Paulo Raimundo warns there is a ‘monster’ on the loose after attacks on immigrants in Porto

This Monday, the secretary general of the PCP warned that there was a “monster” on the loose, reacting to what he considered “hate crimes” in Porto, and said that those who feed him must be brought to justice.

Speaking to journalists at the national headquarters of the PKP in Lisbon after a meeting with the League of Portuguese Firefighters (LBP), Paulo Raimundo was asked about the attacks on immigrants that occurred early this Friday morning in Porto.

In his response, the communist leader stressed that these are “hate crimes” that deserve the PKP’s “total condemnation” and highlighted the “very swift action of the police” as well as the “popular participation and response that was given against this hate crime “

“We cannot make a monster that is on the loose habitual, and everyone takes responsibility for the power that he gives to the monster,” emphasized Paulo Raimundo.

According to the PKP secretary general, “no one can escape responsibility for feeding the monster,” which then “explodes in their hands, as it did.”

“Unfortunately, this is not the only case. We are talking about hate crimes. (…) Let these people be quickly convicted and, if necessary, convicted. It is unlikely that they will,” he said.

When asked about Chegi’s threat to file a complaint against the President of the Republic for the crime of “treason,” for defending reparations to the former colonies, Paulo Raimundo replied that the PCP does not support this idea, and also “does not want to feed him.”

“Food for this every day has long been a trope on television news… It doesn’t contribute to anything, it just contributes to the other problems that we face every day and that we faced last Saturday,” he said. .

In these statements to journalists, the leader of the PCP was also questioned about the statements of the mayor of Porto, Rui Moreira, who this Monday asked for the abolition of the Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum (AIMA), considering that “it continues to kill in the face of an obvious lack of control over migratory flows “

In response, Paulo Raimundo stated that the party considers the closure of the Foreigners and Borders Service (SEF) “reckless”, but “the issue at the moment is not whether the SEF was greatly abolished or not, or whether AIMA was or was poorly structured.”

“The problem is that more than 400 thousand processes continue to accumulate, the lives of many people are suspended. There are people whose residence permits have currently expired,” he emphasized.

The Communist General Secretary said that in this scenario, the solution must involve taking exceptional measures, as proposed by the PKP, which include strengthening human resources so that they “resolve once and for all 400 thousand processes.”

“Because we are talking about 400 thousand lives hanging in the balance. Some are currently formally illegal: there are people who today face problems in their lives, in their daily lives, because they cannot get insurance, an employment contract, because they are in a situation of illegality for which they bear no responsibility.” , he said.

Early on Friday morning at about 01:00, PSP was alerted to an attack on two immigrants at Campo 24 de Agosto in Porto by a group of four or five people who fled before agents arrived, the door reported. -police voice, indicating that the two attackers were being treated at the São João hospital.

About 10 minutes later in Rua do Bonfim, 10 immigrants were attacked in the house where they were staying by a group of 10 men armed with sticks and presumably firearms, which the PSP had not yet been able to destroy. I confirm, said the same source.

According to the spokesman, at 3 a.m. on Rua Fernandez Tomas, another immigrant was also attacked by other suspects, one of whom used a firearm.

Following these attacks, six men were identified and one was arrested for possession of an illegal weapon, taken to court and remanded in pre-trial detention.