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Creating Freedom of Expression in Angola

Aaron Zaks
World Studies
Spring 2016

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INTRODUCTION
In January 2012: the Portuguese public broadcaster Radio e Televisao de Portugal
canceled a radio program in January after it discussed corruption among the Angolan elite, and in
late October the government-connected owners of the weekly Semanario Angolense halted
publication of an issue containing the full text of a speech by the leader of UNITA.1 In Angola,
freedom of expression is a big issue. The government completely controls the media, as they own
the newspapers, television channels, and host their own radio station, Because of this,any news
going out is heavily modified and restricted, allowing for the government to spread any
propaganda it wants. As well, the government doesnt allow for any kind of publications
attacking the government, so it arrests or kills any reporters or publishers that write against them.
This is a serious breach of the right to freedom of expression.The government claims that they
allow freedom of press, and it is written in the constitution. However, journalists continued to
be harassed, intimidated, attacked, and imprisoned in 2012.1 For example, in July, the
prominent investigative journalist Rafael Marques was formally notified of criminal libel charges
filed by seven high-ranking Angolan army generals and the diamond mining company Sociedade
Mineira do Cuango.1 In other words, he was accused of writing lies about government officials,
so that they could hide the truth from the public. The government are the perpetrators of these
peoples rights, taking them away to remain in control. According to the constitution there is
freedom of the press however in reality, the government controls if youre allowed to freely talk
or not. Without freedom of expression, peoples lives are different. Instead of life being about

1 "Angola: Freedom in the World." Freedom House. Accessed March 13, 2016.
https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/2014/angola.

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enjoying and discovering, life itself becomes a chore. The people in Angola cant speak out
against the government, letting them do anything without fear of consequence.

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
It is hard to say if freedom of expression in Angola has changed for the better or worse,
as the country is not 100 years old. It was, however, a colony of Portugal for 400 years. Talking
about the last fifteen years of the country, the government has become more stable, but the
freedom of expression has stayed the same. In Angola, a large historical trend that impacted the
right to freedom of expression was imperialism. Angola was colonized by Portugal in 1575.
After independence the propaganda of the emerging nationalist movements placed a greater
value on the purely African culture, but, because of the colonial policy of assimilation, most
educated Angolans were more Portuguese than African in their general cultural orientation.2
Because of this factor, society sorted itself into more Portuguese and more African. That, in turn,
lead to the creation of an elite that were higher up in the social ranks simply because they were
more Portuguese than African. Although rigorous censorship ceased in the 1990s, both the
cultural ambiguity of many in the government and the desire to discourage the tribalism that
endured initially made Angola, in spite of official positions, less supportive of cultural
expressions that were not Portuguese based.2 Even an African government took over the
previous Portuguese one, Portuguese customs were still considered better and more important
than African ones. They even censored things they considered to be too African, the first
example of censorship in Angola. Since 1975, Angola has been dominated by two political

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parties. The ruling MPLA continues to give preferential treatment to state-owned media and has
been known to bar access to journalists covering opposition events.2
The local government has played the biggest role in the human rights issue since the
country was founded, as they are the only ones barring the freedom from flourishing in the
country. The country was founded on socialist ideals, which increased the censorship the
government could use. As well, the press was nationalized in 1976; several newspapers and
periodicals are published mainly in Luanda.3 Because the government controls all press, they
keep the freedom of expression away from the people.

MODERN SOLUTIONS
Around the world, freedom of expression is considered a pretty big issue by most
countries. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, also known as
UNESCO, is the main organization working to keep freedom of expression free around the
world. UNESCO works to promote press freedom and media development through advocacy
and awareness-raising, capacity-building, monitoring, fostering the safety of journalists, and
supporting media law and enabling regulatory frameworks.4 UNESCOs biggest achievement
for doing that was creating an awareness day, World Press Freedom day. It is celebrated in more
than 100 countries, helping to spread knowledge about freedom of expression, as well as
educating civilians if their rights have been taken away from them. UNESCO has Media and
Information Literacy(MIL), a program that teaches the public to use their rights to the fullest. As
2 "Angola: Freedom in the World." Freedom House. Accessed March 13, 2016.
https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/2014/angola

3 Encyclopdia Britannica Online, s. v. "Angola", accessed March 17,

2016,http://www.britannica.com/place/Angola.

