An urgent debate requested by Chega will take place this Wednesday in the Assembly of the Republic to decide on possible historical reparations for the former colonies. Andre Ventura’s request followed statements by the President of the Republic.
Marcelo realized that “we must engage in an exercise in self-flagellation about our history,” Ventura says at the start of the debate. “These statements made by the President today represent a betrayal unparalleled in our history, which no President of the Republic has ever been capable of,” he adds.
“Our first word addresses the thousands of fighters from our Motherland who felt offended and humiliated by the statements of the PR. It addresses those who were forced to return from former colonies (…), to those who were dispossessed from the provinces and the empire ( …), who returned with nothing and to whom the state never gave anything, now wanting to compensate others. Airports, dams in Mozambique, universities in Brazil. The country they now want to demand compensation from was the one that paid them.“, emphasizes Andre Ventura.
Chega was isolated this Monday and was criticized by all sides for accusing the President of the Republic of an “unprecedented” betrayal of the country for his statements about reparations to former colonies.
President Chegi addressed former combatants who had returned and “removed from the provinces of the Empire,” considering that “in the balance of what is due and what is,” if there was “something to pay,” it would be “this world beyond this will have to be paid to Portugal.”
Ventura questioned whether the government, represented by Foreign Minister Paulo Rangel, would “ever take steps” to restore the former colonies.
On April 27, a few days after Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa’s statements, the government had already stated that “there was and is not in doubt any process or program of concrete action with the aim” of reparations for the colonial past.
As for the PSD, Regina Bastos defended that “freedom of opinion is the oxygen of democracy”, lamenting that there are “prohibited topics and legalized censorship for those who cannot accept this freedom.”
As for the PSD, Portugal has “smooth” relations with its former colonies and “exemplary institutional relations”, considering that only with respect and reconciliation with a shared past can one “cooperate and grow”, with cooperation being the “touchstone of bilateral relations”. connections.”
“It was not the statements of the President of the Republic that caused a storm of indignation in the media. What fueled it and continues to fuel it was their political exploitation,” he accused.
The Socialist Party, led by Pedro Delgado Alves, criticized “another desperate search for attention” and that Chega was “seeking a split on a topic that is complex and deserves more respect”, accusing the party of a “lack of understanding and disrespect for the intelligence” of parliament and the country .
Given that there is no “utmost urgency” in this agenda, the PS MP stated that “in Portugal there may not have yet been a decolonization debate like in other countries”, but this has never interfered with relationships of loyalty and respect.
Paulo Nuncio of the CDS-PP did not agree with the position of the head of state, but did not confuse it with a “very serious criminal case.”
“I will not waste a second on an initiative that is politically insane, legally ignorant and institutionally childish,” he said in a short speech for which he did not use all the available time.
BE’s Joana Mortagua’s speech produced one of the most intense moments when she walked onto the lectern to the sound of Chegi’s bench and asked, “Is this all fear?”
“The topic of historical reparations has become widespread in public debate. Europe is dealing with its past. (…) We have a choice to make: follow this European debate or remain tied to the old propaganda,” he said.
Blocker said that if the complaint is taken seriously, “the president risks 10 years in prison,” asking whether “this is a punishment for those who hold different opinions than Chega.”
Regarding Livre, Rui Tavares said that the terms used by Chega “indicate a complete disrespect and ignorance of Portuguese history.”
According to Tavares, what Ventura did from the pulpit, saying that former colonies should pay for dams and bridges, is a speech that matches Putin’s speech on Ukraine.
For the PCP, António Filipe criticized the debate, which only serves to give Chega “a few more hours of airtime on television.”
“Besides giving value to events and processes that are part of the progress of human civilization, we cannot compromise with the whitewashing of colonialism, slavery and fascism,” he said.
Regarding IL, Rui Rocha believes that there are “historical reparations, hysterical reactions, and also hypocritical reactions.”
In a hysterical reaction, Chega intends to “sentence the President of the Republic to 10 to 20 years in prison”, given that Ventura “is a lawyer and is obliged to know the absolute baselessness of what he says.” intends to do it.”
On the side of hypocrisy there is a “collective accusation”, taking the opportunity to ask Ventura if he joins the words of the leader of the Chegi list to Europeans about conspiracy theories, declaring that the leader of Chegi “is a lamb at home, but here he promotes a circus.”
Through PAN, Inés Souza Real accused Chega of “abusing parliament” and said that “50 deputies in parliament do not want to solve problems, they just want scandals and dirty fights.”
Statements by the President of the Republic on the colonial period, made at a meeting with foreign media on April 23, are as follows: “We are responsible for what we did there and continue to do so. after apologizing and it went away, we became friends, no. What we did there, in the massacre, had costs. Today it is still possible to pay the costs, these are the assets that were looted and not returned, they have proven that they were looted. So let’s see how we can fix this.”
According to Article 308 of the Criminal Code, the crime of high treason is committed by “anyone who, by usurpation or abuse of sovereign functions: a) attempts to secede the mother country or transfer it to a foreign state or to subject all or part of the Portuguese territory to foreign sovereignty, or b) insults or exposes threat to the country’s independence.”
Article 328 of the Criminal Code states that “insulting or slandering the President of the Republic” constitutes the crime of insulting the honor of the President of the Republic and is “punishable by imprisonment for up to three years or a fine,” and when “insult or slander is committed in public, the penalty will be increased to “from 6 months to 3 years or with a fine of not less than 60 days.”
The same article states that “criminal proceedings are terminated if the President of the Republic expressly declares that he renounces them.”
In the update
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
I’m Sandra Hansen, a news website Author and Reporter for 24 News Reporters. I have over 7 years of experience in the journalism field, with an extensive background in politics and political science. My passion is to tell stories that are important to people around the globe and to engage readers with compelling content.