Africa-Press – Angola. Some inhabitants of Malanje province defended, this Tuesday, greater publicity of the 4th of January and that the date be declared a national holiday, in memory of the victims.
The country marks the event as a date of national celebration, enshrining it as “Colonial Repression Martyrs’ Day”.
Speaking to press, regarding the date, the interviewees were unanimous in stating that since it was not a national holiday, it did not discredit the heroes of January 4, 1961.
“They gave their lives so that Angola could become an independent country today”, said Adelino Ngunza, a survivor.
To honor the victims of colonial repression, elder Manuel Nguge advocated the construction of a memorial and pilot neighborhood in the locality of Teka-dia-kinda.
“It is a promise left by the then President of the Republic, António Agostinho Neto”, recalled Alberto Tomás, another elder.
On the occasion, he warned of the importance of building more schools, health posts, roads, as well as electricity and water systems in the locality, which is 20 kilometers from Quela, the nearest municipality.
Government promises more support
The director of the Provincial Office for Former Combatants and Veterans of the Fatherland, Ananias Gomes, said that the population of Baixa de Cassanje has not been forgotten.
“Efforts are underway so that there is a great recognition and dignity of those who fought for the liberation of the country”, he added.
This year, the central act of the Day of the Martyrs of the Colonial Repression takes place in the municipality of Quela, province of Malanje, under the motto
“January 4, 1961 to January 4, 2023 – Let us honor the Brave Combatants of the Anti-Colonial Struggle”.
About the event
On January 4, 1961, Portuguese settlers repressed around 20,000 Angolan peasants, in what became known as the Baixa de Cassanje Massacre, a territory located between the provinces of Malanje and Lunda Norte.
On that day, agricultural workers from the cotton plantations of the Luso-Belgian company Cotonang, in Baixa de Cassanje, revolted against slave labor, destroying plantations, bridges and houses.
The response of the colonial authorities was not long in sending the Portuguese Air Force, which bombed the region with projectiles, causing the death of thousands of citizens.
The events in Baixa do Cassanje increased the awareness of freedom among Angolans who, on February 4 of the same year, launched an armed struggle against the Portuguese fascist regime.
This fleet culminated in the proclamation of the country’s independence on 11 November 1975.
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