Francisco Queiroz spoke after a meeting with the European delegation in Luanda in which he discussed the situation of covid-19 and its reflections on human rights.
"The state of pandemic has created economic and social difficulties, not only in Angola, but also in European Union countries, many jobs have been lost, companies have closed, the economy has shrunk a lot and this has ended up reflecting negatively on people's lives," said Queiroz.
About the demonstrations of November 11th and October 24th, the ruler stated that they took place "in a pandemic context, where the population is experiencing more difficulties", due to unemployment, less access to goods and higher prices, which generates even "more tension and nervousness".
"The population, naturally and legitimately, wanted to dialogue with the government about this situation, a constitutionally recognized dialogue that must be respected," the minister stressed, adding that "what was harmful in this claim was political interference.
"There was an exploitation of this situation, a political exploitation that ended up introducing in the normal demonstration, in the normal dialogue, an unusual political claim that had to do with the electoral processes of the municipalities", stressed Francisco Queiroz.
This interference ended up transforming "this normal relationship between citizens and organs of governance into a situation of some violence," used "to degrade the image of the executive," and which harmed the dialogue on living conditions, "which are actually very difficult," continued the responsible.
On Wednesday, national independence day, thousands of young people took to the streets in Luanda to demand better living conditions and local elections in 2021, but the demonstration, which had been banned by the provincial government, was strongly repressed by the police and resulted in the death of a young man, in circumstances still to be clarified.
Francisco Queiroz indicated that the demonstrations "do not need to be authorized, since it is a right that is included in the Angolan Constitution", being only necessary to warn.
"What is needed is for it to happen within the law, and not to disturb public order and tranquility," he stressed, adding that "these rights exist and will not be restricted.
"On the part of those who have to guarantee public order and tranquility, it is also recommended that they act according to the rules, with professionalism, to avoid shocks and that they result in situations of deprivation of liberty or others," he emphasized.
Asked about the possible use of excessive force by the police during the demonstration and the death of the 26-year-old student, he stressed that the situation is being investigated to ascertain the circumstances, but admitted that there were excesses.
"The excesses began with some agents inside the demonstrations, who did their provocations, especially on the side of political vindication and the police tried to do what they could, but eventually also had some situation a little beyond what is normal," he acknowledged.
For Francisco Queiroz, "what happened was a tense situation, in a moment of great nervousness, of great difficulties", and where the political intervention ended up "spoiling the whole situation that could have taken place in a normal way, without any problems", within "a normal dialogue as it has been a catch" in the government's relationship with civil society.
Even so, he admitted that what happens badly, "on one side or the other, is always regrettable".
"We deeply regret everything that happens, especially when a citizen's life is lost, it's a situation that we can't stop regretting, but we can't speculate," added the ruler.
On Tuesday's meeting, at which the European Union (EU) ambassador said she expressed concerns about the respect for freedoms in times of covid-19, Francisco Queiroz said that human rights are "a path that is being taken and that has to be evaluated from time to time," which is part of the dialogue that Angola maintains with the EU.
"It was this evaluation that we made in face of the last meeting that we had and that happened last year. Since then many things have happened that attest to the commitment of the executive", he stressed, indicating as an example the human rights strategy and diplomas on combating trafficking in human beings that were positively evaluated by the European delegation.
