I write to manifest my disappointment when reading the latest issue of Pambazuka News in Portuguese and to learn about the poor coverage on the recent demolitions and land evictions in Lubango municipality, in Angola, especially because the edition highlights ‘Angola, Good Governance and Human Rights’. This is a major humanitarian emergency and a human rights violation that has engaged the majority of the civil society organisations, churches and has called the attention of the international community. So far, 3,100 houses have been violently demolished. Seven deaths have been reported, some of which have been confirmed. People are being placed in the precincts of the schools or are being taken to areas with an insufficient number of tents, and under heavy rain... There is no legal process, no explanation, no compensation, nothing in terms of water and sanitation, school or transportation. As an Angolan partner points out, the situation is of ‘total chaos, despair and the beginning of a disaster that could reach apocalyptic proportions’.

There has been silence in the media about this violation of human rights. The only source of independent information comes from activists that managed to get into the destroyed areas and report the situation to blogs, sites, and few radios (in Angola only Radio Ecclesia is covering the issue) and newspapers.

The Special Rapporteur of the UN for Housing Rights is being informed since these demolitions were announced.

Civil society organisations count on independent sites such as Pambazuka News as allies to voice this act of violence, which has become, unfortunately, a pattern in Angola in the last couple of years. This situation in Lubango may well be the beginning of a big wave of demolitions and evictions, which may depend on reactions to this first occurrence.

So, if there is also silence also among independent media injustice and repression will probably grow.

I hope that Pambazuka can review it and give more attention to the suffering of the Angolan people.

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