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RB
November 18, 2020 at 10:50 am
In this meeting, Francisco Queiroz also pointed out as negative the fact that there was a “political interference” that resulted in the difficulty of opting for dialogue, specifically on the November 11 demonstration, organized by civil society movements against unemployment, the cost of living and demanding the holding of municipal elections in Angola, in which a young man died in circumstances surrounded by controversy and doubt.
The meeting of Francisco Queiroz and Jeannette Seppen, which took place on Tuesday afternoon, also allowed the European Union, which historically supports economically national organizations that fight for the fulfillment of Human Rights in Angola and has one of its greatest problems in this matter. and committed demands of a political nature, highlight their concerns, even expressing the need for the rights of expression and assembly not to be destroyed.
Jeannette Seppen told journalists that she expressed to Francisco Queiroz, in this meeting, which is of a periodic nature, and now scheduled to analyze the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic in the country in terms of Human Rights, and others, the “concerns for the events of October 24 and November 11 “
The European diplomat stressed that she has obtained from her Angolan interlocutor “a very positive response”, that is, in terms of guarantees that “freedoms have not disappeared” and that these must “continue to be respected despite the challenges they pose” .
Queiroz highlighted to journalists that the Covid-19 pandemic had a profound impact on the country, both economically and socially, which was also manifested in the rest of the world, including the European Union, due to the way it was reflected in a integral in the communities, specifically in the massive loss of jobs.
And he took the opportunity to reaffirm the pandemic context in which the two demonstrations took place and the added difficulties that it is causing by the increase in unemployment and the increase in the cost of living that is at the origin of greater “tension and more nervousness.”
The official also abandoned the idea that the people legitimately wanted to dialogue with the Government, but the “political interference”, without leaving it explicit, caused a blockage of this communication “, pointing as proof of this the unexpected introduction of the issue of municipal elections in the field of demands.of the protesters.
The Minister of Justice and Human Rights said he regretted this “political interference” at a time when dialogue could and should have played the leading role, as has been customary between the Executive and civil society, and Queiroz never mentioned UNITA for have played a role in this political interference, but it is well known what this party was referring to.
The death of Inocêncio de Matos, the 26-year-old UAN student in computer engineering, in circumstances yet to be determined but with the police denying that it was caused by an actual firearm and his fellow combatants claiming that it was actually a firearm shot, the clinical version is that it was a blow to the head with a blunt object – he was not cited by the government, regretting it.
“We deeply regret when a life is lost, but we cannot speculate,” said Francisco Queiroz, referring to the existing versions of the cause of death of Inocêncio de Matos in the demonstration on November 11, the 45th anniversary of National Independence. .
Regarding today’s meeting, in which the ambassador of the European Union (EU) stated that she had expressed her concern about respect for freedoms in times of covid-19, Francisco Queiroz said that human rights are “a path that it is doing and that has to be evaluated from time to time ”, which is part of the dialogue that Angola has with the EU.
“It was this assessment that we made in the face of the last meeting we had and which happened last year. Since then, many things have happened that attest to the executive’s commitment,” he stressed, pointing to the human rights and diplomas strategy as an example. related to the fight against human trafficking, which were positively assessed by the European delegation.
European diplomat Jeannette Seppen, for her part, chose to insist that freedoms such as freedom of expression and assembly must be respected, although the circumstances that the country is experiencing economically and socially are even more demanding than normal.
He also said that in the conversation with the Angolan minister, he emphasized the issue of the need to “respect human rights despite the very difficult stage Angola is going through, but also in Europe”, leading to an even more demanding situation than the before the pandemic.
