Luanda, May 15, 2025 (Lusa) - The Union of Angolan Journalists (SJA) on Thursday condemned the "expulsion" from the Presidential Palace in Luanda of a team of journalists from Portugal's public broadcaster, RTP, calling on the press secretariat of the president's office to "retract and reverse the measure."
In a note of repudiation sent to Lusa on Thursday, the SJA says that it learned with "deep concern and indignation" of the report the "expulsion" of RTP professionals who had assigned to cover an event at the president's office on Monday, 12 May.
According to the union, the "expulsion of the RTP professionals from the press room of the Presidency of the Republic, despite the fact that they were duly accredited, in an act that involved selectivity and discrimination in relation to the presence of other journalists, constitutes a very serious attack on press freedom."
The leadership of the SJA "stands in solidarity with the professionals concerned, condemns the act and calls on the Press Secretariat of the Presidency of the Republic to retract and reverse the measure taken," the statement adds.
On Wednesday, RTP expressed "deep concern and vehement rejection" of the "expulsion of the team" assigned to cover an event at the headquarters of the Angolan presidency in Luanda, in a note of protest sent to the Angolan presidency and government.
In the note, the director of news at RTP, António José Teixeira, the director of news at RDP radio, Mário Galego, and the director of television channel RTP Africa, Isabel Silva Costa, express "deep concern and vehement repudiation" at the "arbitrary expulsion of the team from Portuguese public broadcaster RTP, deployed at the Cidade Alta Palace to cover an official meeting of the Presidency.
"Despite being duly accredited and in the legitimate exercise of their journalistic function, the RTP professionals were removed from the press room, in a selective and discriminatory action that contrasts with the permanence of other journalists," reads the note.
The RTP officials expressed the view that the attitude of the Angolan authorities "represents an attack on press freedom and a flagrant violation of the fundamental principles of journalism and democracy.
"RTP was also excluded from the Whatsapp group of the Presidency Press Centre - the official means of disseminating the institutional agenda of accredited media outlets" in Angola, the officials continue.
The Angolan presidency's decision not to allow its professionals to attend official events "reveals an unacceptable attempt to silence freedom of expression in a country that claims to be committed to democratic values," the note concludes.
Lusa has sought a reaction from the president's office, but received no reply.
DAS/ARO // ARO.
Lusa
