Marcelo visits Tarrafal and asks for “permanent care” in defense of democracy

Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa also recalled that the concentration camp (created in 1936) was “inspired by the most bloodthirsty European dictatorships” of the time. A place where political prisoners “suffered and died at the hands of what began as a Portuguese dictatorship for the Portuguese”, but which later became “an imperial colonial dictatorship” that also repressed “the Angolan, Guinean and Cape Verdean brothers”. With the field now transformed into a museum, the President expressed his desire to want it “alive” and reiterated: “There is no possible confusion between oppression and freedom, dictatorship and democracy.”

Also highlighting that “the challenges and horizons are new today, in an increasingly complicated global situation”, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa called for democracy to be strengthened. Preserving it requires “permanent care”, so that “concentration camps will never be mentioned again”.

During the visit, Marcelo and representatives of the former colonies unveiled a plaque commemorating the 50th anniversary of the camp’s liberation. Present were 22 former political prisoners from the second phase of Tarrafal (designed to oppress anti-colonialists). One of them, Luís Fonseca, who was executive secretary of the CPLP between 2004 and 2008, recalled the arrest. He intended, he said, to make the ideals of freedom disappear. But it ended up resulting in solidarity, thought, poetry and even songs about the topic. So that there are no more “tarrafais” it is important that younger people visit the old field, now transformed into a Resistance Museum.

There, more than 500 people were arrested. In the first phase of the camp (which held anti-regime figures), 36 people died (32 of which were Portuguese who were contesting the Estado Novo). Closed in 1956, Tarrafal would reopen six years later (in 1962), when it began to arrest Angolan, Guinean and Cape Verdean anti-colonialists. Four (two Angolans and many other Guineans) died there. With the 25th of April, the camp and political prisoners were released.