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Angola: Press Freedom Alert
Angola: Press Freedom Alert
Date distributed (ymd): 991024
Document reposted by APIC
+++++++++++++++++++++Document Profile+++++++++++++++++++++
Region: Southern Africa
Issue Areas: +political/rights+
Summary Contents:
This posting contains several documents related to press
freedom in Angola, all supplied by the Media Institute of
Southern Africa (MISA). The most recent is an alert from MISA
concerning the detention of journalist Rafael Marques, who is
also the coordinator of the Angola office of the Open Society
Initiative in Southern Africa and a leading figure in the
Angolan Group of Reflection for Peace (GARP), which released
a statement earlier this year calling for engagement of civil
society in a new peace process in Angola
(
http://www.africafocus.org/docs99/ang9906a.php). Marques'
detention has also been protested by other international media
and human rights organizations.
The posting also contains two other documents distributed by
MISA from the International Colloquium for a Pluralist Media
in the PALOP Countries [Portuguese-speaking African
countries], held in Maputo October 5-8, 1999: the conference
declaration, and a resolution in solidarity with Angolan
journalists. The archives on the MISA web site
(http://www.misanet.org) provide additional background
information.
Other recent links with documents of interest on Angola:
Angola Peace Monitor, 29 September 1999
http://www.anc.org.za/angola/apm0601.html
Campaign launched to stop billion dollar diamond trade from
funding conflict in Africa
http://www.oneworld.net/globalwitness/press/pr_991003.html
Cautious welcome for De Beers Angolan diamond embargo
http://www.oneworld.net/globalwitness/press/pr_991005.html
Horace G. Campbell, "Jonas Savimbi Must be Arrested and Put on
Trial", Black Radical Congress News
http://www.egroups.com/group/brc-news/602.html?
[to read this file, you must on your first visit "join" brcnews
and set preferences to "read on the web."]
+++++++++++++++++end profile++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
For more information on the following documents:
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
Angola Alert Update
October 21, 1999
Journalist remains in detention, procedural irregularities
surrounding his continued detention
Journalist Rafael Marques, who was arrested at his home on
October 16, remains in incommunicado detention in Luanda.
Neither his lawyer or relatives have been allowed access to
him since his detention and it is believed that he is on
hunger strike.
Marques' lawyer, Luis Nascimento, has pointed out at least two
procedural irregularities in the continued detention of
Marques. The first is that no-one is being allowed access to
him, and the second is that the Attorney General has refused
to attend to an application for bail, which was prepared on
October 18, apparently because the A.G. is "attending a
conference". Marques' lawyer is currently considering applying
for a writ of harbeus corpus to both secure his release and
address the procedural irregularities surrounding his
continued detention.
According to Angolan law, Marques can be detained for up to 15
days without being brought to trial.
BACKGROUND
Marques, who is also the coordinator of the Angolan office of
the Open Society Initiative in Southern Africa, was charged on
October 14 with defaming President dos Santos, for having
referred to him as a dictator in a July 3,1999 article
published in "Folha 8". The article entitled, "The Big Stick
of Dictatorship", said that Do Santos was "responsible for the
destruction of the country and the promotion of corruption".
Marques has apparently been charged under Angola's notorious
Law 7/78, also known as the Law on Crimes Against State
Security. Law 7/78 violates Article 35 of the 1992 Angolan
Constitution, which guarantees the right to freedom of
expression. However, the absence of a functioning
Constitutional Court in Angola means that Law 7/78 cannot be
challenged at this time. The charge against Marques carries a
2-8 year prison sentence.
In an address by Angolan lawyer Dr Maria Pereira to a Media
Lawyers Conference in Windhoek in August this year, Dr Pereira
pointed out that in terms of the Press Law, defamation of the
President was a criminal offence. The law further gave no or
very weak options of defence for a journalist accused of
defaming the President. According to Pereira, "Once the
president claims defamation, it is accepted that the facts
have been proven." As a result, the only type of defence a
journalist can put forward when faced with this charge, is to
prove that s/he was not the author of the article. This
situation exists only in the case of a claim of defamation
against the President of the Republic, a foreign head of state
or a representative of a foreign head of state.
