Angolan activist Geraldo Dala said on Monday that Angola is “unfortunately not a democratic country” and that the police are acting “on the orders of superiors” in criticizing attacks on demonstrators who intended to “march for freedom” on Saturday in Luanda.
Police prevented a group of activists from holding a “freedom march” on Saturday in Luanda, some of them were detained and attacked, activist Geraldo Dala, one of the organizers of the march, who was also arrested, told Lusa on Monday.
“Eight people were arrested that day, including me, but they were later released. The only thing the police have is the means, such as telephones, megaphones, which they refuse to return and say that they do it only for superiors. ,” he said.
In a conversation with Lusa from the police station at Bairro Operario in Luanda, where they went with other activists to try to recover the goods, Geraldo described the “aggression” they suffered at Largo das Xorinas, a concentration site.
“Yes, there really was police violence, we were taken by force in police cars, some brothers were even attacked and tortured,” he stressed.
“Demanding” justice and “stopping the persecution” of “zungeiras” (street vendors) and “immediate freedom” for “political prisoners” were the mottos of the march, which was, however, prevented by the police.
The activists, who intended to march on the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights, said 24 hours earlier that they had informed the Luanda provincial government of the march in a letter dated January 19 and that they had been waiting a week for a response.
This Monday, Geraldo Dala expressed regret over the position of the authorities, considering: “Unfortunately, in practice, Angola is not a democratic country.”
“Formally, it is democratic because it has the law, but these laws are not respected by either the police or the administrative authorities,” he stressed, recalling the suppression of previous demonstrations “by violating the law and the Constitution.”
“In this country, it is not the laws that matter, but the orders of governors and presidents, they rule without permission, and we again understand that the police act in accordance with the orders of their superiors,” he said. activist. .
Lusa contacted a representative of the provincial directorate of the national police of Luanda, but received no response.
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
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