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WHO ORDERED THE ASSASSINATION OF AMILCAR CABRAL ?
BOOK RELEASED ON THE ASSASSINATION OF AMILCAR CABRAL CREATES CONTROVERY

A book titled "Quem mandou matar Amilcar Cabral?" ("Who gave the order to kill Amilcar Cabral?"), written by Jose Pedro Castanheira, a Portuguese journalist at "Expresso" newspaper in Lisbon, was launched in Praia on January 22, just 2 days after the 23rd anniversary of the assassination of Amilcar Cabral, founder of the African Party for the Independence of Cape Verdeand Guines Bisau (PAIGC) the liberation movement which brought Cape Verde to independence. Cabral is often refered to as the "Founder of Cape Verdean Nationality". One thing is still patently clear, it is still not known for certain who ordered his assassination.

The presentation of the book and its author was made by Nuno Almada, the Cultural Adviser at the Portuguese Embassy in Cape Verde, and the poet, Corsino Fortes, ex-member of the PAICV government and the first ever Ambassador of Cape Verde to Portugal. Nuno Almada stated that this is an impartial, journalistic report and that "perhaps we will never know for sure" who was responsible for Amilcar Cabral's death, as in his view, also that of the author and of many others "there was more than one beneficiary" to the assassination of "this great leader and example of humanity". The work is the fruit of three years of investigation which took the author to Guinea-Bissau, Guinea (Conakry), Senegal and Cape Verde. Research was made into local archives of the PIDE-GDS (the notorious Portuguese political police) and Portuguese Diplomatic Records at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Lisbon. Equally, the author held many interviews with well known personalities who were involved in the conflict taking place in Guinea-Bissau.

Corsino Fortes and many others of those who were present at the book's launch in the "Centro Cultural Portugues" expressed the view that correct steps were taken by the author to insure impartiality and make a sensible report despite the disappearance of key pieces of evidence from archives of the PIDE in Cape Verde, Guinea and Lisbon. Reports are also missing from the International Commission of Inquiry and from another inquiry conducted by the PAIGC after Cabral's assassination.

The book presents four possible scenarios regarding the identity of the person who gave the order to assassinate Amilcar Cabral. The first theory suggests a conspiracy amongst Guinean members of the PAIGC who were discontented with the favorable position many Cape Verdean members of the PAIGC held in general in Portuguese Guinea. Although Amilcar Cabral was of Cape Verdean parentage he was born in Guinea and sent to school in Cape Verde. The second theory suggests that Sekou Toure, the President of Guinea (Conakry) who afforded the PAIGC safe-haven from which to fight the Portuguese, may have ordered the assassination, as he was more interested in seeing the unification of the two Guinea regions which was clearly not the wish of Amilcar Cabral. A third theory suggests that the "long arm of PIDE" was responsible and that a collaborator was able to infiltrate Amicar Cabral's inner circle of colleagues before his assassination in Conakry on January 20, 1973. The final theory suggests that the Portuguese commander-in-chief, General Antonio Spinola, who was leading the war against the the PAICG and the other rebel forces gave the order for the assassination of Amilcar Cabral so as to deny the PAIGC the powers of his leadership.

The book's launch was not received enthusiastically by some former members and comrades in arms of the PAIGC who fought side-by-side Cabral. Carlos Reis (also one of Cape Verde's Ambassadors to Portugal and a former Minister of Education and Culture), disagreed with the author's viewpoint that the Portuguese could not be blamed for Cabral's assassination for lack of decisive documentation to prove beyond doubt the direct involvement of any one of the thousands of Portuguese soldiers or agents of PIDE who were in the region at the time. Carlos Reis complained that this viewpoint appears to offer a "not guilty" verdict to agents of Portuguese fascism and colonialism .

Osvaldo Lopes da Silva, who was the PAIGC's Commander on the Eastern Front when Amilcar Cabral was assassinated, was accompanied by other former combatants at the book's launch, namely Commandante Pedro Verona Pires (Cape Verde's prime minister from 1975-91) and Corsino Tolentino (formerly Minister of Education) amongst others, said that he believes that the truth may never be discovered due to the lack of any documentary proof, but that in his view responsibility for the assassination must lie with General Spinola as it was he who organised a propoganda campaign to destabilize the PAIGC and cause in-fighting and rivalry between the joint Guinean and Cape Verdean freedom fighters.

Jose Pedro Castanheira admits that the question "Who gave the order to kill Amilcar Cabral?" is polemic, both in Cape Verde and Guinea-Bissau as well as in Portugal, and will probably go away until someone produces documentary evidence pointing the finger at the man who gave the order to kill Cabral..



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