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Write to the President:
- Strongly protesting the incommunicado detention of Rafael
Marques, and demanding his immediate release either
unconditionally or on bail;
- Protesting the procedural irregularities surrounding
Marques' detention, noting that a detainee should have a right
of access to his family and lawyer and a right to bail;
- Calling on the President to ensure that the due process of
the law is complied with and that the rights of the detainee
are upheld with respect to Marques;
- Strongly protesting the charge of Defamation of the
President now facing Marques;
- Pointing out that numerous court judgments around the world
have held that an integral part of democracy is that those who
hold office in government and who are responsible for public
administration must always be open to criticism;
- further pointing out that the President has an array of
options available to counter alleged defamation such as media
retraction, media statements, and other options involving the
right of reply;
- Stressing that the charging of Marques with Defamation of
the President amounts to political censorship in that it seeks
to punish him for expressing his views about the government
and the President in particular;
- Pointing out that such an action is completely contrary to
the international treaties and obligations which guarantee the
right to freedom of expression, including the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, of which Angola is a
signatory.
- Calling on the President, as the apparent complainant in
this case, to immediately withdraw the charges against
Marques.
Send letters to:
Hon Jose Eduardo dos Santos
President of the People's Republic of Angola
Fax: +244 2 392 733/ 391 476/ 331 898
Maputo Declaration for a Pluralist Media in the PALOP
Countries
(The PALOP countries are the five African countries which use
Portuguese as official language. The countries are: Angola,
Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique and Sao Tome e
Principe.)
International Colloquium
For a Pluralist Media in the PALOP Countries
5-8 October 1999
Maputo Declaration
Preamble
Recalling the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and
particularly its 19th article, which states that "all persons
have the right to freedom of opinion and expression";
Recalling the Constitutive Act of UNESCO which, in its first
article, mentions "collaboration between nations with the
purpose of ensuring universal respect for justice, for law,
for human rights and for fundamental freedoms for all";
Recalling the African Charter of Human and Peoples' Rights,
articles of which state that "save for reasons of public
order, no person shall be subjected to measures seeking to
restrict the expression of his freedoms", and that "all
persons have the right to information"
Recalling the Windhoek Declaration of 3 May 1991 for the
promotion of an independent and pluralist African media;
Considering the restrictions and obstacles to independence and
to pluralism in the media which continue to occur within the
PALOP countries for political, legal, institutional, economic
and social reasons;
Considering the efforts of leaders of the sub-regions that
include PALOP members, namely SADC (Southern African
Development Community), ECCAS (Economic Community of Central
African States), and ECOWAS (Economic Community of West
African States);
Considering the determinant role played by a pluralist media
in forming persons, opinions and consciences, and in
establishing greater democracy and a culture of peace;
Considering the various national and international instruments
guaranteeing freedom of expression, of opinion and of the
press, which have been recognised and ratified by the PALOP
member states;
We, journalists and participants attending the International
Colloquium "For a Pluralist Media in the PALOP", organised by
the Panos Institute, which met from 5 to 8 October 1999, in
Maputo, Mozambique,
Recommend:
That media professionals should
- Ensure better organisation in order to respond to the
challenges of their mission to inform the public objectively
and truthfully;
- Propose to the authorities draft legislation to improve the
exercise of the profession, the performance of the media, and
its independence and pluralism;
- Demand that they participate in drafting all laws and
regulations concerning professional activity and the behaviour
of the media;
- Draw up an inventory of the existing legislation for
comparative analysis and publication;
- Create a network for exchange of publications, press
alerts, radio signals, and websites on the Internet;
- Create a media observatory to monitor the sector in the
PALOP countries;
- Set up a forum of socio-professional organisations of the
PALOP countries;
- Adopt a code of conduct to guide professionals and the
media in conflict situations;
- Adopt measures giving women more access to newsrooms:
That the PALOP governments should:
- Respect constitutionally-enshrined freedoms and
guarantees, particularly freedom of the press, the right to
information, and the free exercise of the profession of
journalism;
- Draft complementary legislation to strengthen the
practice of journalism, particularly as regards access to the
professional career, and to sources of public information;
- Draft legislation that strengthens editorial independence
and the transparency of appointments to leadership positions
in the public sector of the mass media;
- Draft legislation to ensure that radio and television
operating licences and frequencies are allocated by an
independent body;
- Draft legislation on community radios, enshrining the
principles of "from, by and to the community", non-profit
making objectives, the need to ensure sustainability, and non
