Criminal complaint lodged against Angolan generals

PAMBAZUKA NEWS: You have recently filed a criminal complaint against a number of generals and people who have substantial economic and political influence in Angola for alleged crimes against humanity [PDF">. Can you explain who these people are and what crimes they are alleged to have committed?

RAFAEL MARQUES DE MORAIS: I lodged a criminal complaint against the shareholders of three private companies involved in diamond mining in Angola’s northeastern Lunda-Norte province. What happens is that two of the companies, Lumanhe and Teleservice, have as shareholders the most influential generals in the country, and they are among the top plunderers in the country, now vested themselves as businesspeople. The leading figure in Lumanhe is the Minister of State and Head of the Military Bureau of the Presidency, General Manuel Hélder Vieira Dias Júnior ‘Kopelipa’, who is the president’s right hand man, in charge of the Angolan Armed Forces, the state security apparatus and the presidential guard.

There is also General Carlos Hendrick Vaal da Silva, Inspector-General of the General Staff of the FAA; General Armando da Cruz Neto, Governor of Benguela province; General João Baptista de Matos, former Chief of the General Staff of the FAA; General Adriano Makevela Mackenzie, Head of the Directorate for Training and Education of the FAA; and the brothers Faceira, generals Luís and António, who were respectively Army Chief of Staff and head of the Special Forces.

PAMBAZUKA NEWS: What is the basis of your evidence?

RAFAEL MARQUES DE MORAIS: For the past five years I have documented cases of mass murder, torture and other heinous crimes committed by diamond companies and the private security companies they hired to protect their business interests. On 15 September 2011, I launched a book in Portugal documenting the abuses that took place in a period of 18 months, from June 2009 to early March 2011. It contains more than 100 cases of murder and over 500 of torture and other cruel acts. Furthermore, most of the surviving victims remain in the area and [are"> willing to speak again, this time to the authorities.

PAMBAZUKA NEWS: Why have you filed these complaints on a personal basis? Is there no organisation in Angola that would take these up? Is it not possible to file a class action suit?

RAFAEL MARQUES DE MORAIS: It is my basic right as an individual, when I have evidence that there have been human rights abuses or other illegal doings, and this right is enshrined in the Angolan constitution.

It is also a way of reassuring the victims that it should be safe to talk to the authorities. Thus, 10 individuals who have experienced human rights abuses also joined me in filing the complaint.

There are many civil society organisations in Angola, but not one committed to researching human rights abuses and regularly disclosing its findings to the public. There is not one single organisation doing this kind of work on the diamond areas.

Should I cross my hands because civil society organisations have not come forth to do the job? Should I cross my hands because donors in the country look the other way and make trouble for those who insist in exposing such realities?

PAMBAZUKA NEWS: Given the seriousness of the allegations you make, should these cases not be taken up by the state prosecutor rather than you taking this up as an individual?

RAFAEL MARQUES DE MORAIS: By filing the complaint to the Attorney-General of the Republic, I am handing over the cases to the state prosecutor, embodied by the Attorney-General of the Republic and his representatives.

The first time I filed a complaint, on 1 April 2006, the authorities simply shelved it without any due process. I simply handed over the evidence to the police and walked away. It will not happen this time. I will fight with my pen and my mouth against what I have documented to be crimes against humanity, which are committed every day in the Lundas.

I have relinquished jobs, basic conditions of work and financial security to let others play their part or for the authorities to be at ease in their obsession to strip me of the basics. But I cannot surrender my moral and civic duties upon having seen, witnessed and interviewed so many victims of the Angolan generals’ greed in continuing to enrich themselves through violence and atrocities.

PAMBAZUKA NEWS: You have published a number of exposés about the collusion between the armed forces, members of the government and corporations. Can you explain for our readers the interconnections between these different parties?

RAFAEL MARQUES DE MORAIS: It all starts with the president who doles out state assets and business concessions to his family, top generals and members of government in a very transparent and illegal fashion. All investments above five million dollars need the approval of the Council of Ministers, and foreign investors are obliged to take in local partners who are put forward by the clientelist management-style of the president. The state security has a department in charge of proposing to the president who should get shares in what business ventures, by way of cementing the clientelist nature of his regime.

