Angola Alert

 

ANGOLA ACTION: Chronology and media contacts July 7, 1999 Dear friends and colleagues Following is a chronology of events and incidents involving the media in Angola since January 1999. The trend suggests a systematic decline in respect for the media in Angola, particularly from the government, and over a short period of time. The most important and damaging ploy by the government has been to cast wide aspersions on the independent media by labeling them enemies or supporters or sympathisers of the enemy. In the context of the war situation, such characterisation can be fatal. The need for concerted action at this stage to speak out against the emerging trend in Angola is very crucial for several reasons: * To guard against an even further decline in respect for the media by making it clear to the authorities that those outside Angola are well aware of what is going on, and that they are being watched and monitored; * To ensure during this period of war that there is accountability from those in power and respect for fundamental human rights; * To reassure media workers in Angola, who for a number of reasons suffer a measure of isolation (a country in a state of war and poor communications infrastructure, Portuguese-speaking in a largely non-Portuguese speaking part of the world), that they have support and solidarity from individuals and organisations around the world; * To ensure that media workers in Angola don't suffer the same fate as many other media workers in conflict situations, where their rights are trampled on arbitrarily and they end up suffering heavy casualties in their quest to inform people; * The show of support and solidarity for the independent media in Angola is particularly important in view of the fact that it was only less than a decade ago that the first independent media began to emerge in Angola. An onslaught of the nature we have seen unfolding in that country over the past few months could prove fatal for the further development of this sector. There are currently six independent newspapers publishing in the capital Luanda. The only other independent paper in the rest of the country is a monthly paper in Moxico. There are five independent radio stations, two of which are outside Luanda. The government media, which is heavily controlled politically, dominates the media landscape. The state radio reaches all the provinces via several stations, the government owns the country's only news agency, Angop, and the country's only daily newspaper, "Jornal de Angola". Chronology of the main incidents affecting the media in Angola January to June 1999. JANUARY 1999 * Angolan authorities issue an implicit order for a black out of news about the civil war in the country. This order was communicated via a memo from Communications Ministry to the state media, telling them not to mention anything pertaining to the war. It was reported on by the State media, who promptly responded by reducing their coverage of the war. The independent media, however, continued to report about the war and they remained the only sources of information about the war. The government did not take too kindly to this and in an editorial piece in the government-owned daily, "Jornal de Angola", it was suggested that by reporting on the war, journalists were "facilitating" the efforts of the enemy [the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola - UNITA] in it's war against the government. The article originated from Public Relations and Information office of the Angolan Armed Forces (FAA) General Staff. * The managing director and director of the private commercial FM Radio Morena (in Benguela province), Jose Cabral Sande and Jose Manuel Alberto, were arrested when the police raided the studios soon after the station had rebroadcast a news programme from Radio Televisao Portuguesa (RTP) featuring the Secretary General of UNITA. By order of the General Staff of the Army, the two were held at a local police station for "disobedience and offences against the head of state". The case was taken to court and the two journalists were released unconditionally because of insufficient evidence. FEBRUARY 1999 * The Catholic Church-owned station, Radio Ecclesia, was forbidden to broadcast the Africa programme of the Portuguese radio Renasenca on three separate occasions as the reports contained material concerning the fighting between the Angolan forces and UNITA and featured members of UNITA's leadership. MARCH 1999 * The Minister of Communication, Hendrik Val Neto, announces that reporting about draft evasion would be considered a criminal act and that journalists who disregarded this would "face the sanction of the law, including cancellation of the licences to publish and to broadcast". APRIL 1999 * Journalist Josefa Lamberga, a correspondent with the Voice of America, was assaulted by a corporal from the Angolan Armed Forces (FAA) apparently as a result of a report she had filed about the recruitment of young boys into the FAA. She was barred from entering a recruitment centre in Luanda, one day after the station aired an interview featuring a young recruit complaining about the recruitment of only poor and black youngsters. The army corporal and two other soldiers chased Lamberga, forced her to stop her car, and slapped her twice. No action was taken against the corporal or any other FAA members involved in the incident. * Journalist William Tonet, the director of the weekly newspaper "Folha 8" was interrogated for several hours by the Criminal Investigation Department in Luanda in connection with a charge filed by the military attorney's office alleging that certain stories published by "Folha 8" were inciting young men to run away from military duty and were insulting to government. The police investigating