Statement by Paulo Raimundo, Secretário-Geral do PCP

Popular opening at the National Resistance and Freedom Museum

Today we are here to celebrate a remarkable date. 50 years ago today, the political prisoners who were here in this fort, which fascism turned into a prison, were released.

We are here exactly affirming with all these people, with this crowd, following that great action of the popular celebrations of the 25th. of April last Thursday, to celebrate exactly that, the end of fascism, the end of prisons, the end of a hateful regime, of a fascist regime, it was not a conservative regime, it was not just an authoritarian regime, it was all that but it was a fascist regime, it used this fort in this case as one of the greatest symbols of its way of being, of arresting, of killing, of repression.

That's the big question. Together we overthrew fascism, together we freed men and women from these prisons, as is the case of Peniche, which opens today, after a very persistent, very hard struggle, with many democrats, with a naturally determining role of the PCP also in the creation of the National Museum of Resistance and Freedom, which was opened today.