The President of the Republic asked this Friday not to confuse the position of alleged situations of racism and xenophobia of some security officers with the actions of all other elements of the PSP and GNR.
Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa said he had not seen SIC’s report on the matter, but reports on the matter had been sent to him.
“An investigation has been opened that must be followed to the end. No one wants to confuse the position of a few hundred or dozens of agents in the service of the state with tens of thousands and thousands. It was unjust for those thousands of public servants,” emphasized the head of state on the sidelines of the 33rd National Congress of Hospitality and Tourism, which took place in Fátima, in the municipality of Ourém.
Having condemned racism and remembering that now there is even a proposal to remove the word “race” from the Constitution, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa considered all “intolerable discrimination”.
“What is in fact the attack on sectors of Portuguese society is unacceptable, as they are inappropriate for a democratic and civilized society,” he concluded.
A report by a Portuguese investigative journalism consortium, made up of journalists, lawyers and academics, shows that social networks are being used to do what the law and internal regulations prohibit, based on more than 3,000 publications by GNR soldiers and PSP agents during the past years .
On Wednesday it was announced that the General Inspectorate of the Internal Administration will open an investigation into the veracity of the news that refers to the publication by security forces officers of posts on social networks with discriminatory content and incitement to hatred.
A note from the office of the Minister of Internal Administration said that José Luís Carneiro ordered the General Inspectorate of Internal Administration (IGAI) to “open immediately an investigation to determine the veracity of the evidence in today’s news. [quarta-feira] about the alleged publication, by security forces agents, of posts on social networks with discriminatory content, inciting hatred and violence against certain people”.
Source: DN
