In a press release, the Executive Secretariat of the Standing Committee of the Political Commission of the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) referred that on Saturday, the day on which a national demonstration was held, the spokesman for the National Police accused the party , in the news on Public Television, of being "responsible and organizer of the acts of disorder and riot that took place in several cities in the country, with emphasis on the cities of Luanda and Benguela".
In the document, UNITA considered "unreasonable, intolerant and politically motivated statements made by the spokesman for the National Police", denouncing and condemning "vehemently the instrumental and partial position assumed by TPA and TV Zimbo, which at no time contacted the direction of the UNITA to observe a basic principle of credible and independent journalism, listen to the contradictory, thus disrespecting the Constitution and the law".
In this sense, the party "considers and reserves the right to bring a criminal case against the Spokesperson of the National Police for the crimes of slander and defamation", he added.
"The National Police, as a republican body, must have a non-partisan, impartial and responsible stance and refrain from acting as a mere instrumentality of interests contrary to national designs", underlined the note.
On the other hand, the largest opposition party "repudiates the violent stance of the National Police against young people who demonstrated, last Saturday, to demand better living conditions, and reminds national and international public opinion that it was not UNITA's leadership which adopted political measures that aggravated the socio-economic crisis that the country is experiencing today".
"The Executive Secretariat of the Standing Committee of the Political Commission of UNITA is aware of the distraction strategy of the Party-State in transferring the burden of the failure of governance to UNITA, when this clearly stems from the inability and insensitivity of the Party-State to respond and respond to society's demands," the note noted.
The party also considered that, "in a truly democratic and lawful State, citizens are free to associate or participate in public or private meetings, which is why the Executive Secretariat of the Standing Committee of the Political Commission of UNITA understands it to be a personal and inalienable right the participation of its members, as Angolan citizens, in said meetings or demonstrations, regardless of their functions in the party or in the National Assembly".
"The deputy is, first and foremost, a citizen with rights, above all duties to defend and protect the people and ensure the good execution of laws", highlighted in the document, which exhorts Angolan citizens to "not give up of the fight for a democratic, prosperous and dignified Angola" and reaffirms the "total availability" of the party "to dialogue for the consolidation of the democratic State and the rule of law".
On Saturday, in Luanda, the country's capital, the police dispersed the march against the rise in the price of gasoline, the end of street sales and the amendment to the law on Non-Governmental Organisations, using tear gas, causing panic and fainting, resulting in also in some injuries and arrests.
