“As the secretary-general of the Internal Security System had the opportunity to inform the press, I will not make any further comments,” stated Margarida Blasco, when asked about the omission of a chapter on extremist organizations from the final version of the RASI.
The minister asserted that the document available on the Government’s website since Tuesday was the one initially worked on, as previously confirmed by the Internal Security System (SSI).
Following the document’s submission to the Assembly of the Republic and its publication on the Government’s website, the Left Bloc requested clarification from the Government regarding the omission of the extremist organizations chapter from the final RASI version.
In a reply to Lusa, the SSI acknowledged the existence of a “working version” of the Annual Internal Security Report, which included information on extremist organizations, differing from the “official version” presented at the Superior Council of Internal Security meeting held on Monday.
“Any other version accessed by the media pertains to a working draft subject to discussion and reformulations in the Security Coordination Office and the Superior Council of Internal Security,” stated the SSI, responsible for drafting the RASI.
The SSI further clarified that the version published on the Government’s website on Tuesday aligns with the one presented at the Superior Council of Internal Security meeting and the version sent to parliament deputies, without explaining why information on extremist organizations was omitted from the working version.
In the RASI document sent to parliament on Tuesday and available online on the Government’s page, pages 35 to 39 from the initial version, referring to the chapter “extremism and hybrid threats,” are missing. These pages highlighted the presence of an international extremist organization in Portugal, classified as a terrorist organization in various countries.
According to the preliminary version, no far-right group in Portugal is classified as terrorist, though a branch of an international extremist organization, marked as terrorist elsewhere, is present. The report did not specify which organization this was.
This preliminary version noted the existence of this extremist branch in Portugal, already subject to financial sanctions in several countries for funding terrorism. Additionally, the report mentioned that this organization hosts events, including musical gatherings in Portugal, serving as recruitment and propaganda material production fundraising platforms.
This information does not appear in the final version, prompting the Left Bloc to express significant concerns about the rationale behind this alteration, demanding a thorough explanation. The party seeks to know “who ordered the removal” of this part of the RASI and whether the Government intends to send a new version to parliament that includes the data from the preliminary document.
Traditionally, the RASI is presented after the Superior Council of Internal Security meeting by the secretary-general of the Internal Security System, alongside the Ministers of Internal Administration and Justice, a process not fulfilled this year. On Monday, Prime Minister Luís Montenegro addressed the press conference, refraining from unveiling the final document and only responding to one journalist query.
When asked why this year’s presentation did not occur, Margarida Blasco explained it was due to the Government’s transitional phase, emphasizing the Prime Minister’s remarks following the Superior Council of Internal Security meeting.
