The intention of having petty criminals doing military service is “unspeakable” – IL will call Nuno Melo to Parliament

Rui Rocha emphasizes that “the Armed Forces must be treated with dignity”

Rui Rocha, leader of the Liberal Initiative, announced on X that his party will call Nuno Melo to Parliament because of statements that military service could be an alternative for young people who commit “petty crimes”.

“The Liberal Initiative will call the Minister of Defense, Nuno Melo, to Parliament to explain the unspeakable intention of having petty criminals doing military service. This intention has already been admitted by the Minister of Defense himself and, even today, again by the Minister of Internal Administration, so it must be understood that this is a possibility that the Government is really studying and not just an isolated and thoughtless statement by Nuno Melo. The Armed Forces must be treated with dignity. The way forward is not to convert them into reformatories for small criminals”, wrote Rui Rocha.

At a conference dinner at the 13th edition of Universidade Europa, the Minister of National Defense also defended that military service could be an alternative for young people who commit petty crimes – instead of being placed in institutions that, “in most cases, they only function as a school of crime for life”, he should go on to military service.

“How many of these young people who, instead of being institutionalized without any conditions, could carry out military service, have the opportunity to exercise training, authority, values, could not later be much better citizens and they simply were not given this opportunity?”, he asked.

The Minister of Internal Administration also agreed that military service could be an alternative for young people who commit “minor crimes”, as defended by the Minister of Defense.

Speaking to journalists, at the end of the closing seminar of the Project “Improving prevention, assistance, protection and (re)integration systems for victims of sexual exploitation”, Margarida Blasco said that the Minister of Defense, Nuno Melo, “obviously spoke on behalf of the entire Government”.

“What we have to admit is that all solutions are the Government’s intention to implement them, adapting them to the current contexts which, as you know, are very demanding”, said the minister.