Marking the 50th anniversary of the massacre in Wiriamu, Mozambique, the president of the republic this Friday stated that it is time to “fully accept what was the unacceptable and terrible work of some” but that he held Portugal as a whole responsible .
In a note published in Place of the presidency of the republic entitled “It’s time for us to adopt Wiriyamu”, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa points out that “today has passed [sexta-feira] fifty years after the Wiriyamu massacre,” which took place in that village in northern Mozambique on December 16, 1972.
The head of state recalls that at that time “the year 1972 was coming to an end, a decisive year for the fall of the dictatorship”, after the “institutional blockade of the regime with the frustrated revision of the 1933 constitution” became apparent in 1971.
“In 1972, the preservation of the head of state, the acceleration of the fracture of the liberal wing, the growth of the democratic opposition, student movements, economic and social movements, some of them already in armed action, and the distancing of Catholic sectors – culminating in the vigil of Capela do Rato – accelerated this terminal period,” recalled the head of state.
With regard to the colonial war in Africa, the head of state recalls that “the deteriorating situation in Guinea-Bissau, which would not stop with the assassination of Amílcar Cabral, and in Mozambique announced the days of the end”.
In this context, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa argues that “Wiriyamu was a sign of desperation in those days of the end”, in “the way he shook all the classic arguments of the official position of power in Lisbon, as well as the supposed legitimization of the regime and the colonial situation”.
“The outrageous violation of human rights, the scale on which it took place and the frustrated attempt to cover it up – with which we are dealing, with which we remember in the censorship press those times – left the power of Lisbon without foundation, slammed military officials in Mozambique, even more military fighters alerted and created decisive focus for the ever-closer Movement of Captains,” the note reads.
The President of the Republic states that “Wiriyamu, both internally and externally, in itself and in the subsequent knowledge of its contours – was a mortal blow to the dictatorship and to its African policies and an unbearable affront” to the Portuguese armed forces and to Portugal .
“It’s time we fully accept what was the unacceptable and terrible work of some, but ultimately made Portugal responsible as a whole”concludes the note.
During a visit to Mozambique in September this year, the Prime Minister, António Costa, apologized for the massacre in Wiriamu, which he classified as an “unforgivable act that dishonors Portugal’s history”.
“In this year 2022, almost 50 years after this terrible day of December 16, 1972, I cannot but invoke and bow the memory of the victims of the Wiriamu massacre, an unforgivable act that dishonors our history,” said the prime minister. then minister.
At a dinner in Maputo hosted by the President of the Republic of Mozambique, Filipe Nyusi, Costa pointed out that “a relationship as intense and long lasting” as that between the two countries “is inevitably marked by diversity, the diversity of encounters and disagreements, of slavery and liberation, of progress and poverty, of war and peace, for moments that we certainly want to remember, but also for moments and events that we have a duty to never, ever forget”.
“Relationships between friends are made in this way, they are made by the kindness of those who are victims and do not remember, but also those who have a duty to never let people forget what they have done and in the light of history one must repent,” he stressed.
The Prime Minister believed that this had to happen because Portugal managed to reinvent its history with the overthrow of the dictatorship, “which opened the doors to peace so that the independence of Mozambique finally dedicated our relations as friendly relations between sovereign countries, free and Directly”.
Today, the President of the Republic’s Assembly, Augusto Santos Silva, also celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Wiriamu massacre, declaring that it is important to ask forgiveness for the approximately 400 civilian victims.
“Today, 50 years have passed since the Wiriamu massacre and that fact must be remembered. It is a fact that shames us, but it must not be forgotten,” emphasized Santos Silva.
The Speaker of Parliament believed that “today is the day to commemorate the massacre, ask forgiveness from the victims and honor them, as Fr. [Adrian] Hastings, whom they denounced, and also to honor April’s captains.”
On December 16, 1972 in In Wiriyamu (Mozambique), about 400 unarmed civilians were killed by Portuguese soldiers.
Source: DN
