"No to manipulation of journalism", "being a journalist is not a crime", "freedom of thought" and "free journalism, well-informed citizens" were some of the phrases inscribed on the signs that the demonstrators held during the march.
Dressed in black, with the motto of the march "Quem Tem Medo da Liberdade" stamped on the front of their shirts and "Article 44 of the CRA" (Constitution of the Republic of Angola), which establishes freedom of the press, the journalists repudiated all " attacks" on freedom of the press.
"Down with censorship, down with robberies and deaths, we are journalists and not criminals" were the slogans of this march, which also included members of civil society, including activists and associations and trade unions, and opposition deputies.
The march, promoted by the Union of Angolan Journalists (SJA), started from Largo do Soweto, Vila Alice neighborhood, urban district of Rangel, covered part of Avenida Ho Chi Minh, part of Avenida Deolinda Rodrigues, passed Rua Senado da Câmara and ended in Largo da Liberdade, under police protection.
Teixeira Cândido, general secretary of the SJA, said, while reading the march's manifesto, that the journalists decided to take to the streets because "they felt threatened in the exercise of their activity, in less than a year three journalists saw their homes robbed and their respective stolen computers".
"(The SJA headquarters) was robbed three times in less than a month, the last one in the early hours of this Friday and from there they stole the main computer, the provincial headquarters of the union in Lunda Norte was also robbed and a computer," he recalled.
On all these occasions, he underlined, "the author (of the robberies) is not known" and the SJA "does not have any doubts that this is an attack on freedom of the press", which it describes as "serious and frightening for a State what you want to be democratic".
"There is no equal memory in the history of Angolan journalism and it is a threat to the freedom and physical integrity of journalists", said Teixeira Cândido, in this march that brought together journalists from public and private bodies and professionals from the old and new generation.
Freedom of the press "is a prerequisite for the existence of journalism and journalists, without freedom there is no journalism, there may be advertising, or public relations, but there is no journalism, journalism only exists in a context of freedom and independence", he stressed.
The union leader recalled, in his speech, that the body he directs has been in permanent dialogue with the State institutions, including presenting legislative suggestions, because "we idealize a democracy at the height of the best examples".
"We do not identify ourselves as a pressure group, aware that our function is to demand, but also to suggest, this is our identity, today and tomorrow, so investing in fear will not make us retreat a foot", he assured.
Teixeira Cândido added: "You can push back one, two, three journalists, or even an editorial office, never, however, all of them, even if the price of this fight could mean paying with your own life, the fight for freedom will not stop".
Journalist Romão de Jesus, from MFM radio, said, on the occasion, that he currently feels "unprotected" after receiving threats on the phone, three weeks ago while he was working, and in the sequence being assaulted with a cold weapon, by "stranger" citizens.
Carlos Rosado de Carvalho, a well-known journalist and economist, also participated in the demonstration, hoping that the Government and the authorities that "regulate or deregulate" the media "understand the message".
"In the sense of compliance with the Constitution and the law, as is clear in article 44 of the CRA, which enshrines freedom of expression and of the press, but what we have seen is exactly the opposite", he said in statements to Lusa.
Veteran journalist William Tonet lamented the closure of several media outlets in Angola, which led journalists out of work, and the "so much lack of freedom and contradiction, and even colleagues who propose to fight other colleagues", he observed.
At the end of the march, Ismael Mateus, journalist and adviser to the President, João Lourenço, praised the initiative of the SJA, above all for the sign of opposition that was passed on to society due to the intimidation of journalists.
"And we are saying to those who are doing this (threats and assaults) that we do not accept it and do not bow down", he said.
