The concerns of the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) were expressed in Luanda by Deputy Raul Tati, Prime Minister of the "Shadow Government" of the largest opposition party, who criticized the Executive's inaction in the face of the prolonged teachers' strike of higher education, which began on February 27th.
"It is incomprehensible the tomb silence of the holder of executive power in the face of the clamor of higher education teachers to which the voices of students have lately added, perfectly justified with the fear of the annulment of the academic year", said Tati, pointing out the priority that should be given to education.
The politician criticized the "immobility and inaction of the Executive" in the face of the demands of the Union of Higher Education Teachers of Angola (Sinpes), stressing that the negotiation has "systematically failed" leading to successive stoppages.
He called, therefore, for dialogue with teachers, instead of the "usual arrogance" and "intimidation" to which the Government systematically resorts.
"It is too obvious that this cannot be the way to overcome the dispute", highlighted the UNITA leader, also denouncing acts of intimidation against the secretary general of Sinpes, Eduardo Peres, through anonymous messages, robberies and attacks against family members, acts that are "reproachable and condemnable".
Criticizing the authorities' "undisguised refusal" to guarantee the safety of the leader of Sinpes and his family, Raul Tati considered that such an attitude "raises suspicions that such acts are related to what can be called state terrorism".
The Prime Minister of UNITA's "Shadow Government" recommended the Executive to initiate reforms in higher education and provide for "robust budget allocations" for teachers' salary adjustment and maintenance and construction of educational institutions, lamenting the "incalculable damage" that the stoppage of classes represents for the student population.
