CASSINGA MASSACRE 40TH ANNIVERSARY TO TAKE PLACE AT HEROES ACRE

Posted by Mandisa Rasmeni
Namibia Economist
Apr 20, 2018

The country will be commemorate the 40th Anniversary of the Cassinga Massacre on 4 May at Heroes Deputy Prime Minister, Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah has invited all Cassinga survivors and the public to attend the national commemoration.

“As we pay tribute to these heroes and heroines, who have paid the ultimate sacrifice that has brought about our freedom and independence and this is why we have decided to commemorate this Anniversary at a National level,” she said.

According to Nandi-Ndaitwah in solidarity with the local people in commemorating this tragic day in the history of the Namibian struggle, Gonçalves Lourenço, President of Angola has accepted the invitation of Dr. Hage Geingob, to pay a State Visit to Namibia from 3 to 5 May and participate in the commemoration of the Cassinga Massacre.

“During the Commemoration, the President of Angola will lay a wreath at Heroes Acre and participate as Guest of Honour at the commemoration of the 40th Anniversary of Cassinga massacre, as a nation we will always remember the Namibian heroes and heroines who lost their lives during the attack and this massacre will remain sacred in the collective national memory of present and future generations” she added.

On 4 May 1978 the then South African apartheid regime attacked the Cassinga Refugee Camp and killed thousands of Namibian civilians and hundreds of Angolans were also killed in that attack. An attack also took place at Vietnam Camp where many of the Cuban internationalists who were attempting to come to the rescue of the Namibian civilians were also killed.