The Executive Secretariat of the Permanent Committee of the UNITA Political Commission states in a statement, dated 12 November and released on Saturday, that it "strongly condemns such unjustifiable acts, which are now recurrent on the part of the authorities, in a logic of regression and attacks on the foundations of the Democratic State and the Rule of Law, at a time when Angola is celebrating 45 years of independence".
UNITA considers that the police intervention in the demonstration, "which culminated in the death of one of the demonstrators, the injury of many and the arrest of others, including the journalist of Radio Ecclesia in Cabinda and the correspondent of the Reuters agency in Angola" constitutes "abuse of power" and "gross violation" of the right "of expression and thought".
The main opposition party also mentions a home invasion "led by the Criminal Investigation Services - SIC in the residence of Dom Belmiro Chissengueti, Bishop of Cabinda".
UNITA argues that the Government should "put an end to the acts of agents of the defense and security organs that repeatedly violate the Constitution and the Law, creating a climate of terror and insecurity within the populations".
For UNITA, the "frank and comprehensive dialogue was, is and will continue to be the best way to solve the problems that afflict Angolan society, embodied in the lack of jobs, high cost of living and the postponement of local authorities seen as a bridge for the development of communities," reads the communiqué.
On Wednesday, the police denied that a person had died during the clashes in Luanda with young people who wanted to demonstrate, guaranteeing to have used only non-lethal means to enforce the law.
In a statement to journalists, the provincial commander of Luanda, Eduardo Cerqueira, said that the citizen who was found dead is hospitalized at the Américo Boavida hospital and received hospital treatment.
Without indicating how many demonstrators were arrested, Eduardo Cerqueira said that "several citizens were collected in order to keep them away from the areas where the facts were being recorded," including two journalists who were taken to the police station.
Eduardo Cerqueira assured that the police did not use real bullets. "That would be genocide," he considered, adding that the wounded result from the charge "applied against those who apply charges against the police," in order to "neutralize the individuals".
