"Noting the incapacity and unavailability of Angola, FLEC-FAC calls for particular attention to the conflict in Cabinda" and for "the contribution to the resolution of this conflict" of SADC, said, in a statement, the political-military direction of FLEC- FAC.
The appeal was especially addressed to the chairman of the SADC Policy, Defense and Security body, Mokgweetsi Eric Keabetswe Masisi, and at a time when the organization was meeting, in Maputo, to analyze the crisis in the Mozambican province of Cabo Delgado.
"Forgetting the conflict in Cabinda is contributing to the worsening of the defense and security environment in the region and a means of allowing the Angolan state to continue its policy of regressing and militarizing Cabinda and neighboring states," the statement added.
Cabinda's independenceists demand self-determination of the territory and compliance with the Simulambuco Treaty.
Signed on February 1, 1885 between the Portuguese Government and the native Indians, the Treaty of Simulambuco sealed the creation of a Portuguese protectorate, in which Portugal undertook to maintain the integrity of the territories.
Cabinda's independenceists claim that the territory was an independent colony from Portugal and should have been treated as such in Angola's independence process.
In contrast, the territory, from which most of the oil in the country is extracted, has become a province.
SADC integrates 16 countries in Southern Africa, including Angola and Mozambique.
