Angola National Police accuse UNITA of organizing ‘riots’ during demonstrations

The Angolan police today accused UNITA, the largest opposition party, of being involved in the riots and riots during demonstrations that took place on Saturday at the national level and which the authorities cracked down in several provinces.

Without speaking of the number of detainees, the national police cite that demonstrations organized by civil society were suppressed in Luanda and Benguela because they did not comply with the “requirements of the law” and because they were notable for riots, riots and violence against the police.

Police have accused demonstrators of tear gas and gunfire in at least those two provinces, with reports of dozens injured and arrests, and it has not yet been possible to ascertain how many.

“The National Police established that in all the demonstrations there was the presence of deputies, leaders and militants of the UNITA party, who were directly involved in organizing the above-mentioned acts of riots and inflicted bodily injuries on several participants, including citizens moving on public roads, as well as seven law enforcement officers,” the statement said.

JURA, the youth “branch” of the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA), which joined a demonstration against rising fuel prices, stopping street vendors and changing the status of NGOs, condemned the day before an alleged attempt to blame the party for “any damage” that might be caused at the Saturday demonstration.

JURA said it became aware of the regime’s “spooky plan”, which allegedly prepared “thousands of propaganda materials with UNITA and JURA symbols and sayings to clothe and infiltrate people associated with the regime and security forces into the demonstration.”

UNITA Deputy and Secretary of the Provincial Government, Adriano Sapinala, who was present at the demonstration in Luanda, denounced the offensive use of his images by the Angolan Public Television (PTA), which accused UNITA of links to the unrest that evening in its media space, citing “government sources”.

“Just to remind you that all the images that TPA posted in their infamous artwork were made by me and Nelito Ekuikui. [presidente da JURA] and they have been removed from our Facebook pages!” Sapiñala wrote on her page on this social network.

The Democratic Bloc, the party that joined the initiative, condemned Saturday’s arrest of some of its leaders in Luanda and other provinces.

In Luanda, among dozens of other people, at least one member of one of the public organizations that called for the protest was also arrested.

A musician was arrested in Biya, three activists in Cabinda and four others in Huambo.

55 people have been arrested in Benguela.

In a statement released this morning, the National Police said that the security forces used moderate tactical and operational means, commensurate with the nature of the actions committed, and called on citizens “not to adhere to acts of violence.”

Images posted on social media show injured people, the use of tear gas grenades and shots fired at demonstrators, with some of them also being chased through the streets to their neighborhoods.