In a protest note, the Ministry of Telecommunications, Information Technologies and Social Communication denied the alleged ceasefire announced by the Cabinda State Liberation Front - Cabinda Armed Forces (FLEC-FAC), stating that "the socio-political and military situation" in the territory "is stable".
The government also denied the existence of any armed conflict in the territory and repudiated "the alleged negotiations between the political party UNITA and the aforementioned terrorist group, as reported by certain press".
The National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) announced last March that it will submit a draft resolution to parliament to "demand the immediate and unconditional end to military hostilities" in the province of Cabinda and "the immediate start of peace negotiations".
The UNITA parliamentary group maintains that civil society in Cabinda, the protest movements and the population want and defend inclusive dialogue to resolve the political-military and historical problem in Cabinda.
For several years, FLEC-FAC has been demanding the independence of the territory of Cabinda, a province in northern Angola, from where much of the country's oil comes, invoking the Treaty of Simulambuco of 1885, which designates that part of the territory as a Portuguese protectorate.
The General Staff of the Cabindan Armed Forces (FAC) announced on Monday that a unilateral ceasefire has been declared, with immediate effect, for a period of two months, throughout the territory of the province of Cabinda.
The statement states that the decision, in agreement with the political leadership of FLEC-FAC, comes after internal consultations with the political leadership of FLEC and "is part of a clear desire to create a climate conducive to serious dialogue with the Angolan authorities to put an end to the conflict in Cabinda".
"FLEC-FAC's decision also follows the announcement of the initiative by the Angolan party UNITA [National Union for the Total Independence of Angola, the largest opposition party] and the proposal it said it would present to the Angolan parliament," the statement said.
