UNITA regrets the “non-full usufruct” of fundamental rights by Angolans

In a message on the occasion of the 61st anniversary of the beginning of Angola's national liberation struggle, which is marked this Friday, the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA), the largest opposition party, states that the 4th of February 1961 was a "heroic act".

According to UNITA, the acts unleashed 61 years ago and others that followed culminated in the country's independence in 1975, "but the children of Angola continue to face difficulties of various kinds".

Of these difficulties, they point out, "the most notable are the failure to fully enjoy fundamental rights and the failure to meet basic needs for the vast majority of the population of Angola".

"It is our conviction that true nationalists and patriots will always fight for the construction of a true democratic and lawful State that is capable of guaranteeing the fundamental rights of every citizen in order to fulfill the desires and dreams of the desired Angolan nation", reads the note.

Angola marks the 61st anniversary of the start of the national liberation struggle, a national holiday, in honor of the nationalists who on 4 February 1961 attacked jails and prisons in Luanda to free political prisoners of the Portuguese regime.

The central event alluding to the date took place in the city of Saurimo, Lunda Sul province, and was chaired by the Minister of State and head of the President's Military House, Francisco Pereira Furtado.

The events that marked the beginning of the struggle for national liberation in Angola "must constitute a true heritage for the current generation in order to consolidate patriotism, national unity, the democratic rule of law and the common well-being of Angolans" , said the minister in his speech.

"Angolans holding hands for the future" is the motto of the 4th of February 2022 celebrations.