PAMBAZUKA NEWS: Don't you put yourself at personal risk by taking this on, especially given the fact that you have previously been harassed and threatened?

RAFAEL MARQUES DE MORAIS: Being silent is the biggest threat to one’s citizenry and human dignity. It is also my moral and civic duty to combat fear which, for decades, has paralysed Angolan society.

The time has come for the leaders to fear for their actions.

PAMBAZUKA NEWS: What do you think the outcome of this is likely to be? Do you think the judiciary is sufficiently independent and courageous enough to try the case?

RAFAEL MARQUES DE MORAIS: First and foremost, there will be a pedagogic outcome. This is an initiative to promote the access of citizens to justice, and to set a new trend in which citizens strive to rescue the state institutions that are being used for the personal interest of the president and his generals.

The judiciary is not independent at all. But it can be challenged too, and this is a most needed course of action to avoid the troubles of the Arab Spring. I mean, Angolans can rescue the state institutions to discharge their duties in a manner that all citizens, including the president and the generals feel protected and deserving of fair trial.

PAMBAZUKA NEWS: Is there a particular reason for taking up these cases now?

RAFAEL MARQUES DE MORAIS: Yes. Prior to publishing the book, on 15 September, back in February, I handed the evidence I had collected to the relevant institutions to take action. I believed, because hardly anyone cares about the fate of those communities, that the government would be responsive and take measures to stop the senseless violence. Then, I learnt that everyone in government is afraid of the power the generals have, particularly on the president. So, I released the book in Lisbon, and upon returning to Angola, two months after I came to realise that the violence continues unabated.

Locals keep asking me when am I going to abandon them, or when will I be co-opted by the system or corrupted to be more explicit. They do not see my risks, the same way I ignored theirs when I asked them to share their stories with me. Once I even had a father and son-in-law telling me openly how the guards of Teleservice, a private security company owned by generals as well, forced them to sodomise each other upon learning of their kinship.

PAMBAZUKA NEWS: If you don't get satisfaction from filing these complaints, what is your plan? Would you see yourself taking the matter up in regional courts or at an international level?

RAFAEL MARQUES DE MORAIS: As an individual, I take one step at a time.

PAMBAZUKA NEWS: Supposing that the judiciary allows the cases to be heard and let us suppose that they find against the defendants. What will be the impact, especially given the fact that these people are intimately linked to the government?

RAFAEL MARQUES DE MORAIS: It would just be doing its job, nothing else. It is the minimum the judiciary should be expected to do. We have had cases in which government officials were convicted of corruption by the Court of Accounts and then promoted by the president.

One must persevere in seeking justice.

PAMBAZUKA NEWS: How do you think the media will portray what you are doing?

RAFAEL MARQUES DE MORAIS: The interest of the remnants of the independent media in Angola is to inform the public about an intractable situation that very few want to address publicly.

PAMBAZUKA NEWS: What other organisations in Angola, on the continent and internationally are you seeking to inform and what kind of support will you be looking for.

RAFAEL MARQUES DE MORAIS: I am not looking for international support. As far as human rights and democratisation are concerned, Angola remains a marginal case for the international community.

This is essentially a call for Angolans to understand that they should not expect any cavalry to come to their rescue. It is up to the citizens to come together, and press for the rule of law, justice and change, after 36 years with the same rulers. Along the way, I have been meeting incredible individuals at home and abroad whose personal support has enabled me to continue with my work, and against all odds. That is what matters the most!

BROUGHT TO YOU BY PAMBAZUKA NEWS

* Download the criminal complaint [PDF"> filed by Marques de Morais.
* Rafael Marques de Morais is an Angolan journalist and writer with a special interest in Angola's political economy and human rights. In 2000 he won the distinguished Percy Qoboza Award for Outstanding Courage from the National Association of Black Journalists (US). In 2006, he received the Civil Courage Prize, from the Train Foundation (US) for his human rights activities.
* Rafael Marques de Morais was interviewed by Firoze Manji.
* Please send comments to editor[at]pambazuka[dot]org or comment online at Pambazuka News.