A historic peace congress in Angola in south-western Africa ended last week with a request for a ceasefire and national dialogue.
The four-day congress, organised by the Catholic Church, brought together around 300 participants from civil society, various churches, opposition parties and the government. Although it is unlikely to reap immediate results, many observers believe it could mark the beginning of the end of the 25-year conflict between the governing MPLA party and the UNITA rebel group.
"It is just the beginning. It is just the starting point," comments Jaka Jamba, a UNITA politician and widely-respected Angolan intellectual. "But we are moving towards a new dynamic in Angola."
Four attempts to end Angola's seemingly intractable conflict have failed. The last peace process, the Lusaka protocol, began in 1994. Both warring sides entered into talks with "observers" from the United States, Russia, Portugal and the United Nations.
Negotiations collapsed, however, in December 1998 when government forces launched an offensive on the rebels' headquarters in the heart of the country. The government justified its military action on the basis that the rebels had broken the spirit of the Lusaka agreement by rearming.
Since then, the government has stuck to the argument that "war is the only way to peace". It reiterated that view last week, on the third day of the congress, during a special parliamentary session to discuss the military situation.
"What resulted from the parliamentary debate was the position that the end of the war is close therefore it's necessary to continue with the war to end the war," says Luis do Nascimento, secretary general of Front for Democracy, an opposition party.
Few Angolans agree. The war for independence against the Portuguese began in 1961. No sooner had independence been achieved in 1975 than the nationalist groups began fighting among themselves, spurred on considerably by the Cold War. Put simply, there has never been what Angolans call "true peace" for 39 years. Given the average life span here, 47 years, it is little wonder that the majority of the population do not believe war can end war.
"Two years ago it was a kind of crime to speak and pronounce the word peace," says Fernando Macedo, a human rights activist. "This congress is very important because it has given us the opportunity to speak freely and demand peace."
That government members attended the meeting is not insignificant. For the first time since the conflict resumed 20 months ago, the MPLA party appears to be paying attention to the people. Even its most venomous critics seem genuinely excited by the participation of certain ministers. "The government is listening and taking into consideration what is being said," Abel Chivukuvuku, a UNITA politician, remarked.
"Even if there are still individuals in government who are against the initiative, there is a growing understanding that military action is not the solution."
However, two senior ministers who sat in on the congress seemed unimpressed by the call for a ceasefire and dialogue between the warring parties.
Antonio Burity da Silva, the minister for education and culture, said the government had already "explored all types of dialogue and negotiations" to no avail. The church, he added, was welcome to propose its own recommendations for peace, but "it can never interject or execute an organised policy".
Faustino Muteka, the minister for territorial administration and a MPLA hardliner, criticised participants at the congress for their failure to present what he called "concrete proposals".
"If you can convince Savimbi [Jonas Savimbi, the UNITA leader] to drop his arms, abandon the war and come to Luanda, let me know," Muteka told this journalist, before breaking into laughter.
The rebels say they support the idea of church mediation. Nevertheless, Muteka has a point: although UNITA politicians attended the congress, not one representative from its armed wing turned up. No doubt Savimbi would argue that it is too dangerous for him to enter Luanda.
It is partly for this that the congress concluded with a request for a bilateral ceasefire. All it might take, however, is for one side to be bold enough to make the first move.