A young man has been detained and two others are wanted by the Angolan authorities for posting a video on the social network Tik Tok in which they talk about the famine in Angola and call the Angolan president “gatuno”.
In the video in question, three young workers from a Chinese company involved in the work at the New Agostinho Neto International Airport, visited last Saturday by the President of the Republic, Joao Lourenço, say they will accept “our thief” and criticize the extravagance of the state.
“All the government money is here, and people are starving,” says one young man, criticizing the fact that some builders earn more than a teacher.
“For those who come from outside, they will see our country and say that Angola is no longer hungry,” he continues, showing the modern infrastructure that began to develop 25 years ago and which in 2017 already exceeded more than 6 billion dollars (5, $5 billion). 7 billion euros at current exchange rates).
“A lot of people are suffering, a lot of people who haven’t eaten for I don’t know how many days, who don’t study because of the lack of conditions, a lot of teachers who no longer want to teach because they are underpaid, others are corrupt because the state doesn’t pay well,” — he is outraged.
The Luanda Criminal Investigation Service (SIC) announced this Wednesday the arrest of one of the three youths, aged 24, and is taking steps to find the other two who are on the run.
“They released an offensive video, a video with offensive content,” said Manuel Haliva, director of institutional communications and press at SIC, explaining that these are crimes of insulting the state, defamation and defamation of the President of the Republic and his symbols.
“This video has gone viral on social media and damages the image of the representative of the state and its symbols,” he stressed, reinforcing the SIC’s call for young people to “use social media for positive purposes.”
The crime of insulting the Angolan state, its symbols and organs is set out in article 333, introduced in 2020 in the new Penal Code.
The controversial article drew criticism from various sections of society, with Justice and Human Rights Minister Francisco Queiroz ensuring that the aim was not to prevent criticism of the actions of the President of the Republic.
Paragraph 1 of said article establishes that “any person, publicly and with the intent to offend, offend with words, images, inscriptions, drawings or sounds, the Republic of Angola, the President of the Republic or any other sovereign body, shall be punished by imprisonment for a term of 6 months to 3 years or fine from 60 to 360 days.
In an interview with the Public Television of Angola in November 2020, Francisco Queiroz emphasized that this article is intended to protect the good name, honor and dignity of the people, a protection that will be strengthened by application to national symbols and the President of the Republic.
The Minister also ensured that the distribution of the cartoons would not be prohibited, thus contradicting the concerns of some opinion-makers.
At that time, non-governmental organizations such as Friends of Angola were concerned about the criminalization of young civil and political activists in connection with the introduction of article 333.º and appealed to the President of the Republic to stop this measure.
Some Angolan jurists at the time also warned that the rule could pose a threat to freedom of expression and the press.
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
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