The letter delivered to the North American ambassador, to which Lusa had access, is signed by opposition protagonists, including the leaders of the United Patriotic Front, Adalberto da Costa Júnior (president of UNITA), Abel Chivukuvuku (leader of the political project PRA JA), Filomeno Vieira Lopes (Democratic Bloc), civic activist Laura Macedo and UNITA deputies, Francisco Viana and Olívio Nkilumbu.
The head of United States diplomacy, Anthony Blinken, is expected to arrive in Angola on Thursday, at the end of a tour of several African countries, including Cape Verde.
The signatories of the letter ask Blinken to support a democratic rule of law in Angola and pressure the President to hold the first local elections in the country, "the only large country in the region without elected leaders at the local level", to dismantle partisan institutions and to allow access for all political actors to public media.
On the other hand, they emphasize that the North American political agenda in Africa, based on mutual economic benefits and the promotion of democracy and respect for human rights, requires a healthy investment climate, stability and strong institutions, but recall that the State Department itself pointed out in 2022 "institutional weaknesses" of the judicial system and considers that it "runs serious risks".
In addition to the violation of human rights, they consider that the investment climate in Angola presents serious risks in the future for large-scale transnational projects such as the Lobito Corridor and others.
The document states that, in addition to repressive laws, which limit protests and demonstrations, deputies have also been served with strategic legal proceedings, expressing concern about the new law on Non-Governmental Organizations, for imposing too strict regulations and assigning a excessive government control.
"Angolan society hopes that the President will reconsider and avoid pushing Angola into the status of a pariah state like Russia, Venezuela, Zimbabwe and other countries that have introduced similar legislation to intimidate civil society and impede potential foreign investment, especially after of last year's botched elections", the letter states.
The signatories hope that the Biden-Harris administration will continue "all diplomatic efforts with the President, João Lourenço, and his Government, to act in accordance with the expectations of the majority of Angolans" and that they urge him to avoid the instability that is promote in Angola with its exclusionary economic policies, its authoritarian practices and its attack on the pillars of democracy.
The letter also states that the Angola-USA strategic dialogue, which began in 2009, must be updated and involve more civil society and political parties in parliament and ask that the international community hold the Government responsible for the failure to hold local elections, which must take place before the next general elections in 2027.
On the other hand, "anti-corruption rhetoric must give way to real and tangible actions" and the Government must act to put an end to impunity in the abuse of human rights by its own authorities", they appealed.
The letter also invites Blinken to a meeting with opposition leaders.
Blinken began a tour of Africa, visiting Cape Verde, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Côte d'Ivoire and Nigeria, ending in Angola (Thursday and Friday), in a context in which the United States seeks to establish a position in the face of advances by Russia and China on the mainland.