4 Radsch, Courtney C. World Trends in Freedom of Expression and Media Development.

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well, the organization especially highlights that journalistic safety is a fundamental prerequisite
for achieving freedom of expression and democracy.4 In many countries, the freedom of
expression is stifled because reporters dont feel safe, so they dont report anything the
government wouldnt want out there. Other than preaching about freedom of expression,
UNESCO also helps boost freedom of expression by helping small media companies grow
bigger. One way they do this is by provid[ing] small grants to approximately 80 media projects
in developing countries each year.5
Although many of these solutions have worked throughout the world, only some would work in
Angola. One of the biggest issues in the country is that the government controls all the sources of
news. If Angola had more non-government sources of media, it would keep the public informed
and keep the government staying honest. However, that reality will only last a few years without
journalist safety. As UNESCO said, freedom of the press and expression cant really exist if the
journalists only report when they think its safe.. In Angola, many journalists are imprisoned or
killed for going against the government. On February 2, police arrested the editor of Radio
Despertar.6 If civilians speak out against the government, it is very likely that they will die, so
they choose to continue to live, rather than risk being killed.

CONCLUSION: EVALUATION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

The main factor holding the people back from freedom of expression in Angola is the
government. They control the media to only show their propaganda, and silence anyone who
doesnt agree with them.. It seems that the government is very corrupt, and prefer to live in
power rather than take care of their citizens. If a new set of people were put in charge, they
would most likely work for human rights for a bit, but then get caught up in their power games.
5 Radsch, Courtney C. World Trends in Freedom of Expression and Media Development.
6 "Angola: Freedom in the World." Freedom House. Accessed March 13, 2016.
https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/2014/angola

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In order to insure that the people of Angola can speak freely, Although the United Nations are
already to involved with the country, I think that they need to become a bigger setting there, to
help make sure human rights are being abided by.. Although the UN cant directly set up a new
structure of government and write a new constitution, they can give sanctions to freedom
fighters. If a new government is created, power can be shifted so that the president doesnt
control everything. Once that has happened, and the power has gone to the people as well, the
strategies that the UNESCO used in other countries need to be applied in Angola. By providing
funds for smaller media outlets, the press can begin to be free of government control, allowing
expression to flourish. If there is protection for reporters from the government, than the country
can start to evaluate what is happening in the government, and work towards fixing its other
human rights issues.

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WORKS CITED
McChrystal, Ryan. "Angola: Trying Month for Freedom of Expression." Index on Censorship.
September 23, 2015. Accessed March 12, 2016.
https://www.indexoncensorship.org/2015/09/angola-trying-month-for-freedom-of-expression/
"Angola: Freedom in the World." Freedom House. Accessed March 13, 2016.
https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/2014/angola
"Angola Has Freedom of Expression Justice Minister." Africa News Service 24 May 2015.
Global Issues In Context. Web. 16 Mar. 2016
Swarns, Rachel L. "Botswana Weighs Bill to Place Tighter Control on Journalists." The New
York Times. December 22, 2001. Accessed March 17, 2016.
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/12/23/world/botswana-weighs-bill-to-place-tighter-control-onjournalists.html
Swarns, Rachel L. "Tightening Controls on Media Worry Journalists in Angola." The New York
Times. September 19, 2000. Accessed March 17, 2016.
http://www.nytimes.com/2000/09/20/world/tightening-controls-on-media-worry-journalists-inangola.html
Encyclopdia Britannica Online, s. v. "Angola", accessed March 17,
2016,http://www.britannica.com/place/Angola.
Radsch, Courtney C. World Trends in Freedom of Expression and Media Development.