Extremist group accuses “Socialist propaganda machine” of being at service of LGBTQIA+ movement
Events have moved rapidly on from last Saturday’s ‘invasion’ of the presentation of the book “Mummy, I want to be a boy” – with former parliamentary speaker Augusto Santos Silva warning that the ‘tolerance’ up till now of police in this matter could be interpreted as verging on complicity.
Since right wing Habeas Corpus’ latest stunt in Idanha-a-Nova, the group has published a list of writers, activists and politicians that it accuses of being “LGBTQIA+ terrorists who are heavily funded by Portuguese tax money, with the Socialist propaganda machine at their service”.
Among the names are Bloco de Esquerda coordinator Mariana Mortágua, and PS Socialist parish council leader Claudio Lotra.
But it is activist Diogo Faro – presented in the list as ‘unemployed’ – who has been the first to react, suggesting the list is a “clear incitement to violence”.
The music played as the clip runs is definitely ‘ominous’. The clip ends with the face of a frightened looking child, and the words “leave children in peace!!”
According to Diogo Faro, “how far does the impunity of these terrorists go?”
It is a question that has been similarly aired by former parliamentary speaker Augusto Santos Silva who warned on Monday that authorities’ apparent tolerance of ‘invasions’ like the one on Saturday could be bordering on complicity.
Writing over social media, he said: “I read in the press at the weekend that a book presentation session in Idanha-a-Nova was interrupted by a bunch of thugs (…) the GNR, cautiously present at the venue, protected the insulted author and removed her from the room, protecting her from the violence of the so-called thugs, who were threatening her”, and “the session did not continue, due to the lack of security conditions”.
“I partially understand this behaviour on the part of the authorities. But one thing must be clear to all of us. It is the energetic ones who should be removed from the room, so that the book presentations can take place peacefully, for those who freely want to attend” – not the other way around (as happened).
“Too much tolerance of this far-right culture of violence and threats is no longer just tolerance, it is complicity,” he concluded.
Where is this going? Today, for example, Habeas Corpus is holding an event in Peniche where it will be discussing “means, resources, objectives and goals of Habeas Corpus for the future of Portugal and the Portuguese”.
Meantime, the petition raised calling for “urgent measures to stop the continuation of serious incidents” like the one last Saturday has amassed more than 2,000 signatures, albeit no one in the current government has publicly addressed the subject.
Ana Rita Almeida, author of “Mummy, I want to be a boy”, and a volunteer firefighter, has said she will be presenting a formal complaint against Habeas Corpus for what happened in Idanha-a-Nova. She has explained that everything was done to try and keep the venue for the presentation ‘secret’ (in order to avoid an invasion by Habeas Corpus), yet still the invasion came.
As for her reasons for writing the book, they stem from Almeida’s thoughts of “a girl who does not fit into what society expects of a girl: feminine, and someone who likes to play with dolls.
“This girl is different – what we used to call a typical ‘Maria rapaz’ (tomboy). She likes to play with cars, play football, wear shorts, and when she goes to school she is afraid the other girls won’t want to play with her…” She shares her concerns with her mother, “saying that deep down she wants to be a boy”, and receives a message of comfort and acceptance. “It is a question of gender identity”, admits Almeida. “But the way the story is written, the reader is free to interpret the side of the story that is most comfortable for them”.
Habeas Corpus see the whole concept very differently, interpreting these books as a form of promoting “homosexuality and pedophilia”.
