The PS held an event tonight commemorating the 50th anniversary of November 25, during the initial part of a National Political Committee meeting, where José Luís Carneiro was the last to speak. He argued that “November 25 should be commemorated, but not with the reductionist method chosen by the current Government.”
“By doing it with sectarianism, the commemoration appeared with a revisionist temptation of settling scores and harming the very spirit that presided over November 25,” he criticized, advocating that the date should be marked “as a decisive moment for the institutionalization of Portuguese democracy and based on broad national consensus.”
The PS leader assured that the party will continue to celebrate November 25, freeing it from “the straitjacket in which it was placed this year.”
“Because the date deserves to be liberated from misinterpretations that harm it and celebrated with the scope capable of uniting the Portuguese around their significant historical dates. A date that should not be confused with April 25,” he emphasized.
According to Carneiro, “November 25 represented the victory of those who, before and after April 25, always fought for freedom,” restoring “the democratic transition process on the fundamental bases of April 25.”
“The unavoidable name and party for that civil and democratic guarantee were and will continue to be Mário Soares and the PS. Likewise, the unavoidable name for the institutionalization and defense of the prestige of the Armed Forces was and will continue to be Ramalho Eanes,” he praised.
Thus, the PS leader aligned with today’s remarks by the President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, and considered it “an elementary act of political justice to honor General Ramalho Eanes in life with the title of Marshal.”
In addition to Carneiro, speeches were delivered by the honorary president of the PS, Manuel Alegre, Mário Soares’ daughter, Isabel Soares, and Colonel Manuel Pedroso Marques, who chaired RTP’s Board of Directors on November 25, 1975.
