Amnesty International will launch a petition for the “cessation of the use of excessive, disproportionate and lethal force” by the Angolan security forces, in the exercise of freedom of expression and assembly, a source from the organization reported this Sunday. governmental.
According to Paulo Fontes, from the campaign management of the Portuguese section of Amnesty International, the petition will be launched during the vigil that the non-governmental organization (NGO) is holding on Tuesday at the Angolan embassy in Lisbon “for justice for the victims of violence Police in Angola”.
“On the same day as the vigil, we will launch a petition calling for an end to the excessive, disproportionate and lethal use of force by security forces in the exercise of freedom of expression and freedom of assembly and a thorough investigation and rendition. accounts for everyone. the crimes committed. And that there is also, obviously, reparation and justice for the relatives of the victims”, said Paulo Fontes.
The leader of the Portuguese section of the international NGO for the defense of human rights added that the vigil is part of the work that is being carried out.
“We will continue campaigning for Angola and carrying out various actions, from petitions to street actions, campaigns, vigils. And we will not stop until freedom of expression, freedom of assembly and human rights in general are restored in Angola and around the world. , but in this specific case, in Angola,” he reiterated.
Asked if, in front of the consulate of former Angolan president José Eduardo dos Santos, the current regime, headed by João Lourenço, has toughened the repressive measures and the conditioning of the expression of civil liberties, Paulo Fontes answered affirmatively.
“Yeah. Despite some early times in which the arrival of João Lourenço brought a lot of hope for openness and greater freedom for civil society, what has happened more recently is a strong, growing and seemingly endless repression of civil society ”, he considered .
“It has even had a bit of a snowball effect, in the sense that people have taken to the streets to demonstrate, asking for better governance, asking for economic and social rights due to the increase in the cost of living, for the day to day day Daily life needs other responses from the rulers, and these manifestations of theirs were strongly repressed,” he added.
Amnesty, he revealed, has “documented cases of dozens of young people who suffered police violence and repression by the authorities when they tried to demonstrate, some of them even paying with their lives.”
Paulo Fontes lamented that in Angola protesters, activists, “everyone who is a dissident voice is seen by the Angolan authorities as a nuisance and is repeatedly treated as criminals, when that is not true.” “It is, on the contrary,” he stressed.
“These people, these voices, this dissent, these protesters should be seen as a guide, as a compass for the social and political issues that need deeper analysis and need a more careful look at governance, a beacon of governance and not seen as a threat. she stressed.
Contrary to what he considers the way in which the Angolan authorities see the protesters, “as a threat, as doing something wrong”, Paulo Fontes stressed that those who participate in the protests “are not doing anything wrong”.
“They are fully exercising their rights that are enshrined in international treaties that have been ratified by Angola. The Angolan Constitution itself also guarantees this right and, deep down, it is not being transparent and is not being allowed to be exercised by the population. ” she pointed out.
On the effects of this type of initiative on Angola’s external image, Paulo Fontes said that Amnesty International’s expectation “is that it will have an effect in the sense that João Lourenço and the Angolan leaders, the Angolan authorities, understand that the eyes of the world and, in this very specific case of Portugal, they are fixed on what is happening”.
“He is not alone inside. And we are aware of what is happening in Angola and here are some signs that our collective action has a positive impact, ”he stressed, recalling the petition launched by Amnesty International for the release of the musician. Tanaice Neutral.
“For example, we recently made a petition that had more than six thousand signatures and that we sent to the Angolan authorities asking for the release of a young musician and who, with his music, also pointed out what should change in society. , he was unjustly imprisoned for about 18 months and had serious health problems and was not released, despite having two release orders due to his state of health, ”he explained.
The launch of Tanaice Neutro was not immediate. It took place on June 23, but Paulo Fontes considered that after a campaign by Amnesty and other civil society organizations, the petition was important.
The Angolan activist Kenidi Domingos also participates in the vigil on Tuesday.
Source: TSF
