(CPJ/IFEX) – The following is a 23 June 2000 CPJ press release: ANGOLA: Armed men threaten VOA office in Luanda New York, June 23, 2000 — Four armed men dressed in Angolan army uniforms attacked the Luanda office of the Voice of America (VOA) on the night of June 21, according to CPJ sources in […]
(CPJ/IFEX) – The following is a 23 June 2000 CPJ press release:
ANGOLA: Armed men threaten VOA office in Luanda
New York, June 23, 2000 — Four armed men dressed in Angolan army uniforms attacked the Luanda office of the Voice of America (VOA) on the night of June 21, according to CPJ sources in Luanda.
The intruders made two attempts to force their way into the Voice of America’s Angola Project office, at 3 a.m. local time and again at approximately 1 p.m. After threatening security guards at gunpoint, the men succeeded in getting through the gates, but were unable to gain access to the newsroom. No VOA personnel were hurt in the incident, and no material damage was reported.
It remains unclear what motivated the attack. While this is the first such attack against offices of the U.S. government-funded VOA during its four-year old operation in Luanda, journalists from the VOA and other media have reported assaults, threats, and harassment in recent months, according to CPJ’s research.
In March of this year, for example, Angolan journalist and human rights activist Rafael Marques was tried and sentenced to six month in jail for writing a July 1999 article that accused the Angolan President of corruption. The sentence was suspended following an appeal by defense lawyers.
On May 3, World Press Freedom Day, CPJ named Angolan President Jose Eduardo dos Santos to its annual list of the “Ten Worst Enemies of the Press.”
“As journalists, we will not be intimidated nor will we be silenced by these actions in Angola or anywhere else,” said VOA director Sanford Ungar in a statement released on June 23. “The free flow of information and news is vital to the development and welfare of any society.”
