Africa-Press – Angola. On Monday, in Luanda, the MPLA president paid “profound tribute” to the former President of the Republic, José Eduardo dos Santos, and acknowledged the selfless surrender of the unsuccessful party, in favor of the aggrandizement of the party and the Nation.
“The party’s militants, sympathizers and friends, as well as Angolans, in general, pay deep tribute to his memory, for all that President Emeritus José Eduardo dos Santos has done, for the aggrandizement of the party and the Nation”, declared João Lourenço in the condolence book, exhibited at the national headquarters of the MPLA, which was also signed by the members of the party’s leadership.
President João Lourenço noted in the book of condolences that he will continue to fight and work for peace and national reconciliation among all Angolans, having addressed “deep” feelings of sorrow to the bereaved family.
José Eduardo dos Santos died Friday of last week, due to illness, in a clinic in Barcelona, Spain.
Speaking to the press, after signing the book of condolences, the MPLA vice president, Luísa Damião, said she had “many and grateful memories” of President José Eduardo dos Santos, noting that the ill-fated man visited the OMA national headquarters on some occasions. , where he left guidelines on the role that women should play in society.
Luísa Damião said that such guidelines allowed the promotion of campaigns to raise awareness and mobilize women for the MPLA cause and the “true” emancipation and commitment to the country’s sustainable development.
The secretary general of the MPLA, Paulo Pombolo, recalled, with nostalgia, the great moments he spent with President José Eduardo dos Santos. At the time, Pombolo was the first national secretary of the JMPLA.
He mentioned that it was during his term of office that President José Eduardo dos Santos was awarded the first diploma of merit “Comandante Hoji Ya Henda”, considered to date the highest honorable mention awarded by the party’s youth organization to figures who stand out in the various fields of the country.
For the MPLA’s Information Secretary, Rui Falcão, José Eduardo dos Santos was a “hands-on” patriot, who will remain in the memory of Angolans: “I was fortunate to have some moments with President José Eduardo dos Santos”. He considered him “above-average intellectual”, for his accomplishments in favor of peace and national reconciliation.
The former secretary general of the Angolan Women’s Organization (OMA), Luzia Inglês “Inga”, advised serenity to the Angolans, in this moment of national mourning, stressing that Dos Santos had an “excellent relationship of friendship” with him, after meeting him at city of Moscow in December 1969.
The first secretary of the MPLA in Luanda, Bento Bento, considered the moment of sadness, but also of pride for being a son, whose historical references should be studied.
Recalling Dos Santos as the mentor of his appearance in the central structure of the party, he indicated that, after the physical disappearance of President Agostinho Neto, José Eduardo dos Santos led the Nation in the most difficult moments and was fearless in maintaining the defense of Cabinda’s sovereignty over the Cunene, fulfilling Neto’s postulate, that in Namibia, Zimbabwe and South Africa would be the continuation of the Angolan struggle.
Former MPLA deputy Lopo do Nascimento considered the moment very sad, not only for the family, but for the Angolans: “We must implement and take advantage of all that José Eduardo dos Santos has done for the country.”
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