Citing the Associated Press (AP), a 30 December 1999 IRIN report states that "Angola police used batons to break up an anti-poverty march in Luanda"; the marchers intended to church authorities to help persuade the government to address poverty in Angola. (IRIN 30 Dec. 1999).

Country Reports 1999, without specifically naming the Angolan National Police (ANP), states the followings: "police frequently participate in shakedowns, muggings, carjackings, and killings" (25 Feb. 2000, Section A); "persons taken into police custody often are reported to disappear without a trace, particularly in rural areas" (ibid., Section. B) and, that "police used torture and induced confessions frequently during investigations, and rarely, if ever, are punished for such abuses" (ibid., Section C).

For further information on the implication of Angolan security forces and the police in human rights abuses during the last decade, please refer to different international human rights body's reports, available in all Regional Documentation Centres.

Information on whether people are hired as prison guards for police detention facilities and information on the Third and Seventh stations in Luanda could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

Reference

Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1999. 25 February 2000. http://www.state.gov/www/global/human_rights/1999_hrp_report//angola.html [Accessed 5 Apr. 2000].

Integrated Regional Information Network (IRIN). 30 December 1999. Angola: Police Use Batons to Break Up Anti-Poverty March. http://www.reliefweb.int/IRIN/sa/countrystories/other/19991230.htm [Accessed 10 Apr. 1999]

Additional Sources Consulted

Africa Confidential 1999-February 2000.

L'Autre Afrique 1999-Janaury 2000.

IRB Databases.

Country Reports 1999. February 2000. Electronic version.

Resources Centre country file. Angola. 1999 to present.

Keesing's Record of World Events 1999.

Le nouvel Afrique-Asie 1999-February 2000.

LEXIS/NEXIS.

West Africa 1999.

World News Connection (WNC).

Internet sites, including:

Africa Intelligence.

Africa News Service.

Amnesty International Online.

Human Rights Watch Online.

International Crisis Group (ICG).

Missionary Service News Agency (MISNA).

ReliefWeb.