interference by the State or by other powers in their
activities;
- Draft complementary legislation establishing in depth the
regimes for media ownership by associations and co-operatives;
- Draft legislation and norms on reduced
telecommunications, postal and transport tariffs for the
media; customs exemptions for the import of equipment and raw
material destined for the mass media; customs exemptions and
distribution facilities for newspapers within the PALOP area;
tax incentives, bank credit and the establishment of a
symbolic fee for Internet access, taking into account the
educational nature of the media and the public service it
provides, and the need to stimulate pluralism and diversity in
the sector;
- Draw up norms to regulate the use of advertising in the
public sector of the mass media in order to end situations of
monopoly and unfair competition, thus ensuring greater
pluralism and diversity in the sector;
- Eliminate practices conducive to blocking and boycotting
the opening of new radio stations, and the allocation of
licences and frequencies;
- Exempt journalists of PALOP countries on assignments from
entry visa requirements;
- Propose the inclusion in the OAU Charter of the
provisions of the Geneva Convention and of the International
Red Cross concerning the treatment that should be accorded to
media professionals in conflict situations;
- Ensure greater commitment from the government officials
charged with establishing, in partnership with UNESCO, the
Training School for PALOP Media Professionals;
- Ensure uniform representation of the mass media sector in
their relationship with other states or with multilateral
bodies;
- Define policies and strategies to support the media in
connection with PALOP citizens in the Diaspora;
- Support PALOP media production institutions so as to
contribute to greater equity and participation in the
programming of RTP-Africa and RDP-Africa;
- Define policies and strategies that allow more women to
gain access to training and to a professional career in the
media.
That development partners should:
- Support the creation of an Internet network for the
circulation of publications, radio signals, alerts about press
freedom violations, and other materials produced in the PALOP
countries; support the creation of a PALOP Internet website
for publicising media activities; support the publication of
a liaison bulletin for the exchange of information and
documentation, particularly media legislation;
- Open RTP-Africa and RDP-Africa and national public radio
and television stations to production from the PALOP
independent private sector;
- Eliminate the discrimination against the independent
sector of the PALOP media shown by official Portuguese
co-operation, particularly in terms of technical assistance
and equipment;
- Support the provision of scholarships for media
professionals and technical staff;
- Support local training by PALOP trainers;
- Support the creation of new media as a way of increasing
pluralism and diversity, paying particular attention to the
situation in Sao Tome and Principe;
- Support the establishment of printing presses that
contribute to greater independence in the production of new
media;
- Support the creation of a forum of socio-professional
bodies of the PALOP mass media sector.
In conclusion, we request the PANOS Institute and other
partners, particularly UN agencies (UNDP, UNESCO, UNICEF,
UNFPA), and international associations of media professionals
to accompany and support implementation of the present
recommendations.
Maputo
8 October 1999
Resolution in Solidarity with Angolan Journalists
Mass media officials, executives from the publicly and
privately owned media, journalists, representatives of
community media from the PALOP countries, and representatives
of bilateral and multilateral co-operation bodies, meeting
from 5-8 October 1999 in Maputo, Mozambique, during the
International Colloquium "For a Pluralist Media in the PALOP",
organised by the Panos Institute:
Concerned at the negative consequences of the war in Angola
for the free exercise of the profession of journalism in that
country, and aware of repeated coercive measures in recent
months, including systematic detentions and interrogations of
journalists, a situation which even prevented some Angolan
journalists from participating in this colloquium;
Convinced that a free and pluralist media is incompatible with
any measures of pressure and intimidation;
Convinced of the important role that the independent mass
media can play in consolidating democracy in Angola,
particularly in promoting political and social stability in
the country;
Expressing their solidarity with the Angolan journalists who
are the victims of repressive and discriminatory measures;
Decided
- To condemn strongly the campaign of harassment and
intimidation by the police against several Angolan mass media
professionals;
- To call upon the Angolan authorities to ensure that the
independent Angola media enjoys security in the exercise of
its professional activities, in accordance with the country's
existing legal norms;
- To urge the Angolan authorities to respect the legal
provisions that govern journalists' activities, namely the
Constitution, the Press Law, and the Journalists' Statute, and
not to link the exercise of this profession to the Law on
Crimes against State Security;
Adopted in Maputo on 8 October 1999
This material is being reposted for wider distribution by the
Africa Policy Information Center (APIC). APIC's primary
objective is to widen the policy debate in the United States
around African issues and the U.S. role in Africa, by
concentrating on providing accessible policy-relevant
information and analysis usable by a wide range of groups and
individuals.
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