Interior Minister Says His Post Is at Montenegro's Disposal as the PS Demands He Explain the Third Camp Clearance in Parliament

Interior Minister Luís Neves said on Sunday that his post "está permanentemente à disponibilidade do senhor primeiro-ministro" (is permanently at the prime minister's disposal), after the PS (Socialist Party) demanded that he appear urgently in Parliament to explain the third police clearance of the housing protest camps in Lisbon's Rossio and Porto's Praça D. João I. The PSP (Public Security Police) moved in at about 04:30, as we reported this morning, and President António José Seguro has asked for a full account of the night.

What the minister said

Speaking to reporters in Marinha Grande (Leiria district), Mr Neves said, according to Notícias ao Minuto: "Ninguém gosta de ver estas imagens. É uma tristeza" (Nobody likes to see these images. It is a sadness). The right to protest is constitutional, he said, but "há uma pequena franja dos manifestantes que têm vindo a pôr em causa o cumprimento da lei" (a small fringe of the protesters has been calling compliance with the law into question).

He rejected the idea of a political instruction, saying, as quoted by Observador, that "a PSP tem autonomia para fazer cumprir a lei" (the PSP has autonomy to enforce the law). On the plainclothes officer seen holding a gun in Porto, he said the use of any weapon must be justified in writing, and that he had no "resposta objetiva" (concrete answer) yet.

The opposition

PS leader José Luís Carneiro demanded the minister's urgent appearance in Parliament to explain the planning and execution of the operations, and asked Prime Minister Luís Montenegro to convene the internal security system, Lusa reported via Notícias ao Minuto. "O uso desproporcionado da força é inaceitável numa democracia" (the disproportionate use of force is unacceptable in a democracy), he said. Replacing ministers is the prime minister's call, he added, but "se eu fosse o primeiro-ministro, teria feito já uma remodelação do Governo" (if I were prime minister, I would already have reshuffled the Government).

The PCP (Communist Party) said the Government gives "orientação para a ação repressiva das forças policiais" (direction for repressive police action) and demanded a full account of political responsibilities, RTP reported. The Presidency told Lusa that Mr Seguro spoke on Sunday morning with Mr Montenegro and with the Ombudsman, Luísa Neto.

Injuries, the gun and the courts

• Injured: INEM, the national emergency medical service, assisted 25 people, nine in Lisbon and 16 in Porto, all classed as minor, Público reported. The PSP counts 13 officers hurt; organisers count more.
• The gun: the PSP said, in a statement quoted by RTP, that after protesters assaulted three of four plainclothes officers on Avenida dos Aliados, one made "recurso passivo da arma de fogo como meio de dissuasão" (passive use of his firearm as a deterrent).
• The monitors: the National Preventive Mechanism against torture, part of the Ombudsman's office, followed the whole operation and says it is too early to say whether there were excesses.
• Court: all 13 detainees were released. The six from Lisbon go before an investigating judge at 14:00 on Monday 2 November, their lawyer Ricardo Sá Fernandes told Lusa; the seven from Porto appear at 10:00 the same day, according to RTP.

What it means for you

The PSP says it respects the constitutional right to demonstrate but that it must be exercised peacefully, and the 13 were detained for "desobediência à ordem de dispersão" (disobeying an order to disperse). If you join or pass a protest, an order to disperse carries legal weight. The Acampada de Lisboa movement called a Rossio gathering for 17:00 on Sunday.