Africa-Press – Angola. Cape Verdean President José Maria Neves recalled, in the city of Praia, the “extraordinarily important” presence of António Agostinho Neto in the country, understanding that the archipelago would be “poorer” without the contribution of Angola and its first Chief of Staff State.
“In decisive moments, Angola made an important contribution. Therefore, without Angola, without the friendship of Agostinho Neto – and he left his fingerprints on the new Angolan leaders – today Cape Verde would certainly be a poorer country”, underlined the Cape Verdean head of state, quoted Friday by Lusa, during the launch of a book about Agostinho Neto’s passage through Cape Verde, in the 1960s.
Entitled “Agostinho Neto in Cape Verde: Angola, Nôs Lágrima Ê Igual”, the work was organized by the Embassy of Angola in Cape Verde, as part of the commemorations of the Centenary of the birth of the first President of Angola, and compiles testimonies of several Cape Verdean personalities. Verdeans, among them José Maria Neves.
“Agostinho Neto laid many stones in Cape Verde (…) His presence here was extraordinarily important”, recalled José Maria Neves, understanding that the work represents the “duty of memory” that everyone should have and the need to know the history of those who at various times they played a decisive role in the liberation struggle of African peoples.
Understanding that it is a pride and honor to honor António Agostinho Neto, the President of the archipelago said that he was “a great figure” in Cape Verde’s history, but also that he had an important role in the Independence of Angola and on the African continent.
The title of the book “Angola, Nôs Lágrima Ê Igual” is a verse from a poem by Cape Verdean composer Tonecas Marta, to express the idea of a “strong link” between the two countries, according to the Angolan ambassador to Cape Verde, Júlia Machado, despite the song having been sung when Agostinho Neto died, on September 10, 1979, in Moscow.
In this sense, he said that Agostinho Neto left a “very strong legacy” of the need for the two countries to walk together, in a new context, now of development and prosperity. of joy”, expressed the diplomat, for whom the book is also the “obligation” to pass on the witness to the new generations of the “unquestionable legacy” of António Agostinho Neto, who completed 100 years of his birth on 17 September. A contemporary of Agostinho Neto, the former Cape Verdean President and president of the Amílcar Cabral Foundation, Pedro Pires, is another of the personalities who also gives his testimony in the book, as he understands that the honoree is one of the main protagonists of the People’s Liberation Struggle. Africans under Portuguese rule. In this sense, Valuing ourselves means valuing our work, valuing what we do. This tribute to Dr. Agostinho Neto goes precisely in that sense, to value Neto, value his companions, value the people of Angola and, finally, value the fruit of all this that is the sovereign State of Angola”, said Pedro Pires, 88 years old. Valuing ourselves means valuing our work, valuing what we do. This tribute to Dr. Agostinho Neto goes precisely in that sense, to value Neto, value his companions, value the people of Angola and, finally, value the fruit of all this that is the sovereign State of Angola”, said Pedro Pires, 88 years old.
Silvino Manuel da Luz, Osvaldo Lopes da Silva, Manuel Rodrigues Boal, Onésimo Silveira, Fátima Fernandes, Arménio Vieira and Luiz Andrade Silva are the other Cape Verdean personalities who give their testimony about the passage of Agostinho Neto through the archipelago.
After being imprisoned in Luanda, the then doctor and politician was deported to Cape Verde in the early 1960s, continuing to practice medicine on the islands of Santo Antão and Santiago, before being transferred to the Aljube prisons in Lisbon.
The name of Agostinho Neto was attributed to the largest hospital in Cape Verde, in Praia, there is a street named after him in the city of Mindelo, in São Vicente, and a bust in the city of Ponta do Sol, in Santo Antão.
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