In Lisbon funeral Otelo de Carvalho, Carnation revolution hero

(ANSA) - ROME, JUL 27 - The funeral of General Otelo Saraiva de Carvalho was held this morning in Lisbon, the architect of the so-called 'Carnation Revolution' who deposed Marcelo Caetano on April 25, 1974, putting an end to over four decades of dictatorship in Portugal.

    Known in his country simply as Otelo but nicknamed 'the Portuguese Che Guevara' in the press, deCarvalho died last Sunday in the military hospital of the Portuguese capital at the age of 84.

    "He has rightly become one of the symbols of the revolution that put an end to the longest dictatorship of the 20th century in Europe, paving the way for democracy. His strategic and operational capacity and his commitment and generosity were decisive for the success of the movement", reads a note released by the office of the Portuguese premier Antonio Costa on the news of the disappearance of de Carvalho, a controversial figure in recent Portuguese history.

    Born in 1936 in Maputo, Mozambique, then a Portuguese colony, de Carvalho began his military career in the early 1960s at a time when Portugal was engaged in colonial wars. He was at the helm of the "Garofani revolution" and promoted the constitution of the National Salvation Junta, which put an end to the long authoritarian regime of António de Oliveira Salazar. Accused of supporting the unsuccessful coup d'état of 25 November 1975, promoted by radical elements of the armed forces, he was dismissed from his posts. After the counter-revolution led by conservative sectors of the army, which brought António Ramalho Eanes to power, he lost the elections for president in 1976 and 1980.

    De Carvalho then ended up in the dock for his alleged involvement in the far-left movement FP-25, accused of several deadly attacks in the 1980s. Sentenced to 15 years in prison in 1987, he was then pardoned in 1996.

    Otelo "arouses deep divisions within Portuguese society" despite being "a leading player in a decisive moment in contemporary Portuguese history", commented Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa .

   (HANDLE).