Armed forces call for Prime Minister’s resignation
- Created on Tuesday, 18 September 2012 07:32
Portugal’s powerful association of military personnel has called for the resignation of the prime minister, accusing the coalition government of ‘destroying the country’ and ‘using the Portuguese people as guinea pigs for social experiments’ with the new austerity measures.
‘It is clear the policies imposed by this Government have failed. They were centred on the debasement of labour and social rights by imposing more and more austerity measures, more unemployment, and more uncertainty,’ says the Associação de Praças (AP) in a statement marking a significant shift against the current government from a sector of Portugal’s society that is not averse to running successful revolutions.
In reference to the new austerity measures, the association stated that it did not want to stand by as ‘this vile attack is being perpetrated,‘ and stressed that ‘it is not part of the military mindset to evade situations.'
"Mr. Prime Minister, for the sake of Portugal and the Portuguese, do them a favor, resign now and emigrate', urges the statement that comes shortly after the military stated it was OK for its members to attend the mass rallies across Portugal last Saturday afternoon, as ‘they are citizens too.’.
The association accuses the government of having transformed ‘the poor into the wretched, and the middle class into newly poor' leading to ‘a ravaged country, walking aimlessly into the abyss."
"We can not allow this Troika, or any other, to continue. We are legally empowered to defend the Portuguese Constitution and we can not, nor should we, allow a nation like ours with over 900 years of history wither because you decided to make Portugal hostage to the interests of high finance.’
The Armed Forces Association reminds prime minister Pedro Passos Coelho that all military personnel have ‘sworn an oath to defend the homeland, and guard and protect the Constitution and laws of the Republic, and we vehemently repudiate the policies that are being followed because they contradict everything our members swore to defend.’
