On Wednesday, May 1, Cape Verde will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the liberation of political prisoners from the Tarrafal concentration camp, a symbol of the oppression and violence of the Portuguese colonial dictatorship.
The release of regime opponents occurred a few days after the overthrow of the fascist regime by the April 25, 1974 revolution in Portugal.
To celebrate the 50th anniversary, the President of Cape Verde invited and announced the presence of heads of state from four countries of origin of political prisoners, including Angola, Guinea-Bissau and Portugal.
The program is intended to be “a milestone in the history of Cape Verde” and “an important chapter with implications for national liberation movements in the former Portuguese colonies in Africa,” he said.
“The celebration in what is now a museum is an act of remembrance and a contribution to educating recent generations about the horrors of the colonial past,” the president explained.
The morning includes the unveiling of a 50th anniversary plaque, speeches from heads of state and a conference on the countryside.
Luis Fonseca, former Cape Verdean ambassador and executive secretary of the Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries (CPLP) between 2004 and 2008, will speak as a representative of political prisoners at a ceremony marking the 50th anniversary of the liberation of Tarrafal next Wednesday.
Following an attack by PIDE, the regime’s political police, Luis Fonseca was part of the first group of Cape Verdean political prisoners to arrive in Tarrafal (1970-1973).
“Tarrafal is actually a symbol of Portuguese fascism,” “the denial of rights,” he said in an interview with Lusa on the 50th anniversary of the liberation.
“There is a duty of remembrance to the fighters who gave their lives for freedom,” meaning that the site “should not be forgotten for generations because it represents the struggle of the peoples of four countries.”
After more institutional moments, Wednesday afternoon will feature a show featuring artists from four countries: Mario Lucio (Cape Verde), Teresa Salgueiro (Portugal), Paulo Flores (Angola) and Karina Gomes (Guinea-Bissau).
The May 1 celebrations are joined by other initiatives announced in March by Cape Verde’s Ministry of Culture and Portuguese Cooperation, culminating in an international symposium scheduled for May 9.
The former Tarrafal concentration camp was built in 1936 and received its first 152 political prisoners on October 29 of that year, operating until 1956, imprisoning Portuguese anti-fascists.
It reopened in 1962 as Campo de Traballo de Chao Bom and was intended to imprison and “re-educate” anti-colonialists from Angola, Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde.
In total, more than 500 people were kept in the “slow death camp”: 340 anti-fascists and 230 anti-colonialists.
A memorable tombstone erected inside the field bears the names of the 36 people who died there: 32 Portuguese, two Guineans and two Angolans.
After deactivation, the complex functioned as a military training center, since 2000 it has housed the Museum of the Resistance, and in 2004 it was classified as a National Cultural Heritage and included in the United Nations Educational and Scientific Organization’s Indicative List of Cape Verdean Heritage Sites. and culture (UNESCO).
The entrance to the course is located next to the avenue and bicycle path leading to Tarrafal de Santiago, a municipality with 17 thousand inhabitants on the largest island of Cape Verde, which today is also synonymous with one of the most beautiful beaches on the island. Santiago, concentrating several hotel units.
Tarrafal is on the northwestern tip, opposite the capital Praia, about 70 kilometers away, a two-hour drive on roads that circle the island, either through the interior or along the east coast.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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