Angola
Arrests of oppositionals in Angola

afrol.com, 27 January  - MISA's sources in Angola report that eight members of the political party, the Party for Democracy and Progress in Angola (PADPA), were arrested and detained in Luanda on Thursday, 25 January. Among those arrested is the party's president, Carlos Leitao.

According to independent journalist Rafael Marques, five full trucks of Ninjas, Angola's Intervention Police, rounded up the 
demonstrators. The demonstrators were demanding for the resignation of Angolan President Jose Eduardo dos Santos, following reports, in France, that associate the name of the President to international arms trade dealers, alleged funding of international political campaigns, corruption scandals and other actions of misconduct. The whereabouts of the detained are unknown.

"The strangest thing though, is that the national broadcaster (public television), the PPA who usually never covers such events, decided to cover that specific event. Not only that, the PPA did not cover the demonstration, they only started filming when the Ninjas moved in and started beating up and arresting the demonstrators," Marques informed MISA.

According to one of the escapees the Ninjas were led by General Vieira Dias Kopelipa, the highest-ranking military official close to the President. General Kopelipa is said to have personally prevented independent journalist William Tonet from covering the event.

Marques reported that the occurrence has to date not been reported in any news media, even though escapees approached Rádio Ecclésia for coverage of the event. According to the party's Secretary-General Silva Cardoso, the station's manager, Jose Paoulo, informed them that it (the radio station) did not want to be connected with the movement against the President.

Source: Based on Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA)

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