This position is expressed in the final communiqué of the meeting of the Executive Secretariat of the Standing Committee of the Political Commission of the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA), to which Lusa had access on Thursday.
The body expresses solidarity “with the victims of police violence and repression by the regime that has ruled the country for 50 years, and encourages Angolans to continue to fight for the defence of their fundamental rights, freedoms and guarantees, reminding them that the achievement and enjoyment of rights concerns everyone”.
The party declares that it is attentive “to the deterioration of the political and social situation in the country,” expressing “concern about the continuous and systematic violation of the fundamental rights, freedoms and guarantees of Angolan citizens by the Government of the Republic of Angola.”
In recent times, the statement describes, “there has been an increase in serious incidents of persecution and intimidation of civic activists, human rights defenders, journalists and citizens who exercise their constitutionally enshrined rights in a peaceful and legitimate manner”.
For Angola’s second political force, these acts “constitute a clear attempt to silence civil society, repress critical thinking and exacerbate the authoritarian state”.
The Government Secretariat of the Standing Committee of UNITA’s Political Commission also condemns the recurring arbitrary impediments and prohibitions on peaceful demonstrations, marches and gatherings, in clear violation of the Constitution of the Republic of Angola, human rights and fundamental freedoms assumed by the Angolan state within the scope of its international commitments,” the document reads.
The political organisation demanded “an immediate end to political and civic repression”, calling for “scrupulous respect” for the Angolan Constitution and the law, as well as accountability for the instigators and perpetrators of these human rights violations.
“It calls on the President of the African Union (AU) [the President of the Republic of Angola, João Lourenço], not to remain silent about these very serious violations of the most basic rights,” the statement emphasises, while urging “the national and international community, as well as human rights organisations, to closely monitor the situation in Angola”.
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