Demonstration in Lisbon starts at 3pm next to Alameda and ends at Martim Moniz. Chega also organized a vigil in support of the PSP in Praça da Figueira for this Saturday.
Thousands of people are expected this Saturday, January 11, in Lisbon in a demonstration against racism and xenophobia, called "Don't push us against the wall", in protest against the police's actions in the Martim Moniz area that targeted immigrants.
Following the intervention of the PSP on December 19th on Rua do Benformoso, near Martim Moniz, in Lisbon, and the images of dozens of immigrants leaning against the walls of buildings, to be searched, several left-wing activists and a hundred organizations signed an appeal against the actions of police forces in the outskirts of towns and among immigrants.
The announcement of a demonstration, which starts at 3 pm near Alameda and ends at Martim Moniz, prompted a response from far-right groups and the Chega party organized a vigil in support of the PSP in Praça da Figueira for the same afternoon, called " For authority and against impunity."
The police action on December 19 was criticized by the president of the Santa Maria Maior Parish Council, Miguel Coelho, who has already said that he will not participate in the demonstration.
The protest "may even have as promoters people I respect and who are convinced of its importance, but it is also sponsored by many populist radicals, left-wing wokists, who are instrumentalizing the community of immigrants targeted in the police operation, for whom up until now little have expressed concern or social solidarity, they will seek to transform the demonstration into an attack on the police", wrote the mayor, on his Facebook page.
Miguel Coelho, who reaffirmed his opposition to the PSP action, considering it "unacceptable" due to "the stance, the social and ethnic group of the people targeted and the duration of the same", but stressed that the protest is "dangerous", because "it will only favor the extreme right". The mayor recalled that there are places in Mouraria, near Marim Moniz, that are "insecure areas, almost always related to the sale/consumption of drugs and alcohol on the street, especially at night", but that have no relationship with the presence of immigrants.
On Friday, the far-right ADN party placed posters in the Martim Moniz area against what it considers illegal immigration, but they were removed as they were not authorized.
For this Saturday's demonstration, which will start at Alameda, several party leaders and leaders of anti-racist organizations, those supporting immigrants and those from peripheral neighborhoods, such as Solidariedade Imigrante, SOS Racismo, Vida Justa, Casa do Brasil de Lisboa or Moinho da Youth.
Local organizations such as Bangladesh Colectivo, Beahmanbaria Community of Portugal, Cozinha Comunitária dos Anjos, Renovar a Mouraria or Sirigaita also joined the event.
According to the promoters, the participants argue that "all people who live and work in Portugal must be treated with dignity and that this police action was not an isolated case, occurring regularly in other suburbs of Lisbon and the country". "Security cannot be confused with the instrumentalization of the police" and the "signatories call for a demonstration that demands dignity, social rights and freedom for those who live and work in Portugal", can also be read in the promoters' statement.
In a response sent to Lusa, the national directorate of the Public Security Police says that it analyzed and assessed the risk of the demonstration and the vigil promoted by Chega, indicating that it met with the promoters of the two initiatives to raise awareness about the "issues protection and security of those who participate in the demonstrations.
That security force points out that it produced "a risk analysis and assessment that allows for the most detailed and concrete operational planning possible in order to prevent hostile and violent actions", since the two demonstrations defend antagonistic interests and ideological positions.
"The PSP has already carried out its risk assessment and analysis, having already worked to alert the organizations of the aforementioned demonstrations about the limits imposed by law, and also having its planning ready to ensure that there is no constraint on carrying out the demonstrations. demonstrations and the free exercise of the right to assembly and demonstration", the police said.
In this sense, various departments of the Lisbon Metropolitan Command (Cometlis) will be mobilized to ensure the security of the demonstrations, which will have "permanent support from resources from the PSP's UEP", says that security force, which does not mention the resources involved.