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E-mail: pubaff@ibb.gov

Washington, D.C., June 22, 2000 -- Four armed men attempted to enter forcibly the Voice of America’s Angola Project office in Luanda at approximately 3:00 a.m. local time on Wednesday, June 21, and again at approximately 1:00 p.m. the same day.  The men, dressed in uniforms of the Angolan armed forces (FAA), threatened the guards at gunpoint and succeeded in getting through the gates.  The assailants were unable to gain access to the VOA office.  At present VOA personnel are reported to be unharmed.

“The free flow of information and news is vital to the development and welfare of any society,” said Sanford Ungar, VOA’s Director.  “As journalists, we will not be intimidated nor will we be silenced by these actions in Angola or any where else.”

While this is the first time VOA’s office has been threatened at gunpoint during its now four year-old operation in Luanda, there have been assaults, threats, and harassment of VOA and other non-state media journalists in recent months.  Earlier this year, Angolan journalist Rafael Marques was tried and convicted, following six-months of imprisonment, for writing an article that accused the Angolan President of corruption.  Last summer, Radio Ecclesia personnel were detained and threatened, and equipment was removed following broadcast of an interview with UNITA rebel leaders.  Earlier last year, two Angolan military men assaulted VOA reporter Josefa Lamberga while she was reporting on a military recruitment drive.  This year the Committee to Protect Journalists named Angolan President Jose Eduardo dos Santos as one of the top ten enemies of the press.

VOA broadcasts Angolan news and information produced by Angolans. The half-hour daily Portuguese broadcast, Linha Directa, Linha Aberta, covers a range of subjects including politics, economics, health, and science.  A recent survey of five major metropolitan areas indicates that over 58 percent of the population listen to the broadcast on a regular basis.

Contact:  Joe O’Connell
Phone: (202)619-2538