(MISA/IFEX) – On 18 February 2000, Angolan police briefly detained and interrogated two journalists from the Portuguese state television service for Africa, RTP-Africa. The two journalists, reporter Alves Fernandes and camera operator Jose Amorim, were covering preparations for a demonstration called by the Partido de Apoio Democratico e Progresso de Angola (PADPA) party, in protest […]
(MISA/IFEX) – On 18 February 2000, Angolan police briefly detained and interrogated two journalists from the Portuguese state television service for Africa, RTP-Africa. The two journalists, reporter Alves Fernandes and camera operator Jose Amorim, were covering preparations for a demonstration called by the Partido de Apoio Democratico e Progresso de Angola (PADPA) party, in protest against a recent fuel price increase (on 3 February the government raised the price of fuel by 1,600 per cent).
The two journalists were held for a few hours, during which time they were interrogated about why they had been filming in the area. They were accused of filming police position and subjects around the ministry of finance building, which was where the demonstrators were supposed to have gathered. After their release, police kept their videotapes, which to date have still not been returned.
At the same time, police detained the president and secretary-general of PADPA, Carlos Leitao and Silva Cardosa, on allegations that the demonstration had not be authorised by the provincial government. However, in an interview on Radio Ecclesia the previous day, Leitoa had assured his supporters that the demonstration had been approved following a meeting between members of his party and the provincial governor just days earlier.
