The proposed law that creates the commemorative medal alluding to the country's 50 years of independence, to be celebrated on November 11, 2025, was approved this Wednesday in the specialty with only favorable votes from the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), reported the national press.
The opposition rejected the diploma after seeing its proposal to include the other signatories of the Alvor Agreement rejected, namely Holden Roberto, historic leader of the National Front for the Liberation of Angola (FNLA), and Jonas Savimbi, founding leader of the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA).
António Agostinho (MPLA), Holden Roberto (FNLA) and Jonas Savimbi (UNITA), then leaders of the Angolan liberation movements, were the signatories of the Alvor Agreement signed with the Portuguese Government in January 1975, in the Algarve, Portugal, which established the parameters for Angola's independence.
Proposals for posthumous awards, such as the Medal of Honor, to Holden Roberto and Jonas Savimbi were also rejected by the MPLA, as indicated by the deputy of this party Ruth Mendes, considering that the power to award medals lies with the holder of the executive branch.
"No matter how much we want to embellish it, the National Assembly does not have the authority to award medals," said Ruth Mendes, quoted by Rádio Nacional de Angola (RNA).
The exclusion of Holden Roberto and Jonas Savimbi from the celebrations of the 50 years of national independence was also contested by the deputy and current president of the FNLA, Nimi a Simbi, for whom "no one can talk about independence without talking about the Alvor Agreement".
"We do not agree and have already expressed our discontent about this," the deputy told RNA.
UNITA deputy Olívio Nkilumbo told Lusa that the MPLA approved the proposed law "by default", stating that the failure to include all signatories of the Alvor Agreement in the legal diploma does not honour the country's historical path that culminated in independence.
"This is the Medal of Honor and we want it to be delivered to the Heads of State and the signatories of the Alvor Accords, but they [MPLA] will only deliver it to Agostinho Neto and José Eduardo dos Santos. That is the problem," he argued.
"We voted against, as we understand that this is the only opportunity Angola has to pay tribute to the signatories of the Alvor Agreement in its 50th anniversary of independence," concluded the deputy.
Lusa contacted MPLA deputies to talk about the matter, but they refused to make any statements without formalizing a prior request by letter to the leadership of their parliamentary group.
Lusa also tried to contact the president of the FNLA, without success so far.
The law will go to a final global vote at the next plenary meeting of the National Assembly.
