The press and its enemies

EARLIER this year, the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists listed Angola's president, José Eduardo dos Santos, among its “top ten enemies of the press”. With a certain chutzpah, the Angolan government invited the committee to come to see for itself how wrong it was. Members are expected to arrive soon, just as a two-month public debate ends. The public, or at least those angry or optimistic enough to bother, had been asked to debate the draft of a harsh new press law which, if enacted as it is, could ensure that President dos Santos permanently keeps his ranking among the enemies of the press.