Attack comes exactly 30 years since neo-nazis attacked and killed Alcindo Monteiro
An actor with the A Barraca theatre company in Lisbon was attacked last night by a group of neo-nazis as he entered a free show in tribute to legendary Portuguese poet Luís de Camões.
Adérito Lopes was punched in the eye, almost certainly with a knuckle duster or similar. He had to be treated in hospital, where his injury required stitches.
The incident was reported to police by A Barraca’s director, actress Maria do Céu Guerra, who told Lusa that the attack took place around 8pm when actors were arriving at Cinearte, in Largo de Santos, for a play that was subsequently cancelled.
It is not clear why a group of around 30 neo-nazis converged on the show carrying banners and heckling arrivals – but as Maria do Céu Guerra remarked, the incident came 30 years to the day that 27-year-old Alcindo Monteiro was killed in an attack in the Chiado district of Lisbon by neo-nazis. “Thirty years later and this country has still not found a way of defending itself against nazis”, she said in despair.
Yesterday was ‘Portugal Day’, as well as the Day of Camões and Portuguese Communities. In the past, the day was also dubbed “Day of the (Portuguese) Race” – and this may have been relevant: one of the leaflets left behind following the attack read “Portugal for the Portuguese (…) Defend your blood”.
In spite of the noble speech against racism by President Marcelo marking yesterday’s celebrations , it is a scourge that remains alive in this country. Indeed, even people who would not consider themselves racist are questioning the way Portugal has been changing in recent years, and so fast. Since it became clear that ‘family reunification’ of legalised immigrants could bring another half million dependants into the country, a petition set up to call for an eight-year moratorium on family reunification has been gathering thousands of signatures, while CHEGA leader André Ventura says his party will be urging the government to suspend the right, in spite of it being enshrined in law.
As to yesterday’s attack, Maria do Céu Guerra described an atmosphere of shock in the theatre. People who had already arrived for the performance, as well as the actors, all stayed inside for some time, relieved by the prompt response by PSP police, but still enormously rattled. The 82-year-old theatre director stressed how vulnerable the incident made people feel.
According to Diário de Notícias, the ‘author of the attack’ – a man in his 20s – has been identified by PSP police, and “he is a member of the extreme right”. ND
