A public petition urging the Assembly of the Republic (AR) to actively defend human rights and end the genocide in Gaza has been signed by approximately 55,700 citizens as of 7:30 PM today.
Titled “Petition for the Government to Recognize the Genocide in Gaza and Pressure Israel to Allow Aid into Palestine,” the document is available online and addressed to the President of the AR, social democrat José Pedro Aguiar-Branco.
The petitioners assert, “It is inadmissible to remain neutral about the events in Gaza. It is inadmissible to watch a genocide in silence. Future generations will not forgive us. It is inadmissible for Europe to watch in silence as children looking for food die, just as it is inadmissible for us to do nothing while war crimes are committed daily.”
In addition to Adolfo Luxúria Canibal, singers Ana Bacalhau, Aldina Duarte, and Ana Moura are also among the initial promoters of the initiative.
They further challenge, “When, in the future, someone asks us how we could watch a genocide from our sofas and what we did to stop it, what will we say?”
“The group of citizens, from various political backgrounds or without any, has come together to state that we are vigilant, with our eyes on Gaza, and do not accept the Portuguese State’s passivity,” they add.
They recall that the United Nations “has repeatedly called for a ceasefire in Gaza to allow medical and humanitarian aid into this territory where adults, children, and babies die daily due to lack of access to the most basic needs.”
“Humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and independence—these are the four pillars that guide the principles of the United Nations,” they emphasize, stating that with the petition, they aim “for Portugal to have an active and significant role in promoting peace and defending human rights.”
The promoters state that it is necessary to gather 7,500 signatures for the Portuguese parliament to discuss in plenary “three fundamental points.”
According to the petition, these points include “the need to call for an immediate ceasefire,” “the appeal for Israel to allow the immediate entry of medical and humanitarian aid to the population of Gaza through the United Nations,” and “the recognition by the Government and the Assembly of the Republic that a genocide is underway in Gaza.”
