Portugal has a “mature and balanced” view of its colonial past, after the president of the republic last week raised the issue of reparations, Portuguese Foreign Minister Paulo Rangel said on Monday.
The minister announced from Brussels on Monday that the government has a “very mature, and at the same time balanced, vision” on “the relationship that we have with the former colonies and the colonial past.”
He added that “all discussions are relevant,” but “after that we can have different ideas,” explaining that the new moderate-right government, resulting from the March elections, has a “vision in line with the vision of previous governments.”
The issue of potential colonial reparations was raised last week by conservative President Marilu Rebelo de Sousa.
He said last Tuesday during an informal meeting with the foreign press in Lisbon: “We are responsible for what we did there. (…) We have to pay the costs.”
These statements sparked many reactions. Far-right leader Andre Ventura was the most vocal, accusing Mr Rebelo de Sousa of “betraying the Portuguese”.
“History is what it is. I am proud of it, not the president. He is at fault. Parliament must condemn the president's statements,” he said on Monday.
The Portuguese government issued a statement on Saturday indicating that it had not taken “specific measures or actions,” but added that its relations with its former colonies were “truly excellent.”
The executive also indicated that Portugal respects “historical truth” and is engaged in “deepening relations” on the basis of “reconciliation between brotherly peoples.”
Portugal was at the head of a vast colonial empire in America, Africa and Asia.
The Carnation Revolution, the coup that established democracy after 48 years of dictatorship, and whose fiftieth anniversary was celebrated last week, brought an end to thirteen years of colonial wars. It allowed its former colonies in Africa, particularly Angola and Mozambique, to become independent.
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