'You are a powerful but insecure man' – letter to the Angolan president
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http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jul/22/angola-letter-dos-santos-rafael-marques-de-morais Version 0 of 1. Dear President José Eduardo dos Santos, Since we are unlikely to meet, I have decided to attempt a conversation with you by this medium. After 36 years of your presidency, it’s time to talk. For a while during my childhood, you cultivated a fear of yourself. In those days I knew when you had scheduled an outing from Futungo de Belas, your official residence. On these occasions, around midnight or later, I would feel the house trembling and my mother, in alarm, would come to take me from my bedroom into the yard. Related: Angolan journalist ‘close to settling’ with generals he accused on blood diamonds The presidential guard would move a Soviet tank on a transporter to Rua da Liberdade (Freedom Street), where they would manoeuvre it into the short, narrow lane alongside our house. Our home was extremely fragile and the bricks corroded by salt – we lived by Samba beach – and if the tank had been just a few centimetres off target, it would have been goodbye forever to my family. We slept in the yard those nights. I didn’t like you because of the way our lives were put at risk each time you left your palace. I would pray that you would not have to go out. In 1992 I had the privilege of going to your birthday party at Futungo de Belas for the first time. I had high expectations. When you left the party, I saw a minister giving instructions for an arrangement of lobsters to be taken to his car and a general purloining an expensive bottle of whisky. The country’s rulers and their hangers-on were looting the leftovers of the banquet. I left Futungo de Belas with a bad impression of the people who surrounded you, and who continue to surround you in government. If even they could not resist taking food and drinks from the palace, how could public assets be entrusted to their care? From that point on, I had no more illusions about you or about your henchmen. I have described these two episodes as a cry from the heart of someone who, along with millions of Angolan citizens, has had many negative experiences of the way in which you exercise power. I have often been puzzled by the way in which you feel threatened by everyday expressions of discontent by your citizens, and have wondered how I should feel about what I’ve suffered at the hands of your regime. I wonder what goes through the heads of millions of my fellow citizens, who share my experiences – or worse. Only the right to free expression will save us from the danger of bottled-up grievances turning into hatred, frustration and vengeance. Newton’s third law As the highest judge in the land, you must retain the moral authority to correct mistakes made by institutions The respect that you deserve is proportionate to the respect that you have for those whom you rule. As a trained engineer, Mr President, you will be familiar with Newton’s third law: “For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.” In 1999, when you ordered that I be jailed because I had written calling you a corrupt dictator, I began to understand you better: you are a powerful, but insecure man. I appreciated that your secretary visited me to enquire about my state of health and wellbeing while I was in prison. Despite the horrors that I endured there, that visit left me with at least one more positive memory of my time in detention. But now, Mr President, do not send your secretary to enquire about the health of the young activists who you have imprisoned. The attorney general , General João Maria de Sousa, took it upon himself to announce publicly that the activists were preparing a coup d’état against you. As a matter of fact, 13 of the protesters were arrested apparently “red-handed” while reading and discussing a book on non-violent resistance. In arresting them, General João Maria de Sousa destroyed what little credibility his office still had. De Sousa is a bad man, not fit to serve you. Discrediting the judicial system does not serve your security. To free these citizens would be an act of political courage and constitutional morality Mr President, take note. The judicial system is the only thing able to protect you against barbarity if there ever is a regime change. The judicial system is the fine line that separates civilisation from savagery. Do not compromise the judicial system. Do not compromise civilisation and law. I ask you, Mr President, to consider my request to order the unconditional release of the following citizens: Afonso Matias “Mbanza Hamza”, Albano Bingobingo, Arante Kivuvu, Benedito Jeremias, Domingos da Cruz,Fernando Tomás “Nicola Radical”, Hitler Jessia Chiconda “Samusuku”, Inocêncio Brito “Drux”, José Hata “Cheik Hata”, Luaty Beirão, Nelson Dibango, Nito Alves, Nuno Álvaro Dala, Osvaldo Caholo, Sedrick de Carvalho and Captain Zenóbio Zumba. To free these citizens would be an act of political courage and constitutional morality. As the highest judge in the land, you must retain the moral authority to correct mistakes made by institutions that could damage the rule of law and harm the relationship between state and society. Sovereignty resides in decisions of exception, not in bureaucratic conformity. Sovereignty is the affirmation of the people’s will through the bodies of state. Related: Reading the revolution: the book club that terrified the Angolan regime In return for your statesmanlike gesture in defence of the constitution, I will offer you my modest thanks and will also have the honour to invite you to a vegetarian lunch. I guarantee that I am a good cook and a good raconteur to keep you entertained over lunch. Mr President, surprise the nation. Surprise us positively. Yours, Rafael |