Chega proposes urgent hearing of the Minister of Defense in parliament

Chega today proposed an urgent hearing in parliament of the Minister of National Defense after Nuno Melo argued that military service could be an alternative for young people who commit petty crimes.

According to the request released today, and addressed to the president of the National Defense Commission, Pedro Pessanha (Chega), Chega’s deputies want to hear from the minister and leader of the CDS-PP, taking into account the “relevance of the topic for Portuguese society and for the integrity of the Armed Forces”.

Chega intends to “clarify this proposal, its implications and the studies or analyzes that support it”.

“It was with deep concern that we became aware, through recently released statements, of the proposal put forward by the Minister of National Defense, Nuno Melo, which suggests the inclusion of young delinquents in military service as an alternative to rehabilitation institutions, which are described as ‘schools of crime'”, says Chega.

The party considers that “this proposal, in addition to revealing a simplistic and reductive view of the complexity of social and criminal problems faced by young people in vulnerable situations, appears to ignore the fundamental principles that govern the Armed Forces and military service.”

Chega says it is “imperative to question the effectiveness and ethics of using military service and the Armed Forces, a basic institution of National Defense and representation of State sovereignty, as a means of social rehabilitation” and argues that “military service, with its demands, discipline and values, it should not be seen as a punitive mechanism or alternative to the juvenile justice system”.

“On the other hand, the proposal raises serious questions about security, both for the young people involved and for members of the Armed Forces”, argue the deputies, maintaining that “the integration of individuals with a history of delinquency, without an adequate evaluation process and monitoring, can compromise the cohesion, morale and operational effectiveness of military units”.

This Monday, the Minister of Internal Administration agreed that compulsory military service could be an alternative for young people who commit petty crimes, similar to what Nuno Melo had defended.

“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.

The minister’s statement comes after Nuno Melo defended, over the weekend, at the Europa University, a PSD political training initiative, 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”, at the same time that he stated that there were no political conditions to re-impose compulsory military service.

The diploma that regulates the regime applicable in criminal matters to young people aged between 16 and 21 is from 1982 and allows “a young person under the age of 21 to be charged with only one corrective measure”.

The possible measures provided for in the diploma, which only apply when prison sentences of up to two years are involved, are admonishment, the imposition of certain obligations that take into account the “dignity and social reintegration of the young person”, a fine and, lastly, internment in detention centers.