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afrol News, 8 August - Aurélio Silva, leader of São Tomé and Príncipe's Union of Civil Servants, says he is to sue Justice Minister Alda Melo for defamation. Under a recent strike, the Minister had publicly stated Silva in private had received state funds, implying he was corrupt. During a general strike among public servants last month, Minister Alda Melo had attacked the trade union leader in person in a state television interview on 22 July. She claimed union leader Silva had only "personal motives" to call for the strike. She explained this by claiming Silva in private had already received US$ 30,000 from the government and that the civil servants strike he was organising was only to "blackmail" the government to pay him another US$ 30,000. According to the São Toméan journal 'O Parvo', Silva has already been in contact with a lawyer to prepare a civil law case against the Justice Minister. Silva is to claim damages for the alleged defamation, claiming "moral damages" against him and his family. While Minister Melo claimed Silva had received US$ 30,000 "which he used for private purposes," Silva says the government funding had been a payment for members of a commission that was organising a process of licensing of civil servants. As the leader of the Union of Civil Servants, Silva had been part of this commission. Silva reacted to these private attacks by the Minister in the midst of a strike, which his union had organised to demand an increase of the national minimum wage. The national minimum wage is set at 22,000 escudos (approximately US$ 185); an amount the strikers claim is not sufficient regarding the relatively high price level on the archipelago.
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