In a letter addressed to the president of CIVICOP (Commission for the Implementation of the Reconciliation Plan in Memory of the Victims of Political Conflicts) and Minister of Justice and Human Rights, Francisco Queiroz, the Platform accuses CIVICOP and the Government of wanting to "pass a sponge over the massacres that victimized thousands of Angolans.
At issue is the ceremony scheduled for May 27, in which for the first time the Government will mark the date on which an alleged coup attempt took place, which the Platform denounces as "a staging".
"The intention is, above all, to give the image that everything will be solved, reconciliation will be made and forgiveness granted, with no one responsible for the heinous crimes and no search for Historical Truth", criticizes the Platform in the document to which Lusa had access.
The homage act foresees a minute of silence in memory of the victims of the political conflicts and the delivery of death certificates to two orphans, as well as the presence of a representative of the 27 of May Foundation and of Francisco Queiroz.
For the Platform, it is a matter of benefiting from "the presence of some collaborators and the endorsement of some institutions, which allowed themselves to be seduced by the power, when "the true homage that the victims deserve should begin with a request for public forgiveness from Mr. President of the Republic and top leader of the MPLA, General João Lourenço, for the crimes committed by the regime in that period.
On May 27, 1977, an alleged coup attempt, in an operation apparently led by Nito Alves - then former Minister of the Interior since independence (November 11, 1975) until October 1976 - was violently repressed by the Agostinho Neto regime.
"In the case of Angola, there was not passivity, but authorship in the massacres", accuse the associations represented in the Platform (Association 27 of May, Association Memory 27 of May 1977 and Survivors of the 27 of May).
In the letter, they stress that a credible tribute must include the search for historical truth, the identification of those responsible for the crimes committed, and that the agents of repression who committed crimes should no longer be considered "victims," as well as the location of the remains of the victims, the issuing of death certificates stating the date and cause of death, and finally, their return to the families.
The Platform says that CIVICOP "ignored" these appeals leading to the decision to suspend participation in the work of this entity in March.
They say they have now been surprised by the theatrical staging scheduled for May 27, which they describe as a "scandalous propaganda stunt" that they refuse to endorse, definitively breaking with CIVICOP.
"We will not give up this fight without truce and we appeal to Angolan patriots, lovers of truth and justice, and the international community not to be deceived by this fraudulent maneuver," they conclude in their missive.
