Two journalists murdered

Two Angolan journalists have been killed in the space of eight days,
according to Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF).
"These murders are a reminder of how Angola was an especially dangerous
country for the press in the 1990s," says RSF.

Augusto Sebastiao Domingos Pedro, a correspondent for the state-owned
"Jornal de Angola" in the western province of Bengo, was beaten to death
after an argument with a driver, Bento Valente, at a petrol station in
Luanda on 8 July. He had worked for the newspaper, the country's only
daily, since 1997.

Meanwhile, Benicio Wedeinge, director of the public television station
TPA in the southern province of Cunene, was killed by two shots fired
by an unidentified intruder who broke into his home in Onjiva in the
early hours of 16 July, according to his niece. The authorities have not
yet arrested anyone in the case.

Avelino Miguel, editor of the "Jornal de Angola" and president of the
Union of Angolan Journalists (SJA), believes the sudden surge of
violence is part of a strategy to intimidate the media in the run-up to the
country's first elections in 15 years, which the government has promised
without so far setting a date. RSF notes that press freedom is severely
limited by the state's near monopoly over the media and strict
defamation laws.

"The situation of the press has nonetheless improved considerably since
the end of the civil war in 2002 and President José Eduardo Dos Santos
has announced his intention to open up the media to the private
sector," adds RSF.