the prize should be given to him.
The Portuguese government then sent an.ultimatum to the Portuguese Association of Writers, ordering them to annul the decision
of the jury.  The Association supported the jury and refused to
obey.  Next day, the Portuguese Association of Writers was disbanded
by a decree of the Ministry of Education:  "Considering that the
Portuguese Association of Writers, through the jury appointed by
its directors, awarded the Grand Prize for the Novel to a man who
has been condemned to 14 years imprisonment for'terrorist activities1
in Angola;  considering that, in spite of the fact that the identity and the situation of the winner were made public, neither did
the jury abrogate its decision, nor did the Association repudiate
it;  considering that, in fact, repudiation is not contained, not
even implicitly, in the communique released by the Association to
the press;  considering the exceptional gravity of the facts referred to above, which deeply offend national feelings when Portuguese soldiers are falling overseas, victims of terrorism of which
the winner is an agent;  considerling that this situation legally
justifies the disbanding of the Association, I order the abolition
of the Portuguese Association of Writers."
Signed:  Galvao Teles
Minister of National
Education
The attitude of the Portuguese Writers, an attitude of courage
and determination, is worthy of praise from all, particularly considering the regime of terror which presently exists in Portugal.
As reprisal, in fact, PIDE organised "popular" manifestations against
the writers and pillaged and destroyed the headquarters of the
Association.  Moreover, most of the Portuguese newspapers called
the members of the Association "Communists", agents of the Afro-
Asians", "enemies sold to Moscow."
FRELIMO salutes the Portuguese Association of Writers.  Through
it, the Portuguese people have expressed themselves, defying the
fascist government of Salazar and showing their solidarity with the
peoples of the colonies who fight for their freedom.
* It is true that there were elements within the Association
which' opposed the general decision.  Among them is Joaquim Papo
d'Arcos, a notorious fascists who is linked with economic interests
in the colonies, but in the current of history, these isolated cases
of opportunism and cowardice do not count.
*********