Interior Minister says she has ‘zero tolerance’ for radical movements

The home secretary says she has “zero tolerance” for radical movements, is unapologetic about hate crimes and says she is focused on training on how to “weed out the bad fruit” from the security forces.

In an interview with Diário Notícias and TSF radio, published this Thursday, Margarida Blasco guarantees that neither the minister, nor the government, nor the national directors, nor the commands agree with the radical movements.

“Police officers are citizens, but they are not just citizens. They are citizens who protect public order, they protect the citizen. They are one of the pillars of democracy and the rule of law, and it is unacceptable that there are radical movements within the security forces,” he states.

In an interview, a government official said she believed such movements would “quickly disappear” because training was being carried out that would “remove the rotten fruit from the huge basket that is the security forces.”

“Sorry about this image, but it’s for filtering purposes,” he adds.

Margarida Blasco appreciates the fact that the security forces did not allow themselves to be used as a tool when Chega requested their presence in the Assembly of the Republic last week.

“In a world where there are 45,000 police officers, the main trade unions have said they don’t feel constrained and don’t want to be used as tools,” the official recalled.

Asked about human rights training, which was a concern for her as Inspector General of the Internal Affairs Directorate, Margarida Blasco said that “there is a lot of training in this area” and ensures that she is “totally uncompromising” in regard to hate crimes.

“This is a situation in which I, when I was in the State Automobile Inspectorate and now as minister, am completely irreconcilable. There is neither openness nor complacency here,” he emphasizes.

He acknowledges it is a “wider phenomenon” and speaks of a range of measures the government is working on to tackle bullying, hate crime and xenophobia.

Regarding the agreement reached by the government with the security forces on the risk premium of 300 euros, the minister recalls that a package of measures, of which she singled out the review of status and career, is still to be discussed. In this regard, he said that a meeting has already been scheduled for January 6, Kings’ Day.