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Viewing cable 06LUANDA577, PDAS Pittman in Angola: Elections and the Press

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
06LUANDA577 2006-06-06 15:41 2011-08-25 00:00 UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY Embassy Luanda
VZCZCXYZ0035
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHLU #0577/01 1571541
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 061541Z JUN 06
FM AMEMBASSY LUANDA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 2919
INFO RUCNSAD/SOUTHERN AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY
UNCLAS LUANDA 000577 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR AF/PDAS; AF/S DMOZENA AND JMALONEY 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
 
 
TAGS: PGOV KPAO PHUM EAID AO
SUBJECT: PDAS Pittman in Angola: Elections and the Press 
 
 
1. (SBU) Summary: During meetings with international and 
Angola NGOs working in democracy building and election 
support PDAS Pittman heard of the challenges faced in 
preparing for the upcoming Angolan elections; namely 
maintaining the momentum and enthusiasm for elections when 
there is no announced election date; disseminating 
information into the provinces; building provincial capacity 
to staff voter registration brigades and need to improve the 
analysis in media coverage of political events. 
Representatives of the government-owned and independent 
media discussed the limits of the new media law, the 
continuing need for USG support of free media programs and 
the challenges of maintaining journalistic integrity when 
working for the government-owned media.  End Summary. 
 
2. (SBU) PDAS Bobby Pittman met on May 20, 2006, with 
representatives from the international and Angolan NGO 
community working in democracy building, good governance and 
election support.  Representatives of the National 
Democratic Institute (NDI), the International Republican 
Institute (IRI), Search for Common Ground (SFCG), Open 
Society Institute (ODI) and the Angolan Electoral Platform 
provided a quick overview of their programs in Angola and 
discussed their current challenges.  PDAS Pittman held a 
second meeting with Angolan journalists representing the 
state-owned and independent media for an overview of the 
working environment and issues confronting journalists in 
Angola. 
 
Elections: Preparations Started But No End Date in Sight 
--------------------------------------------- ----------- 
3. (SBU) Regarding elections, the single greatest challenge 
universally mentioned is the lack of an election calendar. 
While the government has taken positive steps to begin 
preparations for elections, including initiating training 
for voter registration technicians, the lack of an end-date 
has a dampening effect on maintaining enthusiasm and 
momentum for elections with the general population. 
Representatives noted that the opposition parties lacked a 
strong voice in calling for elections. 
 
4. (SBU) The NGO reps also noted that there seemed to be 
three Angolas: Luanda, the provinces and the municipalities. 
They said it is relatively easy to get the message out in 
Luanda; with additional efforts one can reach most of the 
provincial capitals, but it is very difficult to reach the 
municipalities.  This difficulty was attributed to poor 
communication by the provincial governments to their 
municipal leadership and the municipalities' reluctance to 
participate in programs such as voter education without the 
direct authorization of the provincial governments. 
 
5. (SBU) The NGO reps were slightly pessimistic about the 
GRA's commitment to elections in 2007.  While buoyed by the 
training which has already occurred, they commented that 
with each government announcement the end date appears to be 
pushed back bit by bit.  They also mentioned concern that 
the voter registration and electoral system which will be 
used is a highly technical system dependent on computer 
skills and a steady electrical supply to run computers. 
Most believe the provincial capacity to meet IT and manpower 
needs is weak.  The NGOs commented that when it became 
apparent that elections weren't going to occur in 2006 
parties and provincial groups weren't very worried as they 
weren't ready for campaigning and training.  Now, however, 
they believe that if elections seem to be slipping into 
2007, provincial groups and others will be more apt to 
express concern. 
 
Angolan Civil Society: An Uphill Battle for Legitimacy 
--------------------------------------------- ---------- 
6. (SBU) The Angolan Electoral Platform is carrying out an 
ambitious program in all eighteen provinces with the goals 
of 1) educating the people on the voter registration 
process; 2) monitoring the election process from beginning 
to end; 3) advocating on behalf of the people and 4) 
training the trainers on election monitoring.  Its 
challenges include the lack of human resources such as 
lawyers and journalists and the lack of financial resources 
to pay such talent.  The Platform rep commented that, in 
addition to weak capacity and limited resources, Angolan 
civil society in general suffers from the government's 
belief that civil society equals opposition. 
 
Improving Press Coverage of Election Issues 
-------------------------------------------- 
7. (SBU) NGO reps commented that there had been marked 
improvements in the press in the last few years in Angola 
but there was still a lack of sophistication on covering 
electoral issues.  They said that two or three years ago the 
words, `corruption' and `government' would never have been 
used together in an article; today this is done.  They also 
said no journalists had been arrested in the last eighteen 
months.  However, they noted that, as a general rule of 
thumb, for every half-column devoted to opposition parties 
there were four columns devoted to the MPLA.  They believe 
that uniformly the press lacks investigative technique in 
presenting articles, commenting that there is rarely any 
analysis of the event or speech included in the reporting, 
but rather a verbatim transcription of any 
announcement/speech. 
 
8. (SBU) In a separate meeting (not for attribution) with 
representatives of the government and independent print and 
broadcast media, journalists thanked the PDAS for USG 
assistance in journalism capacity building and lobbied for 
additional funding to continue press strengthening.  In 
particular, the journalists noted that with the election 
date pushed back from the previous expected date of fall 
2006, independent press would require additional funding for 
election-related programs. Commenting on the management of 
the state-owned media, journalists noted the link between 
the ruling party and the media management, and said that 
journalists were often promoted to higher positions because 
of their loyalty to management and not because of their 
professional capacity. 
 
9. (SBU) The journalists also raised the issue of the media 
law which is awaiting approval by the President.  The law 
allows private ownership of FM radio stations, though it 
prohibits the use of repeaters, thereby requiring the 
stations to establish local stations in each province. 
However, the NGO groups mentioned that direct satellite 
television and internet cafes in provincial capitals also 
help in disseminating information. 
 
10. (SBU) Comment: While both groups voice criticisms of the 
state of play on elections and journalism, both groups were 
equally vocal in noting the positive changes that have 
occurred since the end of the civil war.  Nonetheless, the 
clear message was that US and international support for and 
interest in the Angolan election process is welcome and 
needed. 
 
11. (U) PDAS Pittman has cleared on this cable. 
 
EFIRD