Republic of Cabinda

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Republic of Cabinda República de Cabinda Kilansi kia Kabinda
1975–1976
Flag Coat of arms
Anthem: A Pátria Imortal (Portuguese) "The Immortal Fatherland"
Territory claimed by the Republic of Cabinda
Status	Unrecognized state
Capital	Cabinda
Capital-in-exile	Paris, France and Pointe-Noire
Common languages	Portuguese Ibinda
Government	Republic
President
• 1975–1976	Luis de Gonzaga Branque Franque
• 1999	Cmdte. Antonio Luis Lopes
History
• Established	August 1, 1975
• Debellation	January 4, 1976
Preceded by Succeeded by Portuguese Angola People's Republic of Angola
In exile since 1976.

The Republic of Cabinda^[1] (Ibinda: Kilansi kia Kabinda; Portuguese: República de Cabinda)^[2] was an independent protectorate of Portugal that was taken over by Angola after Portugal declared Angola a free country. It is currently an unrecognized state, which Angola considers its Cabinda Province property. The Front for the Liberation of the State of Cabinda-Exército de Cabinda (FLEC) claimed sovereignty just after the Republic of Cabinda was proclaimed as an independent country in 1975 from Portugal and just after Angola invaded. The government of this (internationally unrecognized) entity operates in exile, with offices located in Paris, France, and Pointe Noire, Republic of the Congo.

The 1885 Treaty of Simulambuco designated Cabinda a Portuguese protectorate known as the Portuguese Congo, which was administratively separate from Portuguese West Africa (Angola). In the 20th century, Portugal integrated Cabinda as a district within the "overseas province" of Angola. During the Portuguese Colonial War, FLEC fought for the independence of Cabinda from the Portuguese. Independence was proclaimed on 1 August 1975, and FLEC formed a provisional government led by Henrique N'zita Tiago. Luis Ranque Franque was elected president.^[3]

In January 1975, Angola's three national liberation movements (People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), National Liberation Front of Angola (FNLA) and National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) met with the colonial power in Alvor, Portugal, to establish the modalities of the transition to independence. There was no representation for Cabinda despite being a Portuguese protectorate Treaty of Simulambuco, not being a colony, and winning independence from Portugal in August 1975. FLEC was also not invited. On 15 January 1975 the Alvor Agreement was signed, laying the groundwork for official Angolan independence (to be instituted on 11 November 1975) and confirming Cabinda as part of Angola.^[4] The Alvor agreements were suspended by Portugal just one month and seventeen days before Angola's independence making Angola's claim to Cabinda void. However, after Angolan independence was declared in November 1975, Cabinda was occupied by the forces of the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), which had been present in Cabinda since the mid-1960s, sustaining an anti-colonial guerrilla war that was rather more efficient than the one run by FLEC.

For much of the 1970s and 1980s, the FLEC fought a low-intensity guerrilla war, attacking the troops of what was by then the People's Republic of Angola, led by the MPLA. FLEC's tactics included attacking economic targets and kidnapping foreign employees working in the province's oil and construction businesses. In July 2006, after ceasefire negotiations, António Bento Bembe – as president of the Cabindan Forum for Dialogue and Peace, vice-president and executive secretary of FLEC – announced that the Cabindan separatist forces were ready to declare a ceasefire. A peace treaty was signed. FLEC-FAC from Paris contends Bembe had no authority or mandate to negotiate with the Angolans and that the only acceptable solution is total independence.