officer asked Tonet to reveal his sources, accusing him of jeopardising state security. Two other "Folha 8" journalists, Rafael Marques and Pascoal Mukuna, were also interrogated in connection with the same allegations. * The Chief of the Civil Office of the President, Jose Leitao, filed charges against Gustavo Costa, an Angolan journalist with the Portuguese newspaper "Expresso". He is accused of defamation and injuries in connection with an article on corruption at the presidential palace. * The residence of Gustavo Costa was searched by three police officers. The men, who produced a warrant signed by the state attorney with the Criminal Investigation Department, said they were looking for evidence and took two diskettes they found on Costa's desk. MAY 1999 * Joaquim Alves, a journalist with the weekly newspaper "Actual Fax" was attacked and beaten near his house by three armed individuals who accused him of having written a story in which a businessman was referred to as a "Savimbiast". * Laura Pawson, the Luanda-based correspondent for the BBC and Reuters news agency, was assaulted by a group of men just outside a restaurant in the Angolan capital. Her attackers threatened her with retaliations if she continued to send stories criticising the government. * Freelance journalist Machado Irmao - who regularly contributed to the independent weekly "Actual" - was attacked and beaten up by people alleged to have been wearing police uniforms and driving a police truck. Irmao was apprehended by his attackers while driving with a friend, who then also witnessed the attack. Irmao went into hiding for about two weeks immediately after the attack out of fear for his attackers, who warned him to keep his mouth shout. It was only after re-surfacing that he spoke to MISA-Angola about the attack. Irmao said that during the attack, the attackers shouted that he was one of the journalists who was writing bad stories about the government. * The residence of Herculano Coroado Bumba, the Angolan correspondent for the Portuguese Radio TSF, was searched by two men who forced themselves into his home, saying they were "looking for arms". The journalist had been receiving anonymous phone threats in connection with his work. JUNE 1999 * The Minister of Communication, Hendrik Val Neto, warned of a crackdown against journalists who were "unpatriotic" or allegedly "inciting treason". The minister clearly stated that the Angola government was considering "resorting to violence" against independent media which did not support the government in its war against UNITA. He described certain private media as being the "fifth column of Jonas Savimbi's rebel movement" and warned that certain independent publications may be banned. * The Deputy Minister of Communication later stated that the independent media should be aware of the limits of press freedom and should stop jeopardising the state security. * Journalist Gustavo Costa expressed fear for his life after revealing that he had come under political and psychological pressure to reveal the sources of his article published in a Portuguese paper in April. Costa said that he had been visited on several occasions by "influential people close to the president's office", who suggested that he reveal his sources. Jose Leitao, the Chief of the Civil Office of the President, who filed charges against Costa over the article, was quoted as saying that he was afraid his enemies would take advantage of the situation to attack the journalist and put the blame on him. Media Contacts in Angola Please distribute these contacts to the media widely along with the chronology and any other letters and/or statements, and urge them to highlight the situation in their media through reports, features and/or interviews with media workers in Angola. PRINT MEDIA AGORA (weekly) Contact persons: Antonio de Freitas (Chief Editor) Aguiar dos Santos (Director Tel/Fax: +244 2 323 477 E-mail: angora@ebonet.net ACTUAL (weekly) Contact persons: Leopoldo Baio (Director) Cell: +244 9 501006 ANGOLENSE (bi-weekly) Contact persons: Graca Campos (Chief Editor) Americo Goncalves (Director) Tel: +244 2 394 282/236 E-mail: angolense@netangola.com COMERCIO ACTUALIDADE (weekly) Contact persons: Carlos Miranda (Chief Editor Victor Aleixo (Director) Tel: +244 2 334060/392 542 Fax: +244 2 393 216 FOLHA 8 (bi-weekly) Contact persons: William Tonet (Director) Tel: +244 2 394 047/ 391 943 Tel/Fax: +244 2 392 289 E-mail: folha@ebone.net O INDEPENDENTE Contact persons: Jorge Augusto (Director) Tel: +244 2 331 341 Cell: +244 9 504 138 Josefa Lamberga Tel: +244 2 342 421 Tel/Fax: +244 2 340 510 Tel: (Home): +244 2 395 761 Gustavo Costa Tel: +244 2 363 473 Cell: +244 9 503 168 RADIO STATIONS: RADIO ECCLESIA Contact Person: Antonio Jaka (Director) Paulo Juliao (Chief Editor) Tel: +244 2 343 041 Fax: +244 2 343 093 E-mail: ecclesia@snet.co.ao Radio Morena (Benguela) Tel: +244 72 325 25 Fax: +244 72 327 31 Radio 2000 (Lubango) Ph: +244 61 239 35/37 Fax: +244 61 239 37 MISA-ANGOLA Contact person: Jorge Silva (National Director) Ph/fax: +244 2 390096 cell: +244 9 508 153 GOVERNMENT CONTACTS: Hon Jose Eduardo dos Santos President of the People's Republic of Angola Fax: +244 2 392 733/ 391 476/ 331 898 Minister of Information Mr Hendrick Val Neto Fax: +244 2 343 495 Minister of Defence Mr Kundi Paiama Fax: +244 2 392 635 / 333 223 Chief of Staff Joao De Matos Fax: +244 2 393 983 / 393 990 ===%%%===%%%===%%%===%%%===%%%===%%%===%%%===%%%===%%%===%%%===%%%=== Information distributed by: Raashied Galant MISA Researcher Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) Private Bag 13386 Windhoek, Namibia Tel. +264 61 232975, Fax. 248016 e-mail: research@misa.org.na web: http://www.misanet.org ===%%%===%%%===%%%===%%%===%%%===%%%===%%%===%%%===%%%===%%%===%%%===