Luanda, ANGOLA, June 24 - The ruling MPLA strongly repudiated, last Tuesday, the "Folha 8" newspaper, for the publication of a text in which it associates the former President of Angola, António Agostinho Neto, with figures considered defenders of slavery.,

 

In a disapproving note, the ruling party’s Politburo considers the inclusion of the Founder of the Nation among these figures - whose statues are being removed from public spaces, by anti-racist demonstrators in some countries - to be "frivolous and irresponsible".

 

To the MPLA, it is an "unreasonable and infamous attitude", which "attacks the history and collective memory of the Angolan people and reveals a lack of patriotism (...)".

 

According to the governing party, António Agostinho Neto is recognized and respected at national and international levels, "as a fearless frontline soldier in the fight against racial segregation and the armed struggle for national liberation".

 

The party underlines that, under his leadership, Angola took the position, of its own free will, of being "a firm trench of the revolution in favour of the ideals of freedom and dignity" of Africans.

 

"The obstinate attempts to tarnish the honour and good name of António Agostinho Neto, a National Hero and Father of Angola’s Independence, are part of a campaign with ulterior motives that the Folha 8 newspaper has carried out over the years", reads the note.

 

The MPLA writes that it reserves the right to appeal again to the courts and the Regulatory Body of the Angolan Medial Sector in order to enforce what is established under the terms of the Constitution and the law, regarding the limits to the exercise of freedom of the press and opinion.

 

The MPLA urges Angolans to be guided by respect for harmonious coexistence and not to agree with "political deviations and fads that can undermine the environment of pacification of the minds".

 

The party recalls that, at this time it is in progress in the country, in the context of national reconciliation and consolidation of the Democratic Rule of Law, the process of homage to the victims of political conflicts registered in Angola between 11 November 1975 and 4 April 2002.

 

In another area, as part of the celebrations of the 45^th anniversary of National Independence, the MPLA reaffirms the unconditional preservation of President António Agostinho Neto's political legacy, continuing to interpret and satisfy the deepest aspirations of the Angolan people.

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