The Association for Justice, Peace and Democracy (AJPD) has asked the President of Angola to order the minister in charge of the media to clarify the legal grounds preventing the exercise of the right to be informed by Camunda News and similar portals.
In a public announcement, the AJPD also asks the Minister of Telecommunications, Information Technology and Social Communications to formally initiate a dialogue with Camunda News so that even if “there are violations, by virtue of the principle of good faith to which it is subject to the public administration of the state, they are corrected, putting an end to constant suspicion.”
We are talking about the decision of the owner of TV Camunda News to suspend broadcasting of the digital channel through the Youtube and Facebook platforms, citing pressure from the authorities, who question the legality of the project.
In the note, the AJPD warns the national and international community, defenders of freedom of the press and expression in particular, and human rights defenders in general, “against the bad faith of the public administration of the Angolan State in relation to the treatment of broadcasters of social media content, as in the case of Camunda News.”
According to the association, the state administration of social communication and new information technologies “failed to promote the exercise and enjoyment of the fundamental rights enshrined in the Constitution, in bad faith creating doubts and preventing the implementation of activities that are not prohibited.” in accordance with the law.”
“AJPD understands that the public administration is failing in its responsibility to promote the exercise of fundamental rights of citizens by inventing obstacles that are not in accordance with either the letter or the spirit of the Press Law,” the document emphasizes.
The association “draws the attention of the national and international community to the repeated behavior of the public administration, which intends at all costs to restrict, prevent, stifle and even end Camunda News, with the first attempt to do so was made in May 2022. , during [campanha] pre-election”.
Finally, the AJPD disputes the “repeated behavior” of the Criminal Investigation Service (SIC) that has emerged in this process and recalls that the Angolan legal system does not give the investigative body “competence to threaten and terrorize citizens who exercise their rights within the limits of the law or even citizens who are ultimately to blame for the observance of the laws.”
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
I am Michael Melvin, an experienced news writer with a passion for uncovering stories and bringing them to the public. I have been working in the news industry for over five years now, and my work has been published on multiple websites. As an author at 24 News Reporters, I cover world section of current events stories that are both informative and captivating to read.