The President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, revealed that he decided not to intervene in the situation of the riots in the Greater Lisbon area in order to give “primacy to the Government” and not “overpower”.
In statements to CMTVthe Head of State said that he has been following the escalation of violence that has occurred in the capital due to the death of a man shot by the PSP. “There is no democracy without security or public order and there is no security or public order without security forces”, he pointed out, criticizing the events that have marked the last few hours.
Despite viewing the events with concern, he says he will await the Executive’s measures, hoping that they will respond to the problems that afflict residents of the affected areas.
“I limit myself to making the appeal and maintaining bridges of dialogue with the mayors. I will stay informed. The overwhelming majority of residents want to resolve the problems, but want to resolve them in peace,” he said.
Marcelo said he has not yet contacted the family of Odair Moniz, the victim, nor the PSP agent who fired the shot.
Shot dead by PSP
Odair Moniz, 43 years old, was shot by a PSP agent in the early hours of Monday, in the neighborhood of Cova da Moura, in Amadora, and died shortly afterwards, at Hospital São Francisco Xavier, in Lisbon.
According to the national directorate of the PSP, the man “ran away” in a car after seeing a police vehicle on Avenida da República, in Amadora, and “got into trouble” in Cova da Moura, where, when approached by agents , “would have resisted arrest and tried to attack them with a sharp weapon.”
The SOS Racismo association and the Vida Justa movement contested the police version and demand a “serious and impartial” investigation to determine “all responsibilities”, considering that “a culture of impunity” in the police is at stake. According to reports collected in the neighborhood by Vida Justa, what happened were “two shots at an unarmed worker”.
60 occurrences
The PSP recorded 60 incidents of disorder and fire in Greater Lisbon between the end of Tuesday and the beginning of this Wednesday. According to a report released by the authority, two agents were injured in the municipalities of Amadora and Oeiras due to stone throwing and two civilians, passengers on a vandalized bus, were stabbed during retaliatory actions.
Source: www.cmjornal.pt
