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Protesters who in recent days have been camping in the centres of Lisbon and Porto to demand the right to housing were forced to remove their tents and banners after the authorities intervened.
Just before 06:00 local time (07:00 CEST) on Tuesday morning, police vans arrived at Rossio and Praça D. João I and gave demonstrators five to ten minutes to bring the protest to an end. Police said the gatherings were no longer legal. In the capital, there was resistance to the order to disperse, with protesters forming a human chain. Objects were even thrown at officers from the Public Security Police (PSP), who resorted to using batons.
In a forceful operation, the PSP Special Unit expelled all protesters from Rossio Square. Police said they arrested 55 people and seized 228 camping structures. Protesters said about 30 demonstrators were injured and arrested.
Some of the protesters moved on to Praça da Figueira, where they continued to voice anger at the police action, demanding the return of their belongings and the release of those detained.
More than a hundred protesters sang “Grândola, Vila Morena”, the anthem of the 25 April 1974 Revolution that restored democracy in Portugal, and threatened to occupy the home of Prime Minister Luís Montenegro.
In Praça D. João I in Porto, the operation unfolded more calmly, with no clashes reported and the dozens of people camping there leaving of their own accord. There was some initial resistance as officers approached, but the orders were eventually obeyed.
The Porto protesters say they want to return to Praça D. João I and, in response, police have started installing metal barriers to block access to the square.
With the squares in Lisbon and Porto now cleared, cleaning operations are under way.
Staying on site
The lawyer representing the protesters has said they may stay on at the site where they have been holding demonstrations since last Saturday.
“I think so, yes,” the lawyer replied, quoted by the newspaper Observador.
The legal representative stressed that he cannot speak on behalf of everyone present and said that, for now, all that remains is “to wait” to find out the physical condition of those detained and how their belongings can be returned.
The group voted unanimously, in a Popular Assembly, to remain in Praça da Figueira until the whereabouts of their detained colleagues are known.
“The individuals taken into custody were brought to police facilities and will be brought before the competent judicial authority as soon as possible,” the police said in a statement.
New protest planned
Meanwhile, a new protest has been scheduled for Rossio Square in Lisbon, starting at 19:00 local time on Tuesday.
The organiser of the Popular Assembly, quoted by Observador, underlined the need to draw more people to this demonstration and to those planned for the coming days.
Despite this morning’s police operation, the activist insists that the movement will not slow down until all its members have a home to live in.