APC President Tom DeWeese with the late UNITA VP Jeremias Chitunda

The world-wide battle against the tyrannical Left and its drive for the destruction of free societies never ends. Their goals and tactics rarely change — rob, lie, cheat, steal elections, and destroy the forces of freedom. Whatever it takes.

In the late 1990s, I had the privilege of working with a few freedom-fighting organizations located in other countries. One of these was Jonas Savimbi’s UNITA freedom fighters in Angola. The nation was under communist control and Savimbi was determined to defeat them.

I was able to meet Savimbi’s representatives that were working in Washington D.C. through a great patriot friend named Margaret Calhoun. She was a direct descendant of John C. Calhoun, a historic statesman and the 7th Vice President of the United States. At the time Margaret was working for Idaho Senator Steve Symms. Through that position Margaret led the fight to influence Ronald Reagan’s administration to provide support for UNITA that included military weapons.

As a result of that assistance, Savimbi was winning battles against the communist troops. To say thank you to Margaret, Savimbi invited her to his headquarters in Angola where he held a dinner to honor her. As it turned out, she was the only woman in the room filled with UNITA soldiers. It was quite a night.

Through my work with Margaret and the DC UNITA representatives I was able to meet UNITA’s Vice President Jeremias Chitunda. He was a fierce warrior and I was honored to sponsor him to speak to the national Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC). After his speech my American Policy Center held a special reception for him. During his remarks, VP Chitunda said, “People ask me why I fight. I fight because I have never been in a voting booth and I want to change that.”

After the reception I had an interesting discussion with him about the situation in Angola and how the communist regime was destroying any semblance of human freedom. This was also the time that South Africa, which bordered Angola, was under world-wide attack for its policy of Apartheid, described as pure racism by the white government.

That issue came up in our discussion and VP Chitunda provided me with some historic information about South Africa’s past that I have never heard otherwise discussed or reported. He said that in the 1600s, when the Dutch colonists first arrived in the area that is now the very southern tip of South Africa, there we no black populations in the area. That’s where the Dutch moved to set up their colony and began to prosper.

Meanwhile, to their north, there were black tribes that were constantly at war with one another. Eventually one of the tribes approached the Dutch and asked if they could come into the safety of the colony and be protected by the Dutch. Eventually the Dutch agreed, but under one condition – that the tribe members understood that they would never be citizens of the colony. The tribe fully agreed. That was the true beginning of Apartheid. It had nothing to do with race. It was about keeping control of the colony that the Dutch had invested in and created. Over the centuries, as the colony prospered and grew into the nation of South Africa, the agreement stood in place. The tribe population grew and took advantage of the security and prosperity the Dutch brought to the area.

Today, that original ancient agreement of Dutch colonist generosity is long forgotten as Leftist forces move to gain control under the false premise of white supremacy and racism. Keep in mind, this information was given to me by a black man who was from the area and very politically involved. Fighting for freedom was his total focus. Yet he understood and rejected the attacks on the white government of neighboring South Africa as he fought to overthrow the communist tyranny that was destroying his nation.

In Angola, the communists were feeling the pressure from UNITA and attempted to negotiate a ceasefire in their war. That’s when in 1992, Jonas Savimbi decided to run for president against the communist regime. When it appeared that the communists had cheated with the election results, the peace negotiations ended as Savimbi resumed the fight on the battlefield.

However, as the Soviet Russians and Communist Cubans bolstered support to the communist Angola regime, disaster struck the UNITA freedom fighters. George H.W. Bush became U.S. President, replacing Ronald Reagan. One of his first steps was to end the military weapons support for UNITA. Bush demanded that Savimbi reenter the peace negotiations. So, Savimbi sent his Vice President Chitunda to negotiate with the Communist regime. But the communists had other plans. On November 2, 1992, as Chitunda’s convoy arrived for the meeting, he was attacked, pulled from his car and shot in the face, killing him. His body was never seen again.

Betrayed and abandoned by the Bush regime, Savimbi was forced to fight on, lacking the power of American support. But finally, on February 2, 2002, Savimbi was killed in a firefight. UNITA was finished, his determined fight for freedom defeated, and the communists maintained control.

No matter where in the world the fight takes place, the tactics are always the same, refusing to allow defeat, they lie, cheat and steal the votes of honest citizens who are trying to gain their freedom in a voting booth like Chitunda had always dreamed of entering but never achieved. Above all, the tyrannical global elites stand in unison with their forces on the ground, supplying them with anything they need to achieve victory. But all too often, the “good guys” who are supposed to support the freedom fighters take the “bipartisan, peaceful” negotiation and compromise approach, which does nothing but guarantee certain defeat.

That’s how Savimbi died, Chitunda died, UNITA died, and Angola and South African freedom died. And that’s how it’s dying in Minnesota, New York City, Virginia, California, and Texas. It will continue to spread to more cities and states across this country because these evil forces fully understand the reluctance of the forces of freedom to share the same fierce dedication to our cause. The truth is Evil can be fairly easily defeated when Good takes a dedicated stand. That’s the stand we must take – NOW!