Democratic International
Encyclopedia : D : DE : DEM : Democratic International
The Democratic International, also known as the Jamba Jamboree, was a 1985 meeting of anti-communist global insurgents held at the headquarters of UNITA in the southeast Angolan city of Jamba, Angola.
The meeting was primarily funded by Rite Aid founder Lewis Lehrman and organized by lobbyists Jack Abramoff and Jack Wheeler. It had the endorsement of President Reagan and other United States conservatives. The International Freedom Foundation was founded as a result of this conference.
Conference participants
The main participants in the conference were:
- Jack Abramoff, lobbyist.[link].
- Adolfo Calero, Nicaraguan contra leader.
- Pa Kao Her, Laos-based rebel leader.
- Lewis Lehrman, businessman.
- Oliver North representatives.
- Jonas Savimbi, UNITA leader.
- South African security forces.
- Abdurrahim Wardak, Afghan muhjahideen leader.
- Jack Wheeler, American conservative policy advocate.
Quotes concerning the conference
- "The participants signed a communiqué declaring "our solidarity with all freedom movements in the world and ... our commitment to cooperate to liberate our nations from the Soviet imperialists." [link].
- "The jamboree itself ended up being largely ceremonial. Everyone pledged to share intelligence, and Lehrman read a letter Dana Rohrabacher had drafted on Reagan's behalf, expressing solidarity with those struggling against the Soviet empire. The Time reporter on the scene concluded that the meeting marked the beginning of "a new lobby to urge Congress to support the Nicaraguan contras and other anti-Communist guerrillas."
See also
External links
- [Article concerning The Democratic International], The New Republic.
- [Article with quotes from Democratic International], Sourcewatch.
- [Sourcewatch.org's article concerning the International Freedom Foundation], Sourcewatch.
From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.