In a congratulatory message addressed to the PNA, João Lourenço, also commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces stressed that this force "has been fulfilling its honorable and high mission, faithful to the spirit of defense of peace, territorial integrity, security and social stability and guarantee of institutional legality.
Created a few months after independence, the National Police has been criticized recently for the excessive use of force in the repression of demonstrations, the most recent case being the incidents in the mining town of Cafufo that resulted in several deaths due to an alleged invasion of a police station, which the government classified as "an act of rebellion".
João Lourenço, who highlights the modernization and improved training of the PNA, "overcoming the lack of means, equipment and personnel of the first years," stresses that the police forces have been equipped with "increasingly sophisticated and effective means to perform a wide variety of functions in the defense of public order and the life and property of citizens.
The President of the Republic concludes the message by exalting "the memory of those who gave their lives for their country" and expressing solidarity with the families of the officers who "in these four and a half decades have lost their lives in the exercise of their noble mission.
Also the Minister of State and Head of the Security House of the Presidency of the Republic, General Pedro Sebastião, congratulated the PNA, this Sunday, in Luanda, speaking at the central act of the celebrations of February 28, which took place at the Higher Institute of Police Sciences.
He showed, however, concern with situations that tarnish the corporation in the face of records of police misconduct, encouraging the officers to respond to the height of their responsibilities, as holders of means to impose order and public safety "there where it is hurt.
"It is our task that must be exercised and fulfilled without paternalism and much less without excess, which can distort the essence of your mission that, incidentally, is very well emphasized in the motto: For order and peace at the service of the nation," concluded the general of the Angolan Armed Forces, quoted on the official Facebook page of the PNA.
Pedro Sebastião, who represented João Loureço on the occasion, also highlighted the role of the police in terms of international cooperation, with the participation in the process of training and professional preparation, in its educational establishments and training centers, of police officers from Cape Verde, Mozambique, São Tomé and Princípe, Namibia, Zambia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea and Central African Republic.
