Chega urgently wants to hear from the Minister of Culture about the return of works to former colonies

Chega demanded this Thursday an urgent hearing with the Minister of Culture in Parliament regarding the possible return of works of art to the former colonies, said the party leader, who admitted that he would pursue a potential option if the request was rejected.

Speaking to reporters in parliament, Andre Ventura said Chega made the request because it became public knowledge that Dalila Rodriguez had advocated for the return of works of art to former colonies before becoming culture minister.

In an interview with the Observador in November, the current culture minister said that “it is fundamentally important to proceed from the imperative of restitution of appropriated goods, regardless of the conditions of their receipt,” given that it is impossible to “continue to exercise protective power over the places of incorrect origin of works.”

Chega wants Dalila Rodriguez to “explain her position on the issue of the return of works of art” to former colonies, and will also ask the Ministry of Culture for “real and concrete data on whether any return or delivery of works of art has taken place to date.” any work of art or museum item.”

“We need to know what the Prime Minister thinks about this, because the serious thing is that we have a Minister of Culture who understands that it is right and satisfactory to transfer Portuguese or Portuguese-owned works of art to our former overseas provinces. “, He said .

Ventura argued that if the artworks were returned to the former colonies, it would be “opening a Pandora’s box” and Portugal would also have to “recover the costs from the Spaniards, the French and others.”

“Any return of a work of art to any other sovereign country would be a betrayal of the Portuguese people. Chega is really serious when he says that if any refund or compensation is made, (…) we will not hesitate to move.” we are putting forward a proposal to censor the government,” he said.

For the Chega leader, this restitution will mark not “mere history of this government” but “future generations, decades and decades of Portuguese life that will be marked by the assumption of historical and political responsibility that is unworthy and disgraceful to Portugal.” .

“For this reason, the Minister of Culture should come to parliament. If necessary, we will use our powers to explain whether its position remains, whether the Portuguese Ministry of Culture will deliver or has already delivered some works of art. , in which case we will ask for it to be returned immediately,” he said.

In these statements to journalists, Andre Ventura was also asked about his assessment of the government’s first month of operation, and he responded that it was “a failure because it was a missed opportunity.”

“The government had the opportunity to develop a majority scenario that would already allow for reforms, and look at reforms that could already be introduced: in taxation, tolls, mobility, pensions, police and health. Nothing was done. “, he criticized.

Regarding the dismissal of Ana Jorge, ombudsman of Santa Casa da Misericordia de Lisbon, Ventura believed that it was “long overdue” but argued that the government must now “carry out the checks that it must carry out.” out” to figure out what happened in the institution and “send everything necessary to the prosecutor’s office.”