Attacks on press freedom, police violence and arbitrary arrests in Angola are some of the complaints in the Human Rights Watch (HRW) report on human rights in 2022, which coincided with an election year in the African country.
HRW’s 33rd Global Report, released Thursday, takes stock of human rights in more than 100 countries by 2022, based on investigative work in close collaboration with local activists.
The President of Angola, João Lourenço, was elected, in August 2022, for a second term in the most disputed elections in the history of Angola and where the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), the party that has governed the country since independence in 1975, achieved the worst result in history against its historical rival, the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA).
HRW highlights that the election was carried out peacefully, but was marked by severe restrictions on freedom of expression and assembly, as well as limited access to information due to government repression and censorship of public and private media linked to the Angolan regime.
In addition to attacks on the press, in 2022, security forces used excessive force, intimidation and arbitrary arrests against peaceful protesters “with impunity”, the report criticized.
Among the examples, he points to the 17 detainees in Luanda, on January 10, including peaceful taxi drivers who were going to participate in a demonstration against the limitations of the covid-19, accused of setting fire to a bus and an MPLA building, which they deny
On April 9, police arrested 22 people protesting the detention of political prisoners and calling for free elections, including an activist and her six-month-old baby.
The report also denounces the use of police violence against protesters and the repression of the protests on July 31, August 17, August 29 and September 14.
There were also attacks against journalists from public and private media, and some Angolan press professionals were also arrested and later released.
In the field of media, HRW points out that millions of Angolans still do not have access to free, impartial and plural information, since Angola remains the only country in southern Africa without community radio stations.
The current media law, currently under review, requires community and local radio stations to have a license whose value is greater than $100,000, an amount considered unaffordable by these groups.
Speaking to Lusa in London about the report, Tirana Hassan, HRW’s acting director-general, stressed that the organization is “deeply concerned about shrinking civic space across the country.”
Therefore, he called for significant change, involving freedom of the press and association and an end to the silencing of critical voices, including those of people in prison.
Tirana Hassan also stressed that, in order to generate more revenue, the Angolan government must show that it is responsible and that the country is a functioning democracy, investing in proper infrastructure and improving access to education and health, rather than wasting it and turning them into targets of corruption.
In terms of women’s rights, HRW highlights that the country has made “significant progress” in terms of the number of women holding ministerial or important posts, despite the fact that inequalities persist, especially at the highest levels of political power. .
Currently, women are in charge of the vice-presidency and the presidency of the National Assembly of Angola, as well as in 10 of the 28 ministries.
Source: TSF
