UNITA calls on the Angolan authorities to stop persecuting journalists and civil activists

UNITA, the Angolan opposition, expressed “concern” this Friday about violations of fundamental rights and freedoms of journalists by agents of the Angolan state, calling on the authorities to end the persecution of journalists, political leaders and civil society activists.

In a statement marking Press Freedom Day this Friday, Angola’s main opposition party expressed solidarity with journalists’ struggle “for a press truly independent of established power” and condemned “continuing manipulation, coercion, censorship and partisanship.” state media bodies.”

The National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) also called on state authorities to “put an end to the persecution of journalists, political leaders and civil society activists, censorship, coercion and arbitrary arrests for exercising their constitutionally enshrined freedoms.”

The MPLA, the party in power in Angola since 1975, also joined the event, “hoping for success in building an increasingly free press.”

The People’s Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) demanded “special attention” from journalists to environmental issues and called on the journalistic class to “responsibly exercise freedom of the press, guided by ethics and professional deontology”, using the Angolan Constitution and law. .

“The MPLA recognizes that only through the exercise of free, impartial, pluralistic and responsible journalism is it possible to promote and support peace and the inherent values ​​of the democratic rule of law,” the MPLA Politburo statement concludes. Central Committee.

Angola, Brazil and Portugal bucked the downward trend of Portuguese-speaking countries in the World Press Freedom Index published this Friday by the non-governmental organization Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

Angola, which ranked lowest among Portuguese-speaking countries on the press freedom map last year, rose 21 places to 104th (125th in 2023).