Luanda, 27 May (ANGOP) – President João Lourenço Wednesday in Luanda apologized to the Nation for the developments of the 27 May 1977 that led to the summary execution of an indeterminate number of Angolans.
« (…) We come before the victims of the conflicts and of the Angolans in general, on behalf of the Angolan State, to humbly apologize and beg for forgiveness for the big evil of the summary executions at that time and in those circumstances,” said the President of the Republic in his address to the Nation.
In a message to the Nation on the victims of the political conflicts, in the period between 11 November 1975 and 4 April 2002, the President said this public apologies are not just simple words.
He said they (words) reflect “our sincere repentance and will to put an end to the anguish that over these years the families carried within themselves, due to the lack of information about the whereabouts of their beloved ones,” he stated.
On the other hand, President João Lourenço spoke of the need for a continued work to definitely heal the wounds still open as a result of the Angolan political conflicts.
He recalled that on 4 April 2002, the country started process of national reconciliation, widely applauded and encouraged, noting that it should be continued, with the commitment to permanently renew it towards its strengthening and consolidation.
To this end, he added, the Commission for the Reconciliation in Memory of the Victims of the Political Conflicts, since the National Independence, was created, under the Presidential Decree of 16 May 2019.
The President recognised that the Commission has been working in an environment of harmony with representatives of political parties in Parliament, members of civil society organisations and families of the victims.
« At that time, it looked as though it was an exercise of cosmetics that had no clear aim to reach, but bit by bit the scepticism of many gave in to the hope that the process seemed to be a serious one,” stressed the Head of State.
On Thursday (27) it will be 44 years since the tragic developments that plunged the country into a great sorrow, just two years after the proclamation of the National Independence.
To President João Lourenço, at that time no one expected that the internal divisions within the liberation movements would be brought into the country in the post-independence period, with such tragic consequences that left deep wounds in the hearts of the Angolans.
In this regard, he recalled that a group of Angolans attempted a failed coup d’Etat , killing high ranking members of the instituted power, with stress to minister Saidy Vieira Dias Mingas, commanders Paulo Silva Mungongo « Dangereux », José Gabriel Paiva « Bula », Eugénio Veríssimo da Costa « Nzaji », and others.
He admitted that, seeking to restore the constitutional order, the reaction of the authorities was disproportional and taken to the extreme, involving summary executions of an indeterminate number of Angolans, many of them innocent.
The President considered that in the face of adverse situations and extreme tension, a State should always act with ponderation and restraint, given its responsibilities with the Constitution, the law and human lives.
« Today we can say that confidence has prevailed over scepticism and that the success of the Commission’s work has encouraged the Head of State to set the step he is announcing today,” he said.
To the President, this is no time to point fingers to seek culprits and everyone should assume their responsibilities.
