Lubango – Angola and Namibia Joint High Level Committee met Saturday, in the southern Huila Province, to outline operational guideline strategies for the Management, Maintenance and Safety of the Cassinga Memorial, in Jamba Municipality.
The Memorial is a project undertaken by the two country’s governments in the last five years, which aimed to erect two monuments in Cassinga (Huila Province) and Chetequera (Cunene Province) to honour the victims of the massacre of the South African army against a camp of Namibian refugees.
The refugees from 14 Namibian provinces arrived in Cassinga in March 1976, as a result of the armed conflict raging in Namibia, followed two years in Angolan territory the refugees were persecuted and murdered on May 4, 1978, with a balance of 600 dead, among civilians and military of the two countries being buried in two mass graves.
The Cassinga attack was considered the second major military operation of the then racist South African army in Angola, after the "Savannah". In addition to the camp, the action also targeted the SWAPO delegation in Chetequera, Cunene.
The one-day meeting comes after a joint inspection visit to the ongoing works at Cassinga Monument, which has 80 percent of the works completed with whose inauguration expected to take place later this year.
During the meeting, the parties discussed the draft operational guidelines for the management, maintenance and security of the monument.
The delegations also finalized the joint report of the High Level Committee, signed the operational guidelines on the management, maintenance and security of the memorial.
Angola’s secretary of State for Former Combatants and Homeland Veterans, General Domingos André Tchikanha, asked the technicians of the commissions of Angola and Namibia to present, in a clear way, the issues that may still be of concern.
The Minister of Defense and Veterans affairs of Namibia, Frans Kapofi, on the other hand, said his government continues to appreciate the effort of Angola for allowing the construction of the monument and the contribution made to the project.
Angola and Namibia share a land border of 1,376 kilometers and since 2007 the circulation of citizens of the two countries in this area is partially free.
