Lubango - The need to improve the training of staff in the use of work instruments during demonstrations and the acquisition of less lethal materials, as a way to avoid mistakes, were recognized Friday in Lubango by the commander of the National Police in Huíla, commissioner Divaldo Martins.
The commissioner made statement during a meeting on citizenship and public security promoted by the national NGO UFOLO, which aimed to promote a dialogue between civil society and security forces, that was attended by the social activists who complained of excessive force and violence by the police during the demonstrations and the degrading state of the cells in the police stations where they were kept.
He said that crowd control is an exercise that requires "a lot" of training, capacity for dialogue in which the police have instruments, such as animals, weapons, among others, used in the protest, but does not make them violent, as the demonstrators say.
He acknowledged that in some situations there have been mistakes, some resulting from the stress situation of a demonstration, but the citizen has a responsibility for not complying with the decision of the public administration, since when it comes to an unauthorized demonstration, the forces must intervene.
He explained that using the stick to hit an individual's body, in order to stop a behavior or to prevent a negative action, is within what the corporation is doing, within what is needed, otherwise they would not have the materials. "The question is how to use these instruments.
Maltreatment in itself is to be avoided, what sometimes exists is a confusion between force and violence, in an arrest where there is illicit behavior in the middle of a demonstration, from the point of view of security, there is a need to make the arrest," he continued.
He stressed that the staff always try to act within the principles of legality, use proportional and minimum force, taking into account the interests, considering an action that fundamentally safeguards public order and the dignity of the people.
