Attacks on the Press in 2010 - Committee to Protect Journalists

<strong>Attacks</strong> on the Press in 2010A state security bill passed by parliament in November offered governmentofficials a new shield against public scrutiny. The measure includesa provision barring “words, images, writings, or sound” that insult thepresident, the state, or official institutions, according to news reports. Thelegislation, which took effect in late year, imposes prison penalties of up totwo years for violations.In June, a new and previously unknown local company called MediaInvestments S.A. purchased in one swoop three leading independentnewspapers, all of which had actively reported on government corruption.The company, which did not disclose its principals, acquired SemanárioAngolense, A Capital, and a 40 percent stake of Novo Jornal, according toReuters. The company did not comment on its ownership.Veteran journalist Reginaldo Silva, an independent member of theMPLA-dominated media regulator, the National Council of Social Communication,told CPJ that nondisclosure of shareholder information violatedgovernment regulations. “The law says that when you buy a newspaper ora radio station, you must provide to the council the names of your shareholders,even if you have a front company or an anonymous enterprise. Butthe law is silent on sanctions, so we have no power to enforce it,” he said.With its purchases, Media Investments S.A. became Angola’s thirdlargestmedia company, Reuters reported. Journalists speculated that thenew ownership was allied with the ruling party, pointing to the publications’newly timid coverage. They also pointed to an August episode inwhich an edition of A Capital never hit the newsstands; the companycalled it a “technical” problem, but local sources said management hadobjected to a story critical of a presidential speech on housing. The companydid not comment on the speculation.Semanário Angolense, founded in 2003, was the country’s largest circulationnewspaper and one of its most critical, according to CPJ research.Editor Felisberto da Grâça Campos, who had been imprisoned in the pastfor his critical reporting, told CPJ that the newspaper had faced financialpressures because the government had begun withholding state advertisingand pressuring private businesses not to advertise there. He noted thatgovernment advertising had returned to the paper since the sale.Journalists were targeted in a series of attacks in September and October,all of which went unpunished. On September 5, gunmen killed AlbertoGraves Chakussanga, 32, presenter of a weekly news and call-in programon Radio Despertar, a station aligned with the opposition UNITA party. Hewas found with a bullet in his back in his home in Luanda’s Viana district,with only a bottle of cooking gas reported missing. Chakussanga’s program26