The resistant anti-fascist and historic PCP activist Manuel Pedro died at the age of 94, the Secretariat of the Central Committee of the Portuguese Communist Party said this Monday in a statement.
Born in Lisbon on August 19, 1931, Manuel Pedro was a member of the PCP since 1956, having joined the PCP staff in May 1959. He was arrested three times, totaling 11 years in prison.
“In all of them he faced the clash with PIDE’s henchmen with great courage [Polícia Internacional e de Defesa do Estado]”, highlighted the party, which informed of his death “with deep sorrow and sadness”, conveying “his heartfelt condolences to his daughters, granddaughters and great-grandchildren”.
Manuel Pedro’s body will be in a burning chamber today, starting at 5:30 pm, in the Boa Hora chapel, in Ajuda, in Lisbon, and the funeral will take place on Tuesday, December 2nd, leaving at 1:30 pm for the Barcarena cemetery, where he will be cremated at 2:40 pm.
Manuel Pedro was one of the founders and leader of Cineclube Imagem and was part of the delegation of young Portuguese people to the 6th International Festival of Youth and Students in Moscow, in 1957.
He was arrested for the first time in 1958, when he was an insurance employee, and for the second time in 1959, already on PCP staff.
As a clandestine employee, he was responsible for the Baixo-Ribatejo Sector, member of the Lisbon Regional Directorate and the Lisbon Local Committee until his last arrest, in May 1969.
“Throughout his life as a revolutionary he always had his companion Maria Júlia by his side. With her he shared the clandestine life, the hardships of fascist repression, prison and separation from his daughters”, highlighted the party.
Manuel Pedro was released from Forte de Peniche on April 27, 1974, two days after the 25th of April Revolution, immediately taking on tasks in the Lisbon Regional Organization.
He was also a member of the Central Committee of the PCP from 1974 to 1988 and, according to the same note, “as long as it was physically possible, he carried out tasks with the executive bodies of the Central Committee”.
Manuel Pedro has published two books about his life experience and activism: “Sonhos de Poeta, Vida de Revolucionário” and “Resistências”.
“With a life dedicated to the party, to its ideal and project, Manuel Pedro is an example of courage, directness and firmness, an example of a militant entirely dedicated to the interests of workers and the people, in the daily fight for a democratic Portugal, always bearing in mind the construction of socialism and communism”, highlighted the PCP.
The post Manuel Pedro, anti-fascist resistance and historic PCP activist, has died appeared first on Veritas News.
