António Bento Bembe is the Secretary-General of the

Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda The Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda ( pt, Frente para a Libertação do Enclave de Cabinda, FLEC) is a guerrilla and political movement fighting for the independence of the Angolan province of Cabinda.AlʻAmin Mazrui, Ali. ...

(FLEC), a general of Angolan Army, a minister without portfolio in the

Angolan government The Cabinet of Angola is the chief executive body of the Republic of Angola. References External linksgoverno.gov.ao(in Portuguese) Cabinet Angolan ministers Ministers Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , imag ...

between 2007-2009. He is the Secretary of State of the Angolan government for Human Rights, has served as the President of the Cabinda Forum for Dialogue (FCD) since its establishment in 2004. He served as President of FLEC-Renovada. Rival Cabindan rebel groups met in Helvoirt,

the Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, in 2004 and formed the Cabinda Forum for Dialogue (CFD), a body dedicated to representing Cabindans in peace negotiations with the Angolan government. Bembe has served as the CFD's President since its establishment. Dutch police arrested Bembe at the Opening Session of the VII

UNPO The Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization, or simply UNPO is an international organization established to facilitate the voices of unrepresented and marginalised nations and peoples worldwide. It was formed on 11 February 1991 in The Ha ...

General Assembly in the

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in the Netherlands in June 2005. The arrest came in response to a U.S. government request for

extradition Extradition is an action wherein one jurisdiction delivers a person accused or convicted of committing a crime in another jurisdiction, over to the other's law enforcement. It is a cooperative law enforcement procedure between the two jurisdi ...

on kidnapping charges in relation to a

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worker's disappearance in 1990. The Justice Ministry arrested Bembe, but the Foreign Ministry had allowed him to enter the country, leading to a departmental rivalry over the case. Thousands of Cabindans rallied in favor of releasing Bembe and members of Parliament in Angola and

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

expressed their support. A Dutch court released him on bail but Bembe did not report to police in November. The Dutch court then rejected extradition and Bembe returned to Angola.

References

Year of birth missing (living people) Living people People from Cabinda Province Cabindan independence activists Ministers without Portfolio of Angola {{Angola-politician-stub

See also

References