Africa-Press – Angola. The maintenance of peace and stability are essential elements for the economic, political and social development of the country, urged the Minister of National Defense and Veterans of the Homeland this Monday (4th).
João Ernesto dos Santos “Liberdade” spoke to journalists at the hoisting of the monument flag at the Military History Museum, in Luanda, and considered it a challenge for everyone to preserve the peace conquered in 2002.
“We need to look ahead and do what we didn’t do during the period of the armed conflict, because what stayed, stayed. We need to prepare the new generations to ensure this feat, hard, conquered with the blood and sweat of all Angolans”, stressed the ruler.
Flag Monument
The monument flag hoisted yesterday to mark 20 years of effective peace in the country weighs 40 kilograms, is 18 meters long and 12 meters wide, with a 75-meter-high mast, and can withstand winds of up to 200 kilometers/hour, in addition to be seen in all the streets of downtown Luanda.
It was hoisted for the first time at the National Museum of Military History, former Fortress of S. Miguel, in an act led by the then President of the Republic, José Eduardo dos Santos, on April 4, 2013, and this gesture happens 12 times a year.
Inaugurated as part of the commemorations of the 11th anniversary of the 4th of April, a day dedicated to peace and national reconciliation, the monument flag is a tribute to the homeland’s heroes and all those who have committed themselves to achieving National Independence, peace, progress and of Angola’s development.
It is normally flown on ephemerides such as January 4th (Day of the Martyrs of Colonial Repression in Downtown Kassanje), February 4th (Start of the Armed Struggle for National Liberation), March 8th (International Women’s Day), April 4th (Day of Peace and National Reconciliation), 1 May (International Workers’ Day) and 25 May (Africa Day).
In addition to these occasions, it also takes place on the first Sundays of July, August and October, as well as the 17th of September (Day of the Founder of the Nation and of the National Hero), the 11th of November (National Independence Day) and the 25th of December ( Christmas and Family Day).
The infrastructure consists of a mast 75 meters high and weighing 25 tons, under a base of 1.5 meters in diameter. About 200 cubic meters of reinforced concrete were consumed and on the top, measuring 30 centimeters, an aeronautical signaling light is encrusted.
It has two colors arranged in an equal number of horizontal stripes: the upper one is red-red (symbolizes the blood shed by Angolans in colonial repression, colonial and national liberation struggles, defense of the homeland) and the lower one is black (African continent). In the centre, there is a section made up of a semi-cogwheel, symbol of workers and industrial production, a machete, in honor of peasants, agricultural production and the armed struggle. Finally, a star, representing international solidarity and progress.
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