This Friday, the BE coordinator said that the government has a responsibility to guarantee “equality and fairness” among the security forces and that addressing the resulting inequalities “is the best way to ensure stability and peace in the country.”
Mariana Mortagua was at a meeting with cultural figures in Lisbon this morning and was asked by journalists about a warning left by military personnel today that there could be street protests if the next government does not pay “special attention” to the sector.
“The primary responsibility lies with the government to ensure stability, equality and justice among all security forces,” he said.
According to the leader of the BU, the socialist executive branch “has created inequality between the security forces” and “is responsible for eliminating it,” especially since this will be “the best way to ensure stability and peace in the country.”
“It was important that the government addressed the issue of inequality in the distribution of subsidies. The government has a responsibility to do this and I hope the government will do it. This is the best way – to be fair to the people who build countries, who work, create a state and create democracy,” he emphasized.
According to Mortagua, “there is a cross-cutting problem” throughout the civil service, namely “declining wages over the years and stagnating careers.”
“And this affects a wide variety of functions of the state, and it is important that these careers and these salaries are reviewed because we have to take into account that we have gone through a very serious period of inflation in which all salaries have lost purchasing power. authorities and in which there is a housing crisis that does not allow people to get housing,” he emphasized.
Therefore, according to the BE leader, “it is important that the government solves these problems.”
“I think the government has an obligation to guarantee conditions of stability in the country, and conditions of stability mean respect for those who work and respect for those who guarantee the important functions of the state necessary for democracy, and if this is true for teachers, then this is true for nurses, the same is true for members of the security forces, and so I hope that the government will take its responsibility and guarantee stability, public order and democracy,” he reiterated.
Regarding the various protests by the security forces, Mortagua reiterated that “demands must be heard” but noted that “the wage ratio and the reason for the demands of the security forces must be preserved and are threatened when they threaten democratic processes and threaten to condition normal functioning of the democratic process.”
Associations representing officers, non-commissioned officers and soldiers of the Armed Forces are allowing street protests if the next government meets the security forces’ demands, but are not paying “special attention” to the military.
“We strongly, very strongly warn that if after the elections, when the issues of security forces and services are resolved – and very well – special attention, I would say double, to the Armed Forces (…) we are considering all forms of struggle , obviously within the framework of democratic legitimacy, including taking to the streets,” warned Colonel António Mota, President of the Armed Forces Officers Association (AOFA).
These warnings, which were already expressed today by the weekly Expresso, were conveyed by the Colonel in a statement to Luse.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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