Dili, November 15, 2024 (Média Democracia) – AMD will repair the road inside the Santa Cruz cemetery because some of the buried bodies are blocking the road that used to be there. This was conveyed by AMD President Gregorio Saldanha while attending the 33rd celebration ceremony of Santa Cruz massacre on Tuesday (November 12, 2024).
The President explained that the process at the cemetery was slow, as was the statue of Sebastão Gama which was made in Portugal, so AMD was just waiting for the results.
“Another thing that we are still trying to do is to continue repairs, not only in the cemetery but also the road so that families can visit the cemetery, we will coordinate with the family, then we will carry out repairs on the road,” said PAM Dili to Média Democracia journalists in Santa Cruz, Dili.
He said that AMD already has plans to repair the road in the cemetery area so that people can walk freely, he also asked the family to coordinate well.
“There is already a plan that all roads will be made, the old road will be moved so that people can pass through so as not to step on the graves, so the family must coordinate so that it can be moved and the bones placed in a new place, this is the solution,” he said.
In addition, it is still in process, consulting with the family, will prepare other things such as design and looking for a place to move the graves.
He added that the government will look at these graves to see the regulations, for socialization, if the place is ready, then we will move but not now.
“Now the new cemetery is in Becussi, we haven’t thought much, if a new regulation is made we can evict, if it’s full then don’t bury in Santa Cruz, in this place we will move those who are inside Santa Cruz because this is the road.” He added.
Remove the graves that occupy the road so that it is easy to pass through because there is already a road.
“First of all, we remove the graves that are in the cemetery, but we cannot only remove the ones on top, secondly, we compact the place that has been prepared, the other is that this road already exists so that it can be accessed, otherwise on a holiday like November 12, people will have difficulty walking,” said Gregorio Saldanha.
Meanwhile, the matter of finalizing the statue is hanging because the one who made it was not a Timorese person but the Authority only proposed it to the government so that is the authority of the government’s financial politics, while the November 12 committee is only the beneficiary.
Reported by : Estefania
Photo : Credit foto, Pãjina Ofisiál PNTL