PSD questioned the RTP Board of Directors this Saturday about a “cartoon” hinting at the police and racism, deeming it “clearly and unfortunately damaging to the image and good name” of police institutions.
The questions were addressed by the PSD parliamentary group to the Board of Directors of the RTP through the Assembly of the Republic in a document signed by the social democratic leader of the parliament, Joaquim Miranda Sarmento, JSD president Alexandre Poso and deputy Andrei Vnuk.
The SDP document states that a spot aired by RTP during its coverage of the NOS Alive music festival featured a “cartoon” in video format that “depicts a police officer in a shooting range shooting at various targets, with no target depicting a hit white man, and with a target depicting a black man riddled with bullets.
“The caricature called “Carreira de Tiro” is an obvious and unsuccessful attack on the image and good name of not only the police institutions in general, but also the professionals to whom they belong,” the PSD deputies defend.
For the party, “the fact that the ‘cartoon’ was broadcast on public television is even more serious, since the RTP is a media body with increased responsibilities for serving the population.”
In this sense, in questions addressed to the Board of Directors of the RTP through the Assembly of the Republic, the SDP asks whether the TV channel was “preliminarily aware of the” cartoon “before it was broadcast.”
“If so, are there editorial guidelines for content that is transmitted, in particular to ensure an appropriate balance between freedom of the press and the protection of other rights, namely avoiding racist, xenophobic or similar content?” they ask.
The side asks if it had “previously known the content”, RTP would still be broadcasting the “cartoon” in question.
The National Chieftains Career Union (SNCC) PSP announced this Saturday that it has filed a criminal case against the authors of the “cartoon” as well as against the RTP for its release, given that “there is, unequivocally, the intent to denigrate all police officers by portraying them as xenophobic and racist “.
Lusa contacted illustrator André Carrillo, co-founder with João Paulo Cotrim of Spam Cartoon, responsible for the “cartoon” in question, felt the complaint “doesn’t make sense” because the “cartoon” “had nothing to do with the PSP or Portuguese reality.” “.
“We have been working at RTP since 2017, and the cartoon is always made in the context of national and international current events, in this case it is international. This is connected with an incident in France, the death of a young Frenchman. at the hands of the police, who later provoked several riots throughout the country,” explained Andre Carrillo.
In turn, an official RTP source told Lusa that “Spam Cartoon is a free discussion of current national and international events that RTP has been holding since 2017,” sponsored by “some of the most famous Portuguese cartoonists.”
“Under no circumstances did this serve as an incitement to violence against anyone. The values of freedom of speech and opinion are fundamental to the democracy and public service of the RTP,” the TV channel emphasized.
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
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