THE DUTY OF SILENCE by Maika Lobo

In other words, only they have the sacred right to criticize! There are those who are criticizing the MpD because it reacted in a statement, protesting and saying that it would file a complaint with the Social Communication Regulatory Agency. What the MpD did is clear proof of its independence. total of public media bodies.

In fact, when a political party in power, with an absolute majority, issues an official statement criticizing a journalist from a state media outlet and stating that it will file a complaint, the independence of the media in the country is proven. IN OTHER WORDS, THE GOVERNMENT CANNOT DO ANYTHING MORE THAN A SIMPLE CITIZEN DOES WHEN HE FEELS OFFENDED BY A JOURNALIST OR PRESS ORGAN.

Protest or file a complaint. There are people who think that the government should remain silent, quiet and mute. If it doesn't do this, it is not democratic. No and no! In a democracy, those who are offended have the right to react using the legal means available. In Cape Verde, they want to make a point of saying that doing this, denouncing, protesting or complaining is... an act of dictatorship, but when the President of the Republic or the opposition complains, no one says anything, but if it is the MpD that complains, it is... a disgrace. Conveniences, conveniences.

A dictatorship does not file a complaint against a public official. There is no need! In a dictatorship, to begin with, a public official would not even dare to attack the government. And if he did, there would be no complaint or denunciation as ordinary citizens do, because the means used to silence him would be different, which we all know from the single-party period. Anyone who is even slightly familiar with authoritarian regimes knows how to silence journalists in the silence of the night.