Angola: Calls for a Revolution · Global Voices
Clara Onofre

In the spirit of protest that has swept across North Africa and the Middle East, it appears that Angolan people have found some inspiration. After the revolt of the Tunisian people, who decided to join in mass to bring down now ex-President dictator Ben Ali, which was followed by the end of the Mubarak dictatorship in Egypt, and most recently, the current conflicts in Libya, some Angolans decided to convoke their own revolution.
"March 7 Protest against the Joseduardized dictatorship. Angola says Enough! 32 years of tyranny and bad governance." New poster of the Revolution of the Angolan people. Shared on Facebook by the movement of same name.
As Global Voices reported, the protests are being organized by “Agostinho Jonas Roberto dos Santos” – pseudonym joining the names of personalities from contemporary Angolan history: Agostinho Neto, Jonas Savimbi, Holden Roberto and even President José Eduardo dos Santos himself.
According to an email that is circulating and that can be read on the official site of “Nova Revolução do Povo Angolano” (New Revolution of the Angolan People) [pt], the date for the revolution is the 7th of this month, in the well-known Independence Square in Luanda.
The petition [pt] created, criticizes among other things “extreme poverty in Angola, the culture of fear and intimidation, misery, and autocracy.” The objective is for popular action to put an end to the 32 year rule of Eduardo dos Santos.
On the blog Página Um (Page One) [pt] reads a direct appeal to protest:
Vamos marchar com cartazes exigindo a saída do Ze Du [nota da autora: diminutivo de José Eduardo dos Santos], não mais ditadura do MPLA. Liberdade e Progresso. Abaixo o regime do MPLA.
José Eduardo dos Santos "Wanted dead or alive". Image from the Facebook page "Revoluçao do Povo Angolano".
The MPLA (Movimento Popular de Libertação de Angola) [Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola], is the party that has governed the country for more than thirty years. The current President, successor of Agostinho Neto, one of the symbols of the struggle for independence, has been in power since 1979.
In an interview [pt] with Terra Magazine the anonymous leader presents the motives for the protests:
Estamos cansados desta ditadura de quase 32 anos e queremos ser liderados por vários líderes em cada 5 ou 10 anos, o que acreditamos será uma verdadeira democracia, visto que o país será dirigido por diferentes pessoas com visões diferentes para o bem do povo angolano.
New forms of mobilization
Much of the mobilizing for revolution is by word of mouth, and in neighborhood debates, in cities across the country, claims its organizer “Agostinho Jonas Roberto dos Santos”, in the same interview with Terra Magazine.
However, new information and communication technologies have also played an important role. The author of the blog Morro da Maianga [pt] comments on the difficulties of using SMS services in recent days and asks if this initiative has arisen by someone who merely hopes to “test how in Angola a virtual system of mobilization works”:
Se de facto foi esta a sua intenção, a “operação 7 de Março” foi coroada de total êxito, pois a informação disseminou-se mesmo, ao ponto de se ter transformado num extraordinário facto político nacional, a provocar até reacções enérgicas de condenação da parte dos altos comandos das FAA [Forças Armadas de Angola].
De facto já há muito tempo que não via o MPLA “tãm nervioso”…
Orlando Castro, on his blog Alto Hama [pt], expects great adhesion by Angolans in the diaspora and further predicts:
Apesar da garantia de que as manifestações serão pacíficas, democráticas e legítimas, inspiradas no Movimento de «Não-Violência» e a favor de paz e estabilidade em Angola, é bem possível (já há, aliás, indícios nesse sentido) que o regime do MPLA procure impedir a sua realização.
Reactions and suspense
It is expected that the government will repress the Protest, if it does actually happen, through the use of violence.
The alarm [pt] has already been sounded by the president of the Parliamentary Group of MPLA, Virgílio de Fontes Pereira, who claims that
num Estado Democrático não devem ser tolerados comportamentos individuais ou colectivos, praticados por quem quer que seja, que atentam contra a ordem constitucional e ponham em risco a estabilidade do mandato e do funcionamento dos órgãos legitimados para exercer os poderes Legislativo, Judicial e Executivo.
Dino Matross, a leader of the MPLA went even further and without mincing words, he said [pt] to Luanda Antena Comercial radio that those who had the courage to protest would “get it”.
The words of this leader are not enough to demotivate those who desire change in Angola. The Diário da Liberdade [pt], has a declaration by a young Angolan who declares that he does not fear the crushing machine of the State.
Um jovem angolano disse, e com razão, que o povo de Angola já não é aquele povo de 20 anos atrás. Atualmente conhecemos a besta que vamos derrubar e não somos intimidados pelas ameaças mesquinhas do corrupto Dino Matross (secretário-geral do MPLA).
In response to the announced revolt, the Special Committee of the MPLA for Change has convened a counter-rally for today, March 5, in Luanda, with the objective of preventing protests against the government.
Carlos Alberto Jr. republishes the email in circulation with the invitation on his blog Diário de África, and concludes [pt]:
Com uma população miserável e uma juventude cada vez mais insatisfeita,  as autoridades precisarão de muita habilidade para manter o país nos  trilhos.