DATE=4/10/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=ANGOLA / JOURNALIST (L-ONLY)
NUMBER=2-261128
BYLINE=ALEX BELIDA
DATELINE=JOHANNESBURG
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: A prominent Angolan journalist says he will
continue speaking out against the war, government
corruption, and other problems in his country --
despite his conviction for slandering the country's
President. V-O-A Southern Africa Correspondent Alex
Belida spoke to the journalist, Rafael Marques [pron:
`MAR-kesh], by telephone in Luanda (Monday) and has
this report.
TEXT: Rafael Marques has not begun serving the six-
month sentence he was given less than two weeks ago.
But even as he awaits the outcome of his appeal to
Angola's Supreme Court, he says he is already a
prisoner.
/// MARQUES ACT ONE ///
Everyone tells me it's dangerous, even the
foreigners [say], "Don't get out of the house."
I'm already a prisoner. [They say,] "Don't walk
when it's dark, don't drive around when it's
dark." So I'm already a prisoner.
/// END ACT ///
Despite such warnings, Mr. Marques says he won't be
silenced.
/// MARQUES ACT TWO ///
I will continue to voice my opinions until
things change in Angola, and I can no longer
be concerned with my life, because I highly
respect and pay tribute to the millions of
Angolans who have died to see this country
changing, and it would be a dishonor just to
give up and then enjoy a different life.
/// END ACT ///
The charges against Mr. Marques stem from an article
he wrote last year in the magazine Agora, calling
President Jose Eduardo Dos Santos a dictator. He went
on to accuse the Angolan leader of being responsible
for the destruction of the country and for the
promotion of what the journalist described as
incompetence, embezzlement, and the corruption of
political and social values.
Speaking by telephone from Luanda, Mr. Marques says
his trial was a mockery.
/// MARQUES ACT THREE ///
There is no justice. What's happened in
Angola is that the power-holders are now using
the laws to convict people and to prevent people
from bringing up sensitive issues against the
power-holders. So the laws are being used
against the people, not to serve the people or
to serve the judicial system, but being used
against the people.
/// END ACT ///
The 28-year-old Mr. Marques is the Angolan
representative of the private Open Society Initiative
for Southern Africa. He says he believes he was
singled out for prosecution, not only because of his
criticism of the President but also because he has
been active in the anti-war movement in Angola.
// OPT // He describes the ongoing conflict with the
UNITA rebel movement led by Jonas Savimbi as an excuse
by the Dos Santos government to retain its grip on
power. He says government claims that the war is
nearing an end are misleading.
/// MARQUES ACT FOUR //
How can the war end if we're not talking to
end the war? The war in this country will only
end when people sit down and start talking about
the process of reconciliation, of justice,
because there needs to be justice, and those who
have committed war crimes must at least assume
[responsibility for] their crimes. And that
should not be just exclusive to Mr. Savimbi,
but to everyone, and even to Mr. Dos Santos who
is co-responsible for this war.
/// END ACT ///
The Angolan government broke off peace talks with Mr.
Savimbi's rebels after accusing UNITA of failing to
live up to its demilitarization commitments under a
1994 peace agreement. Its latest offensive has driven
the rebels from key strongholds. But UNITA says it
will continue waging a guerrilla struggle. // END OPT
//
Mr. Marques says he believes he has been saved from
harsher treatment by the international attention
focused on his case by governments and groups
concerned with press-freedom issues.
But he says if his conviction is upheld, it will have
a chilling effect on the ability of ordinary Angolans
to speak out freely about the situation in their
country.
/// REST OPT ///
/// MARQUES ACT FIVE ///
If I am convicted and the Supreme Court just
ratifies the conviction, then people won't be
able to come out and speak freely, because
anyone will be [could be] convicted of insulting
the honor and the dignity of the President.
/// END ACT ///
He says that fear could affect campaigning for the
national elections President Dos Santos has announced.
Mr. Marques believes any candidate who criticizes the
Angolan leader could be jailed. (Signed)
NEB/BEL/JWH/WTW
10-Apr-2000 11:29 AM EDT (10-Apr-2000 1529 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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