The Episcopal Commission for Justice and Peace, an organ of the Episcopal Conference of Angola and São Tomé (CEAST), leads the "National Journey of Reconciliation and Peace", which takes place in Angola from 27 March to 4 April 2022, alluding to the 20 years of peace in the country.
In the message alluding to the days, to which Lusa had access this Monday, the CEAST commission reiterates the appeal of the Catholic bishops about the "growing social tension in the country, with acts of political intolerance between political forces with mutual aggression and a increasingly violent verbal tone".
"All these worrying signs reinforce in us the need to increasingly raise our voice and place ourselves as instruments at the service of peace", said that organ of the Catholic Church.
"We therefore appeal to all those who have political responsibilities in party institutions to embrace this challenge of becoming instruments of peace and to constitute themselves as true leaders of harmony and tolerance both within their party formations and in the relationship with their contenders", he exhorted.
The need for political forces to cultivate tolerance and respect for difference is also defended by the Catholic Church.
"Aggressions and outrages against anyone, for not sharing the same ideas as ours, must cease immediately and give way to a culture of peace and tolerance that in this national journey of reconciliation we want to proclaim together and make our society grow", said.
Angola will hold the next general elections, the fifth election in the country's history, in the second half of August.
The pre-election environment in the country is marked by complaints of alleged political intolerance, especially in the interior of the country, where two weeks ago there were clashes between militants from the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA, in power) and the National Union for Total Independence of Angola (UNITA, in opposition).
MPLA and UNITA exchange accusations about responsibility for the clashes between supporters that recently took place in the municipality of Sanza Pombo, Uíge province, north of the country, which celebrates 20 years of peace on 4 April.
The validation of the congresses of the MPLA, UNITA, held in December 2021, the Democratic Bloc and the National Front for the Liberation of Angola (FNLA), by the Constitutional Court (TC) also creates social expectations with "doubts and uncertainties" about the independence of the judiciary, said CEAST.
The Justice and Peace Commission of CEAST emphasizes that the judicial bodies and others responsible for the management of administrative and judicial processes "also deserve special attention, due to the mission of managing the entire electoral process".
For these bodies, he also appealed "to act with the maximum sense of impartiality and honesty and to contribute with their decisions so that the climate of peace does not deteriorate, under penalty of jeopardizing the entire path of peace already covered in 20 years".
"Our experience of war with all the suffering and consequences imposed on our people must not go unnoticed, and may this be the indicator that we never return to war", reads the message.
The "National Day for Reconciliation and Peace", which runs until 4 April, the day on which Angola celebrates 20 years of peace and reconciliation, takes place under the motto: "Lord Make Me an Instrument of Your Peace".
