“We are witnessing one of the largest operations of mystification, distortion, and rewriting of history, carried out by those who have never come to terms with the achievements of April, who have always belittled the 25th of April over these 50 years, and who are promoted by nostalgic sectors of the fascist regime,” charged the PCP’s parliamentary leader, Paula Santos, at a press conference in the Assembly of the Republic.
Paula Santos was responding to the 50th-anniversary celebrations of November 25th, which were almost identical to those of the 25th of April’s anniversary in parliament and included a military parade in Lisbon’s Praça do Comércio and a solemn session in the Assembly of the Republic. The PCP refused to participate in any of these initiatives.
Paula Santos stated that this year observed “a new level in the ongoing operation surrounding November 25th, with the high sponsorship of the Government, the President of the Assembly of the Republic, and the President of the Republic.”
“After last year’s affront with a session on November 25th in the Assembly of the Republic, in the year of the 50th-anniversary celebrations of the April Revolution, this year they not only intend to equate what is not comparable, with a session identical to April 25th, but a commission was created to commemorate the 50 years of November 25th within the Government, disregarding the commemorative commission of the 50 years of April 25th,” she accused.
The PCP’s parliamentary leader considered this “operation of mystification” to be “based on lies” and insists on “false accusations against the PCP to try and hide their anti-democratic motivations and continue to promote the intensification of their offensive against April.”
For the PCP’s parliamentary leader, “it’s no coincidence that today’s animators of the November 25th operation are the same ones who serve and defend the economic interests, economic groups that were systematically benefited during the fascist dictatorship.”
“Those same ones, whose coup-inclined intentions were defeated, never accepted what April represented in terms of progress and achievements,” she said.
“That it would have jeopardized the democratic regime, curtailed freedoms, and illegalized the PCP. Despite setbacks, the truth is they did not achieve their goals. They could not prevent the achievements of April from being enshrined in the Constitution,” she noted.
Paula Santos emphasized that, “despite the pomp and circumstance they wanted to attribute to this date,” the truth is that those promoting the celebrations failed to achieve “what is truly essential: they did not achieve the people’s presence.”
“It is April 25th that the people consider as the liberating moment from the bonds of fascism, which brought rights, freedom, and democracy, and this is why the broad popular participation, filling the streets of the country, is at the celebrations of April 25th,” she defended.
Regarding the speeches at the solemn session in the Assembly of the Republic, particularly by José Pedro Aguiar-Branco, who addressed the “empty chairs” left by the PCP deputies, Paula Santos said she did not want to “make considerations” regarding the speeches.
“The session itself represents trivializing and attempting to undermine April 25th,” she stated.
When asked if the PCP could have better asserted its position by attending the solemn session, as BE did, Paula Santos said that if the aim of the celebrations is “to belittle and settle scores with April,” the party could not be present.
