Álvaro Daniel told Lusa that contacts with the entities were made at the time of the organization of the conference on the future of democracy in Africa, promoted by the Brenthurst Foundation.
At issue is the retention at 4 de Fevereiro International Airport of several international guests who traveled to Angola, including Mozambican politician Venâncio Mondlane, former president of Botswana Ian Khama and former president of Colombia Andrés Pastrana.
According to the secretary-general of the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA), the party "could not move forward with a challenge of such magnitude [conference] without communicating with the competent authorities, and all of this was done".
"So the attitude taken (...), preventing the entry of certain visitors, seemed like a certain provocation, a certain arrogance and above all a veiled tendency to sabotage the event", said the politician, stressing that the attitude taken by the authorities was not a surprise.
"Because we know that the MPLA would not allow UNITA to hold a conference like this without criticizing it," he stressed, also declaring that "it is part of the dirty game of Angolan domestic politics."
According to the source, UNITA "condemns the attitude", which "tarnishes the image of the Angolan State at an international level".
"As the President of the Republic [of Angola] is today the acting President of the African Union", in addition to the title he holds of African Union Champion for Peace and Reconciliation in Africa, UNITA considers that this case points to a contradiction.
"Having received approval, having received entry visas [for] these personalities, it is absurd to hold them at the airport, that for us is what is not right," he added.
For Álvaro Daniel, it makes no sense to "let them come" and then, at the airport, be "mistreated, (...) humiliated".
"We are viewing this with a certain repulsion, as contacts were made with the entities when the event was organized," he said.
The conference, organized jointly with the Konrad Adenauer Foundation and the World Liberty Congress, is scheduled to take place in Benguela between this Friday and Sunday.
