Aileu, March 13, 2026 – Hugo Maria Fernandes, the Executive Director of Centro Nacional Chega!I.P, emphasized the importance of the Municipal Memorial Museums (MMM) established by Centro Chega! in various municipalities to preserve the history of ordinary people who fought for independence.
“These Memorial Museums are intended to be managed as belonging to the people in the Municipalities. It represents the contributions of ordinary people, and their participation adds significant meaning to our history,” said the Executive Director during the signing of the Cooperation Agreement (ASH, in Tetum) with four Memorial Museums from Bobonaro, Covalima, Manatuto, and Viqueque. The ceremony was held at the Conference Room of Centro Chega!, Antigo Comarca Balide-Dili.
The purpose of this agreement is to provide institutional support, primarily for activities and operational services. Each MMM is set to receive a total of U$17,500.00 (Seventeen Thousand Five Hundred Dollars) from a total allocation of U$70,000.00 (Seventy Thousand Dollars) for the four MMMs, to be used for one year.
The Director emphasized that Centro Chega! established the Municipal Memorial Museum as a form of collective reparation for society and a symbol of collective reparations. The purpose of the museum is not to preserve memory, but to honor people in the municipalities for their participation.
Maria Carvalho, the coordinator of the Covalima Memorial Museum, spoke on behalf of the other Memorial Museums (MMMs) to express her gratitude to Centro Chega!. She asked Centro Chega! continue to provide funding for the operational services and activities of each Memorial Museum. “We ask Centro Chega! to continue supporting us (MMMs), and to remain steadfast in our partnership so that our cooperation can continue,” the coordinator recommended.
In total, Centro Chega! has established 6 Municipal Memorial Museums across various municipalities, including Viqueque, Covalima, Aileu, Manatuto, and Manufahi. In 2026, an additional Memorial Museum will be established in RAEOA (Special Administrative Region of Oe-Cusse Ambeno). These museums were established in alignment with the mission of Centro Chega! to “promote the implementation of the relevant recommendations made in the final Report of the Commission for Reception, Truth, and Reconciliation (CAVR)-Chega! and in the Commission for Truth and Friendship (CTF) – Per Memoriam Ad Spem,” focusing on the institutionalization and promotion of human rights. The Memorial Museums aim to collect, disseminate, and bring closer the narratives of Timor-Leste to communities in each municipality, particularly those who participated during the period between 1974 and 1999.
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