Below is an article published by Mail and Guardian :

The spectre of human rights violations in Angola's oil-rich Cabinda enclave is overshadowing [South African] President Jacob Zuma's first official state visit, which started in Luanda on Wednesday [26 August 2009].

A Human Rights Watch report published earlier this year [2009] found that in Cabinda at least 38 people arrested by Angolan military between September 2007 and March 2009 were subjected to "torture and cruel or inhumane treatment in military custody, and … denied due process rights, as well as a fair trial".

The detainees were accused of being part of a separatist movement, the Liberation Front for the Enclave of Cabinda (Flec).

This year's report is first-hand, field-based information and reveals a "disturbing pattern of human rights violations during pre-trial detention of people accused of state-security crimes in Cabinda".

Cabinda is responsible for more than half the country's oil output, which saw Angola's economy grow by 26% in 2006 and 17.6% in 2007.

The report, entitled "They put me in the hole: military detention, torture and the lack of due process in Cabinda", is based on events between September 2007 and March this year [2009].

It found that most people known to have been "arbitrarily arrested" during that period "were subjected to lengthy incommunicado detention, torture and lack of due process".

The official Angolan line is that a peace agreement signed in 2006 had ended the conflict in Cabinda. But a diplomatic insider based in Angola said that "there are still outbreaks of violence in Cabinda and every time there is a guerrilla attack, the people pay the price".

He said that attacks had occurred this year [2009].
South Africa's trade and industry minister, Rob Davies, skirted the issue when questioned about it by the Mail & Guardian, saying that South Africa would rely on Africa's Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) to raise "these issues if they exist".

Angola is a participant in Nepad's APRM and Davies said that Angola should be allowed to address the issue through that mechanism.

Human Settlements Minister Tokyo Sexwale said that allegations of human rights violence perpetrated by Angola's military in Cabinda have "never been an issue raised in [South Africa's] Cabinet".

Sexwale, who used to have mining, infrastructure and trade and logistics business interests in Angola, said the country was a democracy. "South Africa never visits dictatorships. Angola is not a dictatorship," he said.

He pointed to the recent state visit by United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as further proof of Angola's democratic credentials. "The US also [doesn't] visit dictatorships. They effect regime change," Sexwale said.

While Zuma's state visit is about re-establishing links with Angola after frosty relations between the two countries during former president Thabo Mbeki's tenure, it is also about money and oil.

Zuma aims to ensure, through a visit that includes 11 Cabinet ministers and a business delegation of 170, that the two countries "tap into a real potential relationship in all spheres into the economic, political and social spheres".

Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, minister of international relations and cooperation, has emphasised Angola's "fuel security" and the opportunities the country's reconstruction -- almost destroyed by a 27-year civil war -- presents for South African companies.

Given that another big investor in Angola is China, the policy of which towards the countries where it operates is one of "non-interference", questions will be raised about South African's modus operandi in Angola.

Mashabane was at pains to emphasise that the partnership between the countries is one with the potential to "keep democratic ideals in the region".

Asked about human rights abuses in Cabinda, Zuma's office referred the M&G to the International Relations Department.

Lisa Rimli, a researcher on Angola for Human Rights Watch, told M&G the abuses were no deterrent to companies and countries that wanted to do business with Angola.

"They are more concerned about stability than human rights. President Juan Eduardo dos Santos, having been in power for 30 years, guarantees stability and that is important to those seeking investment opportunities."

She said the Angolan government tried to protect its image by keeping a tight lid on information.

"Press freedom is restricted and it appears that views on this have hardened since elections."

A journalist was recently given a three-month suspended jail sentence for publishing an opinion piece that criticised Dos Santos's failure to deliver on government promises.

The Africa Cup of Nations is due to take place in Cabinda in 2010 and the Angolan government wants to step up operations against insurgent groups to ensure the smooth running of the event.

Rimli said there had been increased movements of military helicopters between the provincial capital and the interior, which the military had said were "training exercises".

Access to information about Cabinda's interior was restricted. "This prevents us and local civil society from following up on alleged disappearance and abuse cases."

Rimli said she expected public protests to increase, because the Angolan government had made extravagant promises before the recent elections "and now has to face a global economic downturn as well".

"They promised to build a million houses, but in fact 3 000 houses have been destroyed in an area the government said was intended as a public space.

"About 15 000 people lost their homes and have nowhere to go. This has even stirred up emotions in the ruling MPLA," she said.

The government blames public protests on the opposition parties, claiming they are manipulating people to resist the authorities.