IRIN Focus on press freedom fears

Freedom of expression in Angola looks set to be squeezed even further under a draft press law which has been described as “dictatorial”, “contradictory” and “regressive” by the independent local media. Many journalists are in uproar over the proposed law which was thrown open for debate six weeks ago. They have the support of the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) which is appealing to the Angolan government to withdraw it. “If passed, this law will make it practically impossible for journalists in Angola to cover any matter relating to the country’s political life without risking incarceration,” said CPJ executive director, Ann Cooper. The CPJ stressed that an adequate press law should aim to protect rather than punish critical journalism. In the case of Angola’s proposed press law, it “entirely fails on all accounts” alleged the freedom of expression watchdog. Articles of concern The 19-page draft bill includes 81 articles, of which Angolan journalists have criticised too many to list. Among the most worrying, however, article 57 guarantees presidential immunity to criticism. Anyone who “publishes, divulges or reproduces news or facts for the national or foreign press which attack the honour or reputation of the President” will be imprisoned for two to eight years. Article 78 allows the authorities the right to decide who can be a journalist. Article 25 gives the authorities the power to seize or ban publications at their discretion. Foreign publications can also be banned by the courts (Article 62) if they “risk public order, violate the rights of individuals or repeatedly incite the practice of crimes”. Journalists who are arrested may be held for 30 days before charges are filed (Article 71) and “proceedings for crimes of press abuse have an urgent nature even when there is no arrested culprit”. Article 67 has also raised an eyebrow. It states that journalists can be prosecuted within a two-year period from the date of publication. Bill opened for debate On 27 July, when the new law was thrown open for debate, the vice minister for social communications, Manuel Augusto, said “we would like it if the contribution and consensus could be as broad as possible”. At the time, the secretary-general of the Union of Angolan Journalists, Miguel de Carvalho Wadjimbi, said the invitation to journalists and Angolan society to participate in the debate was welcome. “This is an excellent opportunity for journalists as a whole to air their views so that the new bill reflects our views,” he told state radio, ‘Radio Nacional’. But according Mario Paiva, a freelance journalist who writes for the independent weekly journal, ‘Agora’, the draft law reveals “conservative trends” within the ruling MPLA party: “These trends are connected to the nomenclature and the entourage around ‘the power’ who fear that more democracy or freedom of expression could allow a wider exposure of the regime’s wounds.” Aguiar Dos Santos, director of ‘Agora’, went one step further and alleged that the bill had been drawn up to protect President Jose Eduardo Dos Santos. He noted the President has had an “annus horribilis” including several well-publicised allegations of corruption against him, his family and government members. The draft law also includes several articles pertaining to the economic and financial freedom of the media. Article 15 states that press organs must publish the source of “self and borrowed capital.” During a recent debate about the new law, Aguiar Dos Santos argued that if the press must adhere to such laws, so should other areas of business in Angola, such as the notoriously secretive oil and diamonds sectors. Journalism versus sensationalism Within the state-owned media, journalists have been a little more guarded with their comments about the new law. In an editorial in late July, ‘Jornal De Angola’, the only daily newspaper in Angola, described the press law as, “one of the basic presuppositions of democracy”. Quoting the minister of social communications, Hendrik Vaal Neto, it stated that the debate “symbolises the common desire that we are going to build a country, each time more harmonious”. Last week, during a popular television chat-show, several journalists from the state-owned media expressed their opinions on the media in Angola. Joao Ligio who works for state-owned TPA, Angola’s only television corporation, argued that there is greater freedom in Angola today than ever before. “Today,” said Ligio, “fortunately, we have the opportunity to compare and make references between the state organs and some private [ones]. Today, society is already armoured with the possibility to watch certain debates in which we can follow diverse opinions. Therefore, there is already respect for difference. This is a principle that yesterday we didn’t have.” Another point raised during the programme is the view that too many reporters in Angola mix journalism with sensationalism. “It’s a serious error,” said Antonio Campos from ‘Radio Nacional’. Alex Vines, a seasoned Angola observer who works for Human Rights Watch, admits that “standards of media in Angola are low”. He said that journals like the popular private newspaper, ‘Folha Oito’, used to be much better. “The media needs to wake up to the fact that it needs to professionalise,” Vines told IRIN. Vines however, argued that media standards in Angola are the product of what he calls a history of oppression. It is because of this that the new draft law is such a concern. He stated that parts of the proposed bill “criminalise opinion and expression”.