The petition to hold an official ceremony in Cape Verde to celebrate the centenary of Amílcar Cabral’s birth already has more than 4,000 signatures and will be delivered in January 2024, the promoter told Lusa November 27.
According to Cape Verdean historian Angela Coutinho, after the document is delivered, a public discussion is expected to be scheduled at a plenary meeting of Cape Verde’s National Assembly.
On October 30, the parliamentary caucus of the Movement for Democracy (MpD, in power) voted against a resolution presented by the African Party for the Independence of Cape Verde (PAICV, in opposition) to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the birth of the independence leader of Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde on September 12, 2024.
Ten days later, Angela Coutinho, who lives in Lisbon, was the promoter of a petition on the internet, which already has more than 4,000 signatures, on a subject that has prompted several reactions at home and abroad.
According to the Legal Regime for the Exercise of the Right to Petition in Cape Verde, approved in 1997, these citizens’ initiatives, individually or collectively, are considered in plenary whenever they are “signed by a minimum of 500 citizens” and have received a “favorable opinion” from a Committee created for the purpose.
In addition to the petition, the researcher at the Nova Universities of Lisbon and Coimbra mentioned that there are “many renowned artists” who are studying other actions involving Cape Verdeans in the country and in the diaspora.
“Many academics who signed the petition are getting together to set up training and information actions, promoted by all the PALOP [Portuguese-speaking African countries], involving Portugal and Brazil,” he said, detailing that the idea is to involve civic movements in other countries because “Cabral is Lusophone, African, and international.”
At the time, in his explanation of the vote, the parliamentary leader of the MpD, Paulo Veiga, explained that legally, the resolution is the wrong instrument for the purpose, showing that it should be through a bill presented by the government.