Portugal: State Repression Against the General Strike
We hereby share an unofficial translation of a report shared by Nova Aurora on June 3.
Military Forces of the Old State Beat Protesters During the General Strike
NOTE FROM CDNA: Nova Aurora stands ready to cover any testimonies from victims of the attacks and to pursue complaints against the forces of reaction and against the opportunists who, once again, are blaming the victims for the attack they suffered.
This Wednesday, June 3, at the end of the General Strike demonstrations, the repressive forces of the Public Security Police (PSP) violently intervened against demonstrators who were peacefully protesting against the Labor Package, in an action that ended with at least six people arrested and several injured, among whom were two members of the Nova Aurora Support Committee from Lisbon, who were covering the strike as journalists.
According to eyewitness accounts gathered at the scene, military forces moved toward the gathering point under the pretext of “dispersing” the demonstrators who were peacefully remaining on the sidewalk. Some of those present refused to leave, invoking their right to protest. In response, the PSP charged at everyone at the scene, beating and assaulting them indiscriminately.
After an initial police charge, the officers retreated and formed a cordon, awaiting orders for a new intervention, while also preventing the protesters from moving. By that point, the road that the police claimed they wanted to clear was already completely unobstructed, and the protesters had retreated to the sidewalk. Nevertheless, they waited for the arrival of the Intervention Corps (CI) to unleash a new wave of violence, which was captured on video and widely circulated.
The police account—that barricades were erected before the intervention—is false and serves only to justify the use of indiscriminate violence against civilians. The barricades in question were only erected after the attacks began, as a means of self-defense for the protesters.
Among the victims were also people who were documenting the demonstration with cameras. One of the activists present was attacked from behind as he was leaving the scene, receiving blows to the thigh and arm, despite having explicitly stated that he was leaving.
Some protesters were also cornered near a drop of about two meters, surrounded by officers, and told that, in order to leave, they would have to “get out of there”—that is, jump from that spot. Even after stating that they would leave peacefully, they were nonetheless assaulted.
The secretary-general of the CGTP-IN (General Confederation of Portuguese Workers – National Trade Union Federation), following the standard opportunistic modus operandi, blamed “groups that infiltrate the demonstrations” for what happened, aligning with the reactionary narrative that speaks of “disobedience” and “resistance” to blame the victims.
