Councilman Manuel Pizarro condemns “uncontrolled violence” of PSP in Porto

O councilman of the PS in the Chamber of Porto Manuel Pizarro criticized today “the uncontrolled violence of police intervention” occurred at dawn against protesters for housing in Praça D. João I, waiting for a rigorous analysis of the Inspector General of the Internal Administration.

“ I disagree with many of the protesters and I do not think it is appropriate for them to decide to camp in a square in downtown Porto. But, I am disgusted that the answer to this is the unmeasured violence, in a police operation that seemed to me, moreover, very poorly prepared ", wrote Manuel Pizarro on social network Facebook.

For the councilman elected by the PS, nothing justifies the uncontrolled violence of the police intervention that, in the middle of the night, was carried out against a peaceful demonstration, which took place in Praça D. João I.

“ I hope that the outlines of this operation, who ordered it and who/as organized it, will be rigorously examined by the Internal Administration Inspectorate-General and the Ombudsman’s Office,” he added.

He argued that “the argument to vacate the square does not serve”, because “it was peacefully unoccupied on Monday morning, by the Municipal Police, without any violence”, contrary to what happened this morning, at 3:00 p.m., when “some of the young people were persecuted by the neighboring streets”.

According to Pizarro, “a thing like this only happened because the polls put AD [Democratic Alliance] in third place and because the Minister of Internal Administration is dragging himself in place, who no longer has the authority to occupy”.

“ Power did not resist using security forces for purely political purposes, endangering their prestige and even allowing the safety of the agents who participated in the operation to be called into question,” he said, recalling that confrontations caused injuries in “ten civilians”, but also in “at least” an agent of the PSP.

The Socialist said he wished to see the mayor, Pedro Duarte (PSD/CDS-PP/IL), “claiming more police against organized crime in the move zone and against drug trafficking in the Pasteleira and other areas of the city”, because “the police busy attacking peaceful demonstrators are the ones lacking to combat crime and criminals”.

Assuring that he will not fail to fight for the value that most characterizes Porto – freedom – Pizarro stressed that he can “disagree from those who manifest themselves in one sense or another”, but cannot accept “that they prevent him from manifesting himself”, even if it is against what he thinks.

On Wednesday, in a popular assembly, people voted to keep the protest and go back to sleep in tents, expressing the group’s desire to “continue growing and not only in Porto”, appealing to other cities, such as what is already called to Lisbon on Saturday.

The participants again installed tents during the night, which were removed by the police, after the mayor of Porto said on Wednesday that it would be “absolutely relentless with any attempt to place tents” in Praça D. João I.

Police action took place around 3:00 a.m. in an operation that the movement claims to have provoked 39 injured, two of which were in serious condition.

In today’s note, the movement “extremely denounces the use of extreme, disproportionate and unjustified force during police intervention in the camp, which remained peaceful from the first moment, without ever inciting violence”, considering the “unacceptable” burden and asking for responsibilities.

The movement has six main claims: “below the law of rents; end of evictions; end of purchase of real estate by vulture funds; more public housing; recovery of vacant properties for housing; rent ceilings”.

The PSP has now confirmed an injured police officer and the presence of wounded among the demonstrators, without needing how many, attributing the reason for the intervention to “resistance behaviors”.

The mayor of Porto said today that the PSP was “forced” to act in the face of the protesters’ attitude, and lamented the incident.

On Monday, the Municipal Police withdrew about 50 tents that were armed in the square after the chamber said that the camp improperly occupied the public space.

The retreat from the tents did not dispel the protesters, who slept in the open and maintained the protest.