Africa-Press – Angola. The leader of UNITA, Angola’s largest opposition party, expressed concern about the government’s narrative about the involvement of “incentivizers of violence” and called for impartial and responsible work.
Adalberto Costa Júnior’s statements were made after the extraordinary session of the Council of the Republic, in which he participated as leader of the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA).
The meeting, according to the final statement, had as its sole point the public security situation in Angola, highlighting the events that occurred between July 28 and August 1 in the provinces of Luanda, Malanje, Huíla, Benguela, Cuango, Bengo and Icolo e Bengo, marked by acts of vandalism, riots, insurgency against the forces of order and security, as well as looting of public and private establishments.
According to the UNITA leader, during the session, several reports were presented by the Minister of the Interior, the Minister of State for Economic Coordination, and the Minister of State and Head of the Military Household of the President of the Republic.
Regarding what happened in the last week of July, the politician said that the Government has taken a different stance from society’s interpretation, with a tendency “to not pay particular attention to social and economic issues.”
“The institutions’ position is always to point to third parties and never to share responsibility at least minimally. This isn’t a good option. We have serious problems, we face major challenges. If anyone here thinks that others are always to blame and we don’t have our own responsibility, they’re not helping Angola move in the right direction,” he stressed.
Adalberto Costa Júnior highlighted that at the meeting he also heard “a very strong tendency to encourage internal distrust, disagreements that have been dragging on since yesterday’s conflict”.
“We must be very cautious about positions that may not bring great benefits if we don’t look with some sensitivity at specific aspects related to Angola’s difficulties and challenges, and if we also intend to find scapegoats for all the mistakes and shortcomings of governance,” he added.
“By this I in no way wish to justify any acts of violence or riots that have occurred. On the contrary, they are always condemnable, but there were more than just simple reasons,” he emphasized, expressing “some concern” about the scenario presented “of the involvement of those who incite violence, internally, and those who incite violence and these riots, externally.”
For the UNITA leader, “it is important that those responsible do their job impartially, but do so responsibly.”
The National Police’s assessment of the three-day strike, organized by taxi associations and cooperatives in protest against rising fuel prices and public transport fares, shows 30 deaths, 277 injuries and 1,515 arrests.
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