Politics of memory and silence: Angola's liberation struggle in postcolonial times

Abstract

The memory of the liberation war in Angola has been a constant source of political power, one utilised by the hegemonic power, the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), to assert its legitimacy to continue ruling the country. The politicisation of these memories, besides confusing historiographical production, has eluded various other proponents of alternative interpretations of the memories of the liberation war, particularly its other participants, the National Front for the Liberation of Angola (FNLA) and National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA). This chapter demonstrates that, by presenting a cleansed version of historical memory, free of conflict and controversy, official memory replaces and silences the diverse actors that were at the genesis of the new nation after independence. It continues to show that oppositional counter-memories are either tied to weak representation in contemporary society, in the case of the FNLA, or a lack of interest in asserting participation in the liberation war, in the case of UNITA. The result is an opaque and metamorphic use of memory, one essentially defined by Angola's contemporary politics.