DILI, 17 april 2024 (TATOLI) – The President of the Republic, Jose Ramos Horta, will make an official visit to Portugal as a guest of honor for the celebrations of the 50th anniversary of the Carnation Revolution also known as the 25 April, the revolution that restored democracy in Portugal after the dictatorial regime.
During his stay, he will meet with Portuguese authorities, as well as with the Timorese community in Portugal.
This visit comes at an important moment, as Portugal and Timor-Leste negotiate a new Strategic Cooperation Program, focusing on opportunities for Timorese youth.
In Dili, Ambassador Maria Manuela Freitas Bairos is organizing a series of events to mark the 50th anniversary of April 25th and democratic freedom. Highlights include a debate on the challenges of democracy next saturday, a concert on April 25th with songs from the Carnation Revolution performed exclusively by Timorese artists, a tribute to freedom of the press on may 3rd, and a discussion on child labor on april 30th with a reading of the work “Os Esteiros”.
These events celebrate the historical ties between the two countries and the shared democratic values.
The Carnation Revolution was a military coup by left-leaning military officers that overthrew the authoritarian Estado Novo government on 25 April 1974 in Lisbon, producing major social, economic, territorial, demographic, and political changes in Portugal and its overseas colonies through the Processo Revolucionário Em Curso. It resulted in the Portuguese transition to democracy and the end of the Portuguese Colonial.
The April Revolution (April 25, 1974), which restored democracy in Portugal, consecrated the respect for the right to self-determination of the Portuguese colonies. In order to promote the exercise of that right, on may 13, a Committee for the Self-determination of East Timor was installed in Dili. The Portuguese Government authorized the creation of political parties, and as a result, partisan organizations emerged in Timor-Leste: the UDT (Timorese Democratic Union) called for “Timor’s integration in a Portuguese-speaking community”; the ASDT (Timorese Social-Democratic Association), which would later change its name to FRETILIN (Revolutionary Front for an Independent East Timor), supported the right to independence; and the APODETI (Popular Democratic Association of Timor) suggested “integration with autonomy within the Indonesian community”.
In 1975, with the dissolution of the Portuguese colonial empire, local liberation movements increased. In may 1975, the authorities in Lisbon presented a project to the main Timorese parties and, after hearing them, a law was published on july 11 that foresaw the nomination of a Portuguese High Commissioner. This same law expected the election of a People’s Assembly in october of the same year, in order to establish a political status. The diploma foresaw a three-year transitional period.
On november 28, 1975, FRETILIN together with the Prime Minister Xavier do Amaral, unilaterally declared the Independence of Timor-Leste. Nicolau Lobato, who later became the first leader of the Armed Resistance, was appointed as the Prime Minister of the new independent country.
Journalist: Camilio de Sousa
Editor: Filomeno Martins
