit to Angola to back its troubled peace process.

Albright also made a brief stop in the oil enclave of Cabinda, where she visited an offshore oil platform operated by the American company Chevron. The US Secretary, who is on a tour of Africa, met Angolan President Jose Eduardo dos Santos in Luanda but said she regretted the no-show of Savimbi, the leader of the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA).

"I regret that Dr Savimibi was not able to accept our invitation to meet with me here in Luanda," she said. "Dr Savimibi and the UNITA leaders who remain outside Luanda can expect only marginalisation if they do not move swiftly to comply fully with the Lusaka protocol" to end the Angolan civil war.