Yesterday afternoon, at the Monument to the Heroes of May 30, 1961, the act of commemorating the 61st anniversary of the execution of Rafael Leonidas Trujillo was held, in which a recount was made of the men and women who fought for freedom.
Manuel Tejeda, president of the Heroes of May 30 Foundation, recalled the different patriotic deeds that confronted the dictator prior to 9:00 p.m. on that Tuesday in 1961.
“With this I want to make it clear that Trujillo was fought against since the beginning of the dictatorship. The heroic deed of May 30, 1961 was the culmination of more than 30 years of permanent struggles against the tyrant and his acolytes. The heroes of May 30 avenged that night, the valuable blood of many men and women who fell fighting for a better homeland”, he emphasized.
At the event, which was attended by a population, mostly older adults, Tejeda pointed out that they currently live in a country where authorities can be freely chosen and where they also enjoy freedom of expression, freedom of the press, freedom of transit , among many other democratic achievements, thanks to the heroes of May 30.
“It is everyone’s responsibility to maintain and strengthen that democracy,” he said.
resistance at all times
Luisa de Peña, director of the Dominican Resistance Memorial Museum, criticized a sector of Dominican society and its descendants for constantly trying to discredit and defame the executioners.
“They, the executioners, succeeded in a task that others tried for 31 years and failed. This triumph earned them the eternal gratitude of the Dominican people, but it also earned them the hatred of a sector of Dominican society that saw their reign of terror come to an end,” he said.
Recalling the strategies used by the Trujillo regime against thousands of Dominicans tortured, murdered or disappeared, for showing deviations in fidelity to the established system, De Peña emphasized: “defamation or gossip as an instrument of terror, is still a practice in force in the Dominican Republic, although it is no longer limited to the State, it now encompasses the entire society.”
The president of the Homeland Anniversary Commission, Juan Pablo Uribe, stressed that without acts of remembrance, commemoration and celebration, “Dominicanity is diluted.”
