Angola Cracking Down on Social Dissent

Angolan security officials arrested at least five people March 7 in anticipation of a protest from a group calling itself the Angolan People's Revolution. Angola's ruling party, the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), has been wary of unrest since the end of the country's 27-year-long civil war in 2002, a sentiment that has been amplified since the beginning of protests in North Africa and the Middle East. The conditions in Angola are indeed conducive for protests, but the country's opposition is extremely weak and fractured, and potential protesters know that the ruling party will use harsh tactics to keep its grip on power.