Luanda — The opposition UNITA party announced Tuesday the intention to suspend its participation in the Commission for the Implementation of the Reconciliation Plan in Memory of Victims of Political Conflicts (CIVICOP).

The announcement was made by this organisation's leader Adalberto Costa Júnior, who said that the intention follows an alleged "lack of respect for CIVICOP's regulations and the objectives that led to its creation".

In its statement released in Luanda, the major opposition party in Angola alleges that the Angolan government was consenting to what it called "violations of the spirit of peace and national reconciliation".

Meanwhile, the politician defended the need to set up a truth and reconciliation commission, so that Angolans have the courage to address, with shared responsibility, all their liabilities.

In his speech, Adalberto Costa Júnior apologised the nation for the wrongdoing UNITA has done during its struggle and resistance.

Under the guidance of the Angolan President João Lourenço, the CIVICOP was created in 2019 to ensure a general plan aimed at honouring the victims of the political conflicts in Angola between 11 November 1975 (Independence Day) and 4 April 2002 (the end of the war).

CIVICOP covers various aspects, including the issuing of death certificates and the construction of a single memorial for all the victims of the political conflicts in the country. JFS/AL/VM/DAN/NIC