Nambuangongo — The Portuguese politician and poet, Manuel Alegre, Monday visited the district of Nambuangongo, northern Bengo province, a region where he served in the military in the 1960's.

The return of Manuel Alegre to Nambuangongo and the sight of tombs of Angolan and Portuguese colleagues of the army, was of great emotion to him. "I am here with much emotion, because here a war was fought, here many Angolan and Portuguese militaries fell. I see with great emotion a school here, at a place where fierce fights occurred", he said.

The author of poem "Nambuangongo meu amor", that entitles his anthology of war poems, considers his visit to Bengo province a pilgrimage, thinking of those who died.

He recalled that the end of the war brought an independent Angola and a free and democratic Portugal. "Today, of Nambuangongo, I take a petition for a twinning with a Portuguese village and a request for people to come and visit Nambuangongo. I think that many people, especially the Portuguese militaries, would like to make this trip", he stated.

Manuel Alegre, a defeated presidential candidate in the Portuguese 2002 election, expressed satisfaction at seeing a secondary cycle school built on was once the scene of fierce fights between the colonial forces and the Angolan liberation movement.

He said Nambuangongo is the symbol of a period that was tough for the Angolan and Portuguese peoples. Manuel Alegre de Melo Duarte was born on May 12, 1936, in Águeda, Portugal.