Speaking this Thursday on the sidelines of the inauguration ceremony of President-elect João Lourenço, which takes place this morning, next to the Agostinho Neto Memorial, in Luanda, Francisco Furtado said that "there was a strategy put together by the opposition", seeking to allege electoral fraud, and considered that there are political leaders who are not prepared for "a healthy coexistence in peace and security".
"When you have two agendas, one political and one subversive, you have to understand what you want," he said, accusing the opposition of having a subversive strategy financed from outside "to overthrow the government."
"The chain of social networks worked a lot so that people did not go to the vote for fear of insecurity, it is not because the MPLA [Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola] or the executive failed", considered the general, commenting on the high abstention in the August 24 elections.
He said, however, that the MPLA "learned its lesson" and wants to "invert the picture and create strategies to counteract these initiatives that have emerged since 2020".
As for the state of combative readiness and the presence of police forces on the streets in recent days, the military said that it is normal in these cases: "We have noticed for two years that there was a strategy of subversion of order and of what sovereignty is and it is for these aspects that the forces have to be in readiness. Any nation is only worth what it is capable of defending itself".
In his opinion, these situations can occur and that the population does not have to be afraid because the State is guaranteeing the safety of the populations. Regarding the demonstration announced by UNITA for September 24, he declared that the executive authorizes the demonstrations.
"What is not conceived is that they take advantage of the demonstrations to carry out subversion. You cannot imagine the amount of tires that were removed in the last two days and were already prepared to create fires on public roads", stressed Francisco Furtado.
"Citizens must have confidence in the State, in its security forces and the police have demonstrated this in close collaboration with the populations and the armed forces do not intervene in matters of public security", he continued.
Therefore, "the armed forces will be ready for any eventuality of assistance in case of any situation of armed subversion, not to intimidate the people, they are to defend the people, they are to defend sovereignty, they are to defend the nation and the State. Our mission is the security of the population", he explained.
As for the new legislature, he hopes that the executive will be able to implement the programs he has, since he has not completed "even half" of what he started in his first term.
"We have to continue to ensure that the country is safe, there will be significant investments in the Navy, Air Force and Army component, we have to keep the country safe so that there is an incentive for investments", he said, stressing that this "everything programmed" and that the social sector will not be harmed.
As for the possibility of being invited to the government again, he said he is "always prepared" for the missions he is entrusted with.
The Praça da República gradually filled up with hundreds of figures, including politicians and members of the Angolan executive, diplomats and heads of state, some of whom arrived this Thursday morning, like the Presidents of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Equatorial Guinea.
The Portuguese President, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa is another of the guests to participate in this ceremony which began at 10:30 am with the arrival of João Lourenço and the passing of the troops.
João Lourenço will be sworn in by the judge-president of the Constitutional Court, Laurinda Cardoso.
