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| Affiliation | Independent |
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| Name | Otelo Saraiva de Carvalho |
| Address |
, , Portugal |
| Email | None |
| Website | None |
| Born |
August 31, 1936
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| Died | July 25, 2021
(84 years)
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| Contributor | 411 Name Removed |
| Last Modifed | Juan Croniqueur
Nov 17, 2022 10:31pm |
| Tags |
Army - Imprisoned -
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| Info | Born in Maputo (Lourenço Marques) in Mozambique in I936. Father was a civil servant and mother a railway clerk. Secondary education at state school in Maputo. Entered the Military Academy in Lisbon at the age of nineteen. On active service in Angola from 1961 until 1963 as a sub-lieutenant. Then on active service again in Angola, as a captain from 1965 until 1967. Posted to Guinea-Bissau in 1970 as a captain under General Spinola. In charge of civilian affairs and propaganda. During this period became involved in the protest against the Congress of Combatants. In 1973 returned to Portugal and helped set up the Movement of Captains. Planned and commanded military take-over on 25 April I974. In July I974, was temporarily promoted to brigadier and became the commander of the Lisbon military region and the head of COPCON. In May 1975, temporarily promoted to general. Following the 25 November coup, demoted to major at his own request. Two months later, was arrested on charges of abuse of power, whilst in charge of COPCON. Released after forty-four days in prison. During 1976 was a presidential candidate. In October I976 was again arrested. After twenty days in jail, was released and suspended from duty. In 1979 was put into the army reserves. In 1982. recalled to the army, since it was shown that his discharge had been politically motivated. In June I984 was arrested for his alleged leadership of a terrorist organisation (FP25, Forces of 25 April). Realese in 1989, he is still waiting, in conditional freedom, for a final decision of the court.
****
Apparently his childhood wish was to be an actor. By the age of 12, however, the future strategist of the MFA was on his way to the Military School.
On the day of the Revolution, he admitted to not knowing who Álvaro Cunhal was, yet by the end of the year he was commander of COPCON and the uniformed voice of popular power.
He stood for the Presidency on two occasions, in 1976 and 1980. He was extremely critical of "bourgeoise legality", but was willing to use it to make his complaints to the Human Rights Commission during the 1990s as part of his protest against the conditions of his imprisonment for his alleged links to the terrorist organisation, FP-25. He was released from jail by Mário Soares in 1995.
While the actions of the FP-25 are being investigated the whole question of his amnesty has divided the Portuguese political classes, and the whole affair, including the organisation's alleged involvment in the deaths of Amaro da Costa and Sá Carneiro, was brought to the courts again during January and February 2001. Following this trial, Otelo and his co-accused were finally released from all threats of further legal action, with the question of the extent of their involvement in political assassinations being left unresolved.
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