The interior minister admitted on Monday that he expressed his dissatisfaction with the RTP “caricature” of the police and racism, and assured that the Portuguese security forces would guarantee the principle of equality.
“On Friday, I had the opportunity to speak with the chairman of the RTP board of directors to express my displeasure that a ‘cartoon’ of this kind was shown at a festival that has so many thousands of young people,” he said. José Luis Carneiro.
The Minister of the Interior spoke on the sidelines of the presentation of the prevention and safety plan for Matosinhos Beach. Answering questions from journalists, he expressed regret about the showing of a “cartoon” during the coverage of the NOS Alive music festival on RTP, hinting at the police and racism.
“Cartoon” by Cristina Sampaio, co-creator of the Spam Cartoon collective, which airs on RTP weekly, is called Shooting Career and shows a policeman shooting at a target with increasing intensity. At the end, targets are shown that have darkened due to the aggression of the police, which serves as a metaphor for the theme of racism in law enforcement agencies.
Recognizing the respect for freedom of speech, the minister emphasized, on the other hand, the need to draw the attention of the RTP leadership to “a sense of responsibility so that freedom of speech does not jeopardize the image and prestige of the institutions.”
José Luis Carneiro also said he understood the explanation of illustrator Andre Carrillo, co-founder with João Paulo Cotrim of Spam Cartoon, responsible for the “cartoon” in question, who said that the animation alludes to French reality. .
In defense of the Portuguese security forces, the minister assured that “they respect and ensure democratic legitimacy and constitutional values”, primarily the principle of equality. “This is a value that is a hallmark of our country and the activities of the security forces,” he stressed.
On RTP, an official channel source told Lusa that “Spam Cartoon is a free expression of opinion on national and international current events that RTP has been running since 2017” and is 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.
SDP has already interrogated the board of directors of the RTP, criticizing the cartoon, the CDS-PP has criticized the interior minister for not defending the honor of the police, and Chega has proposed hearings to the parliament of the public channel and the Media Regulatory Authority (ERC).
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
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