Citations
1. Letter, Rev. George Vernon Kimball invitation to delegates, Toronto, July 15, 1966. Portuguese Canadian Democratic Association fonds (PCDA), 2009-022/004 (7), Clara Thomas Archives and Special Collections (CTASC), York University Libraries.
2. List of donations by Portuguese immigrants in Canada for the Portuguese Amnesty Conference. PCDA fonds, 2009-022/004 (5), CTASC.
3. Portuguese Amnesty Conference poster, 1966. PCDA fonds, 2009-022/004 (7), CTASC.
4. Portuguese Amnesty Conference plaque, October 28, 1966. PCDA fonds, 2009-022/016, CTASC.
After Portugal’s colonialism, the civil and human rights abuses over political dissidents carried out by PIDE, the Estado Novo‘s brutal political police, drew the most international condemnation. After similar conferences in São Paulo (1960), Montevideo (1961), and Paris (1962), the Portuguese Canadian Democratic Association (PCDA) and the Frente Patriótica de Libertação Nacional (FPLN) organized the Conference for Amnesty in Portugal in Toronto, on October 28-30, 1966.
Chairing the organizing committee was the United Church minister George V. Kimball, the leader of the Portuguese Protestant congregation at the Queen Street United Church and a former minister in Angola, from where he was banned in 1961 for allegedly aiding African nationalist rebels. Supporting him was the Portuguese Communist Party member Silas Cerqueira, who was an exile in Paris, from where he was sent to Toronto by the FPLN.
The Movimento Democrático Português and Luso-Canadiano newspaper of Montreal, and several other organizations of political exiles around the world, contributed funds, logistical support, and delegates. At least 142 immigrants across Canada also donated funds, many of them anonymously.
An impressive roster of high-profile Canadian and international politicians, intellectuals, activists, religious and labour leaders sent letters of support, including former Prime Minister John Diefenbaker, Tommy Douglas, Northrop Frye, Bertrand Russell, Bishop Trevor Huddleston, among others.
The proceedings were held at the Carpenters’ Hall on 169 Gerrard Street, inaugurated by Mayor William Dennison and chaired by the respected journalist and popular historian Pierre Berton. The event drew media attention to the unlawful imprisonment and torture of political dissidents, and the overall civil and human rights abuses in Portugal and its African colonies, including in the infamous Tarrafal prison camp in Cape Verde. The federal MPs Andrew Brewin and David MacDonald reported on their visit to Portugal, where they had met with political dissidents and the families of prisoners. Ten federal MPs also met with representatives of the FPLN.
Various resolutions were approved at the conference, including the creation of the Canadian Committee for Amnesty in Portugal, which was tasked with coordinating material aid for the families of political prisoners in Portugal and a letter writing campaign to the ambassador in Canada demanding their release. They also sent a delegation to the United Nations in New York City.
Place of origin:
Toronto, Ontario
Dates: 1966
Archived at:
Clara Thomas Archives and Special Collections, York University Libraries
Fonds: F0579
Finding aid here
