Minister of Defense heard today in parliament about military service as a penalty for minor crimes – Current Affairs – SAPO.pt

The hearing of the president of the CDS-PP, requested by Chega and the Liberal Initiative, is scheduled for after the plenary, at 6:00 pm, at the National Defense Commission.

These requests were presented after Nuno Melo defended on April 27th, at the 13th edition of the Universidade Europa, in Aveiro, that compulsory military service could be an alternative for young people who commit minor crimes instead of being placed in institutions that, “in most cases, only function as a school of crime for life”.

The hypothesis was publicly supported by the Minister of Internal Administration, Margarida Blasco, who stated that Nuno Melo “obviously spoke on behalf of the entire Government”. However, the Prime Minister, Luís Montenegro, when questioned, refused to address the topic.

After harsh criticism, particularly from associations representing officers, sergeants and soldiers of the Armed Forces, who considered the idea “peregrine” and “absurd”, the Ministry of Defense issued a statement on April 30 denying that Nuno Melo had announced the recruitment of young delinquents and stating that the hypothesis was addressed in a purely academic context.

Days later, speaking to journalists on the sidelines of a visit to the Ovibeja agricultural fair, Nuno Melo said he had lived “24 hours of a parallel reality” because of a “falsehood that made the news”.

“I lived 24 hours of parallel reality, with a falsehood made news and then comments for 24 hours on that news, a minister confronted with what I never proposed, the president [da República] confronting what I never announced and here we go, until the moment when the clarification was finally given”, stated Nuno Melo.

The government official stressed that he limited himself to giving “an answer through a rhetorical question to a student”, within the scope of that session at the university, regarding “what the Armed Forces can also do in relation to students or people in a disadvantaged context “.

Nuno Melo said he was “very pleased” with the requests presented to the Assembly of the Republic for additional clarifications, something he highlighted that he would do “with great pleasure”.

ARL (TA/RRL) // SF

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