The Democratic International, also known as the Jamboree in Jamba, was a 1985 meeting of anti-Communist rebels held at the headquarters of

UNITA The National Union for the Total Independence of Angola ( pt, União Nacional para a Independência Total de Angola, abbr. UNITA) is the second-largest political party in Angola. Founded in 1966, UNITA fought alongside the Popular Movement for ...

Jamba, Angola Jamba is a town in Angola, located in the southeastern province of Cuando Cubango, just north of the Namibian border along the Caprivi Strip. The town is best known as the former military headquarters of UNITA, a rebel movement supported by ...

.J. Easton, Nina. ''Gang of Five: Leaders at the Center of the Conservative Crusade'', 2000. Pages 165-167. The meeting was primarily funded by former

Rite Aid Rite Aid Corporation is an American drugstore chain based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1962 in Scranton, Pennsylvania, by Alex Grass under the name Thrift D Discount Center. The company ranked No. 148 in the Fortune 500 l ...

President Lewis Lehrman and organized by anti-Communist activists

Jack Abramoff Jack Allan Abramoff (; born February 28, 1959) is an American lobbyist, businessman, film producer, writer, and convicted felon. He was at the center of an extensive corruption investigation led by Earl Devaney that resulted in his conviction ...

and Jack Wheeler. While the

Reagan administration Ronald Reagan's tenure as the 40th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 1981, and ended on January 20, 1989. Reagan, a Republican from California, took office following a landslide victory over ...

privately supported the meeting, it did not publicize its position. The governments of

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

and

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

supported the idea, but both respective countries were deemed inadvisable for hosting the conference. Participants in the conference included at least four leaders of anti-communist insurgent movements: Jonas Savimbi,

Adolfo Calero Adolfo Calero Portocarrero (December 22, 1931 – June 2, 2012) was a Nicaraguan businessman and the leader of the Nicaraguan Democratic Force, the largest rebel group of the Contras, opposing the Sandinista government. Calero was respons ...

Pa Kao Her Pa Kao Her ( RPA: ''Paj Kaub Hawj'' , Pahawh: ) was an ethnic Hmong born in Nong Het District, Xieng Khouang Province, northern Laos, near the border with Vietnam. He was one of the first followers of his cousin, Shong Lue Yang, also known as ...

, and

Abdul Rahim Wardak General Abdul Rahim Wardak (; Pashto/ prs, عبدالرحیم وردگ; born 1945), an ethnic Pashtun, is an Afghan politician and former Defense Minister of Afghanistan. He was appointed on December 23, 2004, by Afghan President Hamid Karzai. ...

. A number of American conservative lobbyists were also in attendance, including

, Lewis Lehrman, and Jack Wheeler. Military representatives of South Africa and the US, including Lieutenant Colonel

Oliver North Oliver Laurence North (born October 7, 1943) is an American political commentator, television host, military historian, author, and retired United States Marine Corps lieutenant colonel. A veteran of the Vietnam War, North was a National Secu ...

, were present as well. Security at the event was handled by the

South African Defence Force The South African Defence Force (SADF) (Afrikaans: ''Suid-Afrikaanse Weermag'') comprised the armed forces of South Africa from 1957 until 1994. Shortly before the state reconstituted itself as a republic in 1961, the former Union Defence F ...

. The participants released a communiqué stating:

References

{{Reflist Angolan Civil War Contras Anti-communism Front organizations UNITA 1985 in Angola Nicaraguan Revolution

See also

References