Rights groups concerned over rise in political violence

Human rights activists in Angola have condemned the killing of an opposition parliamentarian, and have sounded a warning over an apparent increase in political violence. Police said three gunmen on Friday shot dead Mfulupinga Lando Victor, Member of Parliament for the Democratic Party for Progress-Angolan National Alliance (PDP-ANA), as he walked to his car parked near the party's headquarters, in a suburb of the capital, Luanda. The party alleged that the ruling MPLA had ordered the killing as Victor was a threat to its rule. "We've been the victims of a lot of persecution since our party was created in 1991. We believe without a doubt this act was ordered by the ruling MPLA," said PDP-ANA Secretary General Sediangani Mbibi. MPLA spokesman, Kwata Kanawa, said a police investigation had been launched. "The government wants the police to clarify what happened and an investigation is already underway." Victor's killing comes two weeks after Angola's ex-rebels and now largest opposition party, UNITA, accused ruling party militia of beating several of their parliamentarians. UNITA said the now banned Civil Defence Organisation (ODC), an organisation set up by the MPLA during the civil war for civilians to defend themselves against rebel attacks, was still being backed by the ruling party. Kanawa said the police would investigate such complaints, but denied the existence of the ODC. Angola's 27-year civil war between UNITA and the government ended in 2002. Since then, pressure has been mounting on President Jose Eduardo Dos Santos to call general elections, but he has said the country needs a new constitution before a poll can be held. Human rights activists said politically-motivated attacks were increasing as the government failed to address the challenges posed by democratisation. "I can't confirm that these particular incidents took place, but there's been a definite increase in political violence here," said Rafael Marques, country director for the Open Society Institute. "Despite the end of the war, the political and social stability of this country is a shambles. I believe Angola will witness more violence before its problems are really resolved." Landu Nkama, president of the NGO Gremio ABC and a social rights activist agreed: "Verbal violence is turning into physical violence. This seems to be a strategy by politicians to intimidate and control all those who take a public stance against them." The abundance of weapons in the hands of civilians, much of which were handed out by the government to the militia, has made the situation worse, analysts warned. "The government has so far refused to do anything to disarm the civilian population," Marques said. "There are lots of guns in the hands of civilians. That needs to change but unfortunately it isn't getting done properly. Nearly one percent of the 2004 state budget was allocated to civil defence," Nkama said. "That's even more than it was last year. This is very worrying."