T he political and legal context within which the Angolan media operates can be characterised as difficult, considering the following: • The dichotomy in the transition to democracy after 27 years of civil war, with relative freedoms in the capital, and ignorance and violations of freedoms in rural areas; • The indefinite postponement of the general elections and all related political and legal measures; • Human rights violations – such as freedom of expression and demonstration, the right to accommodation, and access to information – and the concomitant absence of adequate response from the authorities; • The protracted process of media law reform; • Judicial appointments made politically, without taking into consideration the recommendations of civil society; • A lack of pluralism, with public media becoming government media, and disturbing signs of political intolerance, particularly in rural areas; • Insufficient unity and consistency among the political opposition and civil society in search of alternative platforms; • Social erosion as a result of poverty, corruption, illiteracy and political violence. Government and the media Although there were no notable altercations between the media and government in 2005, it is important to underline the constant ambivalence of the executive towards the public media on the one hand and the private media on the other. This attitude is clear in the transformation of the public media into government media. The frequent denunciations of corruption by the private media were usually not clarified by the government, with the authorities maintaining that such allegations were “misinformation” spread by foreigners. MISA Angola reported a number of incidents against media freedom, including censorship of the state media and journalists being threatened by government officials. Promises made by the authorities to assist the print media with tax exemptions on paper were not fulfilled. Although the government considered numerous innovative proposals in the new media bill as “important achievements”, the private media and institutions such as MISA Angola and the Catholic Church still regarded these as “insufficient” and not conducive to a free media environment. Legal situation The legal framework for the media remained unchanged during 2005, following the late discussion of the media bill, which was not passed by parliament during this year. As a result, journalists continued to operate under fear of prosecution, victimisation and attack. Media practitioners and civil society raised their concerns about the prospective bill allowing the executive, and in specific situations parliament, to legislate on rights-related matters, freedoms and constitutional guarantees. Concerns were also raised about the concepts of national security and state secrets, as defined in the bill. It was felt that many issues that should be integrated in the media law bill, especially relating to international principles on media freedom and freedom of expression, would be excluded. Constitution Freedom of expression and press freedom suffered setbacks in 2005, despite these being guarSo This Is Democracy? 2005 -28- Media Institute of Southern Africa