Hearing Angola and Cambodia detail their plans for rounding up all the guns owned by civilians is kind of like hearing that the Dixie Chicks are writing a song about America. You just know something bad’s going to happen in the end. And yet, that’s exactly what we heard on day 3 of the UN’s summit on small arms (Angola and Cambodia, not the Dixie Chicks. They haven’t been granted a seat on the Security Council… yet).

Angola, a country devastated by 24 years of civil war, is now in the process of making sure that citizens can never again revolt against the government. Minister of Justice Manuel Miguel da Costa Aragão told the assembled nations the, “disarmament process is being carried out in a systematic manner and on the basis of information provided by the population.” Even better, Angola wants other countries to help pay for the disarming of its citizens. The Justice Minister also said, “we seize this opportunity to ask for the support of the international community in the difficult task of disarming the civilian population.”

Yes, the civil war in Angola was devastating. An estimated 500,000 people lost their lives. But let’s be honest here. If there were any “good guys” in the civil war, they didn’t win. Our own State Department says in 2005 the country’s human rights record “remained poor and serious problems remained.” What type of problems?

- The abridgement of the rights of citizens to elect officials at all levels.

- Arbitrary arrest and detention.

- Unlawful killings, disappearances, torture, beatings, and abuse of persons.

- Lack of due process.

- Restrictions on freedom of speech, the press, and assembly. Continued...