“Qatar does not respect human rights”, but “let’s forget this” and “let’s focus on the team”, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa’s comment once again put the president of Portugal at the center of the controversy in the country.
“Qatar does not respect human rights. All the construction of the stadiums and so on… but, anyway, let’s forget this“, said Rebelo de Sousa last night after Portugal’s victory against Nigeria (4-0), in the last match of the team before traveling to Qatar.
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“It is criticizable, but let’s focus on the team. We started very well and ended on a good note”, said the Portuguese president, who confirmed that will be in the first match of the “quinas” against Ghana on the 24th in the World Cup.
The Left Bloc was the first to react, and the party’s leader, Catarina Martins, asked the president and the government not to travel to Qatar.
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“We cannot forget the conditions of the workers,” said Martins to the local press, recalling the thousands of deaths during the construction of the stadiums that will host the competition.
“Human Rights can never be forgotten,” Martins insisted.
For deputy José Soeiro, also from BE, the president’s comments were “very serious and shocking”.
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“It is serious coming from the President of the Republic and from the point of view of respect for Human Rights the least is not to underestimate them,” he told the TSF network.
The president’s statements also raised blisters on social networks, such as Twitterwhere criticism multiplies with expressions such as “astonishment”, “shame” and “surreal”.
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It is not the first time that the president of Portugal has been embroiled in controversy over his comments.
A few weeks ago, he had to apologize publicly after commenting that 400 cases of sexual abuse within the Church recorded in Portugal was not a “particularly high” number.
