Game plots, especially those involving war, are infamous for their conservative politics. Call of Duty franchise, which plays out like a right-wing version of US military history. But even we are surprised to see the late Angolan “rebel” leader Jonas Savimbi pop up in Call of Duty: Black Ops II.
The family of slain Angolan rebel chief Jonas Savimbi are suing the makers of the popular video game “Call of Duty” for representing his character as a “barbarian”, their lawyer said.
Three of Savimbi’s children, who live in the Paris region, are seeking one million euros in damages from the French branch of game publisher Activision Blizzard. Lawyers for both parties describe the case involving defamation over a video character as a first.
Savimbi was the founder and leader of the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA), which fought a 27-year civil war with the government in Luanda.
He was killed in battle against MPLA government forces in 2002, paving the way for a peace deal that would bring an end to one of Africa’s longest and bloodiest conflicts, which erupted after independence from Portugal in 1975.
The war left at least half a million people dead and forced some four million civilians to flee their homes in the oil-rich nation.
As charismatic as he was controversial, the bearded Savimbi often appeared in uniform with a cocked red beret.
Some 10 years after his death, it was this war figure his children discovered when “Call of Duty” released its “Black Ops II” game in 2012.
The family’s lawyer Carole Enfert said Savimbi is represented as a “big halfwit who wants to kill everybody”, an “outrageous” image that does not reflect his personality as a “political leader and strategist”.
However the game’s publishers disagree. Etienne Kowalski, a lawyer for Activision Blizzard, said Savimbi is represented “for who he was… a character of Angolan history, a guerrilla chief who fought the MPLA”. Kowalski said the video game shows Savimbi in a “rather favourable light” as a “good guy who comes to help the heroes”.
