GNR sergeant who went on hunger strike at Porto City Hall will stay until his health allows him

The PNP sergeant, who has been on a hunger strike outside Porto City Hall since Tuesday morning, told Lusa this Wednesday that he will continue to fast as long as his health allows it.

Currently in the service support platoon, 44-year-old Sergeant Josias Alves from Marco de Canaveses intends with his decision to “warn” civil society about the “desperation” of PPR soldiers, PSP and prison guards.

“The desperation we have reached due to the countless situations causing harm to me, comrades and friends from the PNS, as well as PSP agents and prison guards, prompted me to choose this form of struggle,” he said.

The purpose of this protest is not only to receive wages commensurate with their socio-professional status, but also to protest against the “pressure and persecution” of which they are allegedly victims, said a PPR soldier who spent his first night on hunger strike in a small tent erected in front of the city hall Porto.

“Obviously I am here at my own request, but also because of all of them and the way they were persecuted,” he said, expressing solidarity with Lieutenant Afonso Viana, who was called on Monday to explain the medical losses that occurred and was assigned to her the military, as well as the President of the National Police Union, Armando Ferreira, whose statements about the hypothetical impossibility of the elections on March 10 led to the participation of Minister José Luis Carneiro in the General Inspectorate of Internal Administration.

He also expressed “solidarity” with his colleague Pedro Costa, a policeman who works at Lisbon airport and who, about a month ago, alone started a protest in front of the Assembly of the Republic and led to a movement that spread to others. from the country.

Regarding the high number of medical losses presented by the security forces, the PNP sergeant considered them justified because they “have a high-stress profession, which causes PNP, PSP and Prison Guard Corps soldiers to reach burnout.” “situations”.

“The desperation is so great, not just for me but for other police forces, that the only way I could think of to fight the system was this,” he added.

He emphasized that he earns “much less than the Minister of Internal Affairs says.”

The sergeant, who commanded the GNR territorial post in Aveiro, Casia, Vila Mea and Alpendorada and was Marco de Canaveses’ civil protection coordinator, defends the need for hierarchy, which he considers “absolutely necessary”, but suggests that it is aimed against the use of “repression ” and “tyrannical pressure” towards those who fight for their rights.

Jozias Alves, who is now in the service support platoon, also says he doesn’t want to turn this action into a “personal fight,” noting that there are “many other ‘professionals’ who remain anonymous because they don’t want to be anonymous.” suffered even more than they already were.”

In August 2015, Josias Alves made the news for preventing the drowning of a 35-year-old woman at the Torran Dam on the Tamega River.

Josias Alves holds a Master’s degree in Criminology from the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences of the Fernando Pessoa University (2019).